OK I broke down and bought me some of those overpriced motion-controlled-moonboots (Kayano X’s) and they are just unbelievably great shoes. The soles aren’t flat like the Beast and Addiction so I roll off the toes very nicely. In fact, my steps are very quiet in these shoes and I sneek up on people at the indoor track at my health club. I just kind of glide along very smoothly.
Has anyone else had the same experiences with these shoes? I swore I would never give in but they are well worth the price.
I agree. I actually made the mistake of downgrading to the 2090 for awhile and that was a mistake. Don’t get me wrong the 2090 is a great shoe (especially for the money) but it’s no Kayano. I’m back running on the Kayano and I absolutely love the shoe. They are a bit heavy especially with my orthotics but the comfort and support is well worth the extra ounces.
I just bought a pair of these after using the 2090s. So far I am very happy with them for training. I don’t know if it is because they are heavy or have quite a bit of cushioning in them, but I am pretty slow in them. Not a problem for training, but I would never race in them.
I got them on sale at onlineshoes.com or something like that. Just over $100.
I agree. I actually made the mistake of downgrading to the 2090 for awhile and that was a mistake. Don’t get me wrong the 2090 is a great shoe (especially for the money) but it’s no Kayano. I’m back running on the Kayano and I absolutely love the shoe. They are a bit heavy especially with my orthotics but the comfort and support is well worth the extra ounces.
Orthotics AND a Kayano? Thats beyond … Your foot-muscles should get some load to keep working (though not all the work of course). I got my injury (and yes - i am a pronator) with kayanos and am very fine with light trainers for now …
When my technique gets better (forefoot only) and my speed increases, I will change to light racers forever. I could exchange my Kayono to a running shoe because it was leaking BTW.
The Kayano is a stability shoe not a motion control shoes. The Beast and Addiction have a straight last (looks like a moon boot) because they are motion control shoes. The 2090 and Kayano do exactly the same thing and have equal cushing. ASICS just puts their bells and whistles into the Kayano hence the $135 price tag.
As I look at the website I see that the Kaynao is a stability shoe. The problem with the straight last in the Brooks shoes for me is it seemed to make me slap my feet on the ground instead of rolling them. I went with the Kayano because the shoe was curved and not straight. I tried the Asics 2100 on too and I liked it alot but the Kayano just seemed so much better.
Plus it looks fast, and everyone knows that you just have to look fast in triathlon.
When you say slow, how slow do you mean? Which shoe are you comparing them to? I had been running the the Addiction 6 that was curved from a lot of use. When I bought a new pair, they were straight and that killed my run speed.
I typically run long runs near 9:15’s and the Kayano’s seem to smooth me out and make it easier to run faster. I’ve been running 8:45’s with these shoes but I’ve been doing a lot of speed work lately too. My goal is to run 7:00 to 7:15’s this summer.
I’m looking for some racing shoes for sprint and olympic’s this summer too. Any suggestions on where to start?
I seem to be about 10 to 20 seconds slower per mile compared to some lightweight trainers I have. I much prefer running in them, but I get beat up more in them when I start putting in decent mileage.
I have only been using the Kayanos for about two weeks, so maybe I will be a bit faster once I break them in. I don’t really care actually, since I just use them for training.
They have quite a bit of cushioning, so I would expect that would absorb a lot of energy on impact and takeoff and not return it.
Others can probably advise you better about racing shoes. I haven’t really worked that part out well.
I have the same experience as you do. I train in the Mizuno Renegade and Asics MC. I race in the Kayano X. I feel like I glide in the Kayano’s vs. the Renegade/MC. The Renegade/MC feel like cement blocks vs. the Kayano X.
I agree with the Kayano recs. I am on my 5th pair and the current Xs are nice (the 9s were merely so so; the 8s were great).
They are just a tad heavy to me too and I only wear them for my long days (10+ miles). Most of my patients that I recommend (or “fellow” runners) the Kayano too, I have them run in their orthotics at first, then gradually run without their orthotic as the Kayano is usually plenty stable. If not, go back to both. I use Mizunos (can’t remember *what *wave model) for my shorter (3-6 mile) tempo runs or treadmill work (yuk) and race in Asics DS or the older Nike Flashes if I can find some.
