Like you I was only getting limited mileage out of the Kinvaras. Roughly 250 - 300mi before they felt flat. I made the switch after a Saucony rep hosted a run for the Freedoms at my local running store and I was sold.

That first pair I got 1,076 mi out of with a mix of road, trail, and treadmill running. They honestly still felt good up until I decide to swap in a new pair. The crystal rubber on the bottom wears extremely well, but is slippery in wet conditions and certain surfaces like indoor tracks. The uppers held together pretty well and had a few minor rips at flex points but nothing which impacted wearability.

I have used the guide 9's 3 pairs and the uppers fell apart after 300 miles . The guide 10's seem to be a little better. I am interested in others experience with the freedoms as well.

Wow...Do u wear socks?
One of the things I love about the kinvaras is I don't need socks.

I would say 95% of the time I do. Specifically Wrightsock Coolmesh. I used to wear Swiftwick Aspires but kept having hot spot issues which have not occured again after switching brands. The times I have gone without I have not had any issues but they have been mostly shorter brick sessions of 3 - 6mi.

So you're telling me I should have listened to the sales dude at Road Runner when he tried to sell me on the Freedom instead of Kinvara?

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

I'm in love with the Freedoms...except for the price!

Depending on your size you can get them for $80ish on Amazon.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

They're definitely more expensive than the kinvara but if I'm getting twice the mileage out of them then I guess I'm actually saving money

Long time Kinvara user (the 4's and 8's are my favorite of the range) and have Freedom iso's as a daily mileage trainer.

Don't do it. The Freedom has a more "sock-like" upper which feels great and soft walking around, but while running it has a somewhat tight/constricting feel and the feet feel hotter as well.

The road feel is different between the 2 shoes. And before any smart-ass jumps in with a "well, duh" comment - it doesn't feel like a more comfortable kinvara. The freedom is heavier on the foot and feels firmer/less lively than the kinvara.

FYI I'm using zealots as a mileage shoe now.

I also like the Zealot better than the Freedom as a long run shoe. Both give me less foot & joint soreness afterwards than Kinvara, but the Zealot is just a little springier. Feels really good to me.
I tried them on a whim when they appeared on LeftLane for $65 less 20%. Have since bought 3 more to go into inventory. They're still on LeftLane and The Clymb for that price.
Can't comment on wear, don't have quite 200 mi on them. But they look new.

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Brian

Gonna buy a fast car, put on my lead boots, take a long, long drive
I may end up spending all my money, but I'll still be alive

I use Triumphs for recovery runs, Zealots for Tempo runs and Kinvaras for speed work/Tempo when I feel like it. Big fan of the Zealots.

I love the Freedom. It's an excellent do-it-all shoe - still light enough to race in, durable for everyday use. I'm still putting miles on a pair that I got in December 2016 - it's really an excellent overall shoe.

Is it as light as a Kinvara? No. Nor is it quite as flexible. But it's the balance across all areas that I think makes it a great shoe.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

I tried out the Freedoms last year. I liked the feel underfoot and the upper was soft enough to use without socks but something about them constantly gave me calf spasms. I don't think there was enough support for me. I just got a pair of the Libertys Isos, which is supposed to be like the Freedoms but with more support. So far, pretty good-- and the 'feel' of the shoe is a lot like the Freedom. (I was also a regular Mirage then Zealot user for years, Kinvaras never had enough support for me).

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The Liberty is the natural successor to the Mirage (another shoe gone far too soon. Alas, they totally boned up the second generation of that shoe).

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

I honestly hate running in the freedom compared to the kinvara's. The freedom runs small so you need to size up a half of size (at least last years model did). The shoes are nothing alike and I find the kinvaras much more cushiony and comfortable than the freedom's. I just felt so much flexion in the freedom that running in them is just awkward for some reason. I still plan to run in them occasionally but just on easy runs and I like rotating shoes for injury prevention.

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blog

Liberty and Freedom look similar tbh. What's the difference?

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

The Liberty has a small medial post, whereas the Freedom is completely neutral.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

I just did my first substantial run in the freedoms. I will say at least for me they definitely do not have the arch support of the kinvaras. there's a lot of features I like about them but I think for me they will probably just be a shoe to take some of the pounding off my kinvaras to hopefully save them for races a little more

I don't find either shoe particularly supportive, but I think the slightly narrower platform underfoot of the Freedom might be leading to the "lack of support" feeling you get versus a Kinvara. But I do think it's a good shoe to mix in, especially if you're already a Kinvara wearer.

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

Can't speak for the Kinvaras, but I race and train in ISO Freedoms and absolutely love them. In my opinion, the most comfortable running shoe I've ever had. Just bought several more pair so I'll be good to go for a while

I've been running in Kinvara's for the last 4 years as well, I bought a pair of Ride 10's and logged about 150 miles on them so far, then I just bought a pair of Zoom Fly's and have about 100 miles on them. I can't run more than about 10 miles in the Ride's before my knees start hurting, anything less and they are great training shoes. The Zoom Fly's have been great training shoes as they have been nice on long runs and speed work and I've really started to like them a lot. But as soon as I put my Kinvaras back on it's like my feet are back home, the Kinvara has just been an awesome shoe with or without socks.

I will say as the day has gone on the calf cramps have started not blaming the shoe probably more just the fact that I haven't run in anything other than kinvaras in 4 years

Long time Kinvara user. Hate the Freedom, they are now my daily walking shoes in bright neon orange. For me, Kinvaras of all generations feel like very supportive and light, with that "in the shoes" feel. The Freedom is the opposite: heavy and dead, and with the "on the shoes" feel, and my feet move around in them.

I'm clearly missing something here. As much as I want to like the Kinvara's because of all the high praises on here, 2/3 times I run in them I come away with some issue. Blisters mostly and then there is a knee pain in my patella I get if I run in them 2-3 days in succession or for a long distance. For the record They are the 7s I'm running in.

The Freedom ISO is by far the best daily training shoe I've run in. The foam is soft but responsive, the upper locks in and doesn't dig in (like the tabs on the Kinvara) and the shoe is not a heavy weight like the Adidas UltraBoost. My only issue was with the upper being a bit thick leading to a bit of heat retention on long hot summer runs. The Freedom ISO 2 has addressed some of those issues and I'm just about done with my Clifton 2s and I plan to get those or the Pegasus Turbo to give those a try. Price is a bit of a shock but like others have said, you can get really high mileage out of these.

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"Train so you have no regrets @ the finish line"