Can someone help quantify the difference between these two shoes? I’ve run in the Blade Light Run (and Race) and I know they’re a neutral shoe but it appears the Kwicky has some, more, or possibly a lot of stability. True?
I appreciate the help!!
Thanks, Chris
I have always used a neutral shoe and switched from the Blade Light Run to the Kwicky without much, or any, noticeable difference in posting.
I used the Blade Light Run for about 9 months before switching to the Kwicky Blades this spring. Once I tried the Kwicky’s I won’t go back to the Run’s. I think they offer a bit more support which I didn’t really notice too much on shorter runs, but anything longer than 12-13 miles, I really like the added stability. They seem a little less “squishy” and have a little better road feel than the Run’s Also, when running fast, they seem stable and firm, with a touch of cushioning. The Blade Run’s seemed to be too unstable for me when running short, hard efforts. FWIW, I’m 6’1" and about 165-170 lbs.
I ran in the Blade Lights for about a year, including one marathon and numerous 20-22K training runs. Switched to the Kwicky’s and have also noticed more stability and cushioning. Not huge but you can certainly feel it to start with. To be honest now I don’t notice it. I do think the sizing is slightly tighter in the toe box though. But only have about 80K’s on the new ones so far so they may stretch a bit over time. To be honest I could run in either and be happy.
Weird…
I have pretty much the opposite opinion of the other posts above. I recently ordered a bunch of K-Swiss shoes to try out (K-Ona, Blade Light Run, Kwicky Blade Light). My thoughts were…
K-Ona… stiffest shoe I’ve ever run in. Hated it. Was like strapping a 2x4 to my foot. The upper was quite comfy, but the sole and lack of flexibility was brutal for me.
Kwicky Blade Light - Way too unstable, very narrow toe box (perhaps go a size up), almost zero cushioning, not terribly comfy on my feet, definitely very neutral and just felt like not enough shoe for me. (too much towards the minimilistic side of things)
Blade Light Run - (my new favorite long distance shoe) Extremely Comfortable, Perfect amount of stability for me (not too much, and not too little), feel very light on my feet, fastest downhill running shoe for me, and an all around great running sneaker for 1/2 iron distance and above. I have a few 18 and 20 milers on these shoes now and have decided they will be my Ironman sneaker. Perfect balance of support, stability, and comfort to get through the marathon without feeling too heavy and enormous.
So my thoughts are the opposite of everyone else’s apparently… I felt like the Blade Light’s were more stable and offered more support and comfort, and the Kwicky’s were very unstable and unsupportive and not terribly comfortable. But I suppose running shoes are a very personal thing. Do what I did… order them all from Zappos.com and then return the ones you don’t like (free shipping) after running in all of them.
I do think the sizing is slightly tighter in the toe box though. But only have about 80K’s on the new ones so far so they may stretch a bit over time. To be honest I could run in either and be happy.
+1. I have run in the Blade Lights for a year and liked them a lot. I just got a pair of kwicky’s this week and the first thing I noticed is the toe box is tighter. At first I was concerned about not going up a 1/2 size, but when I actually ran in them yesterday I didn’t notice it at all. That is one run of experience, but maybe it is the different material in the upper.
Stability wise to me they seem pretty close, with the Kwicky’s perhaps a tad more posting. The cushioning seems pretty consistent between the two. To me, the K-Swiss always feel stiff when I’m walking around in them but seem to “cushion up” when I start running in them. I’m 6’1", 178 lbs.
Are the Kwicky Blade Light’s actually available nowadays? I haven’t seen them on the typical tri / running websites that I use. In fact I ordered a pair from Trisports.com early this year, got a size too large – sent them back thinking they would just replace with the next size down and Trisports told me that they were out and wouldn’t be getting any more… ? btw - I followed the recommendation on RoadRunnerSports to size up and that really wasn’t accurate (for me, at least)
Just bought two pairs at all3sports.com a week or so ago.
