Loved early Kinvaras. The cushion was better than the current version. Anyone have any suggestions for a lightweight neutral shoe with some good cushion?
The Saucony Cortana is the ‘big brother’ of the kinvara. Slightly more built up but very similar. Will last a little longer as well.
I’ve been running in the Mizuno Sayonara a lot. Light and fast but more durable than a racing flat.
Tried a newton? Lots of Kinvara runners like Netwons.The Gravity is the most popular but the Distance is the slightly lighter version.
I run in both the Kinvaras and Cortanas and I agree, much more durable (400 miles on my Cortans looks equal to 250 on my Kinvaras), more cushioned and comfy, a little heavier, but nearly as flexible. But I still like the feel of the Kinvaras better.
Loved early Kinvaras. The cushion was better than the current version. Anyone have any suggestions for a lightweight neutral shoe with some good cushion?
Just curious…to be specific, are you referring to the 4’s or 5’s? (looking to update from the 3’s)
Thanks
CC
I went thru four pairs of Kinvaras (2’s and 3’s) and am now running in the Brooks PureConnect (and also the PureFlow). I like the wider toe box of the Brooks and they also seem lighter at speed. Just PR’d a half mary in them!
Fred
I love my Kinvara 3’s. Never thought I’d find an equivalent shoe.
But, after trying Pearl Izumi’s Road N1 and Trail N1, they might be overtaking Saucony on my favorite shoes. I love the Kinvara, but dang PI makes a really nice shoe. I would call the N1 similar to the Kinvara.
Former Kinvara 3 user, needed more cushioning due to meta-tarsalasia. Just picked up the Brooks Ghost 6. My winter experience has only been treadmill runs but the cushioning is stellar, no pain so far.
I switched from Kinvara 3 to Newton Distance and have absolutely loved the change. The Kinvara 4’s seemed like a solid shoe, but just didn’t fit my feet quite right. The one notable issue for people running in Kinvara 3 Wides is the upper last of the Newton being a bit snugger and possible not ideal for everyone.
The cushioning and weight is definitely dialed in with Newtons, though, and I really like having a bit more feedback and support through the midfoot on the shoe (particularly on hard pack trails that often make up a chunk of a HIM course).
I’ve put a number of Kinvara wearers in Saucony Cortanas and Virratas, Brooks Pureflows and Pureconnects, Altra Instinct/Intuition, and Topo RT for training and RR for racing. All are worth your time to check out. The Topos are coming on strong.
I ran Kinvara 2s for the longest but could not stand the 3s or 4s. I switched to to Brooks Pure Connect series and have been super pleased.