Thanks - I might try to give them another go
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I have the kwicky blade lights. I got a pair of Saucony Grid Tangents in the spring and fell in love with them and then won a pair of the kwicky blade lights. They feel more “plush” and the water really does roll off the fabric. If you have the $$ to drop on them, they are great. The support is nice (I also use superfeet blue in them) and I was able to do 12-18 mile runs in them without breaking them in.
i switched from a stability/cushioning shoe (Mizuno Wave Inspire 5) to the Kwicky Blade Lights and have never looked back. I am a larger runner 6’2 205 and I can go up to a half mary in these without any problems. For the shorter stuff I was impressed on how they felt. hey are so lightweight but still stable and cushioned enough for me. I rotate between 3 pairs to keep the cushioning fresh and they are like running in new shoes each time.
One more for the Blade Light’s… switched to them from Adrenaline GTS a few months ago and love them. No issues with less stability, and I’m currently up to long runs of 18 miles (marathon training).
Has anyone tried the blade light race? Is the velcro (vs. lace) closure the only difference between the run and the race? I’ve been thinking about switching to a pair - feel in love with the “recovery” shoe as a wear around the house and walking about shoe. Just not sure whether I want to try out the run, or the race, or just order both and give them a try.
wiggle.co.uk also have them in stock, think they have a slightly new colour range as well. They also sell the Kwicky Blades.
Has anyone tried the blade light race? Is the velcro (vs. lace) closure the only difference between the run and the race? I’ve been thinking about switching to a pair - feel in love with the “recovery” shoe as a wear around the house and walking about shoe. Just not sure whether I want to try out the run, or the race, or just order both and give them a try.
Yes, as I mentioned earlier, I’ve run in both. I did Kona last year in the Blade Light Race. You’ll definitely get mixed feedback from others. It certainly doesn’t have the same upper support as the Run and therefore has poor lateral support too. Fortunately most HIM and IM runs demand very little lateral support though. It worked ok for me but I prefer the laces.
Bottom line, you won’t really know until you run in them for a while.
Btw, I should point out that for the last year I’ve been running in Karhu Racers. I did IMC in the Karhus but my gastroc and soleus muscles got pretty beat up. It’s the most comfortable lightweight shoe I’ve ever run in but it just doesn’t quite have the cushioning I need for IM (it’s just slightly over 7ozs). If they added 1oz of cushioning it would be the shoe for me. I can’t seem to find an 8oz neutral shoe out there so that’s why I want to go back to the Blade Lights. I just can’t have any stability because I supinate slightly on my left foot which causes problems with my peroneus. I used to run in K-Onas about 2 years ago but it just had too much stability for me. My challenge is that I over-pronate ever so slightly on my right foot so the best thing I can do is go with a neutral shoe and work like hell to strengthen all of the stabilizer muscles to help balance things out.
So, I’m going from a dead flat neutral shoe which is why I’m very paranoid about going to anything with stability (even if it’s slight).
Same here! I feel way more support in the Blade Light as opposed to the Kwicky.
Chris Lieto did Kona in the Kwicky’s last year and hasn’t raced them since. All the K-Swiss athletes at Vegas IM 70.3 Championship this past weekend were either in the K-Ruuz or the Blad Light Run’s.
haven’t tried the “race” version, but everything I’ve read pointed to just getting elastic laces (yankz, EZ laces…) for the non-race version and you’re better off. Working great for me…
I use the Blade Light Run for foot racing and the Blade Light Race for tris since they are essentially the same shoes with different uppers. Incidentally now with the QT2’s, you are going to see the same thing with the Kwicky Blade Lights. If you are big on the non-interference cushioning, like me, Kwickys might work for training for you, but for me, too much medial posting. I’m waiting for the Blade Max Glides for training and may make the wife mad if the Blade Light Jetsters are a trimmed down version of the Blade Light Run. Blade Foots look great for super fast 5K’s and 10K’s.