In case you are interested…I have found the Empire is great if you keep the orthotics. For myself the straight last fits the orthotic without the bulk of the Kayano. I was really amzed at the amount of cushioning and the durabilty of the Aesics Empires. I would agree with you though…If I got rid of mt orthotics I would go with the Kayano’s…Just love the Empires. Kenney
Very similar experience to yours…I’m on my 5th-6th pair of Kayanos. Thought the 8 was better than the 9, too. Currently in the X, and will buy another pair when I see a good deal on them…Art’s reported C-note price is about as good as I’ve seen on the X so far.
Orthotics should not be put in a motion control shoe. It corrects the foot to a more neutral position. A motion control shoe would cause over correction with an ortotic. Except in extremely rare cases orthotic users are put in a cushioned (neutral) shoe. Examples are the ASICS Landreth and New Balance 1023. Cushioned, stability and motion control shoes control pronation differently. You should not mix wearning wearing different types (cusioned, stability, mc) of shoes for running. Overcorrection can cause injuries. You can put on a shoe with less stability for racing purposes.
I don’t know about that Larry, I agree that you should probably step down the motion control degree of the shoe when inserting orthotics but for a lot of people the motion control problems and foot nuetrality are not totally related. Granted, if the arch collapsing is causing the excess pronation and the orthotic keeps the arch rigid and aligns the foot you can probably stick orthotic wearing runner in a nuetral shoe. But for those guys who run knock kneed or just have really wierd foot strikes AND flexible arches sometimes even with an orthotic they overpronate like crazy. And then you’ve got those people who were just never meant to have a nuetral foot strike… I had one coach in our shop trying to get me to put this girl into a more and more controlling shoe complete with orthotics, basically every pronation arresting feature you could think of. She toed off with her feet at around a 45 degree angle facing out. Kind of duck footed I guess. I finally just told him that I wouldn’t do it. She toes off in the wrong direction and without rolling inwards at toeoff her feet would be heading in opposite directions instead of straight ahead. She seriosly needed to work on her biomechanics first.
Of course for me, my feet are with you. Mild stability wo orthotics and nuetral with.
Kayano and an Orthodic doesn’t make much sense. I’d be concerned with developing more foot/leg issues with that combination. A good orthodic should enable runners to go with cushion shoes without the need for stablility enhancements.
I’ve tried running with Kayanos and my orthodics at first and have since shelled the Kayanos into the shoe pile in the basement.
The Brooks Glycerin 2 seems to be a nice fit for my orthodics.
That is a good combo: Brooks Glycerin and a rigid, functional orthotic (no D). I recommend and fit many patient into that. However, a lot of runners do not like running in orthotics, no matter what their biomechanical malady. Then, I really like the Kayano (this is me - I wear orthotics throughout the day at work, during surgery, etc., but not when I run). You CAN use both, but this is highly unusual. The main “stability” factory of the Kayano is the dual density out/midsole where the medial “foam” is much firmer than the lateral foam, thereby deccerlerating the rate of pronation and enhancing stability of the rearfoot at heel strike. Then comes the midfoot stance phase and the plastic thingy you see on the bottom of the shoe (very common on most shoes). Lastly, some people need *their *control at toe off if the forefoot does not re-supinate and lock at the midtarsal joint. Most shoe do nothing to accomplish this and the ones that do don’t feel that great when trying them on (hence the shoe manufacturers don’t make many of these mods). Here is where an orthotic can be most helpful (with an extrinsic forefoot post that is).
I tried those once(Kayano IX) after reading a review that praised them, and they were good shoes, but very heavy(~13.5 oz). I went back and talked to my shoe guy, and he told me that the Kayano’s are for ‘big’ guys. When I asked how big, he said that bigger than me, like maybe 200 pounds+. So if you’re smaller than that, they may be more shoe than you need.
After that, I started using the NB 765 for training, and recently started using the NB 900’s for racing and some training. At under 10 oz, the 900’s are a pretty sick shoe that you can really move in. They have a little bit of stability, but are mostly a cushioned performance trainer.
I’m not dissing the Kayano, it’s a great show for big runners who need a lot of cushioning. But in my case, I believed the hype and bought the wrong shoe for me.
I was also quite a bit slower in the Kayano’s than in the shoes I had been using.
I agree with you too…these shoes are nice. I had a sore ankle for a long time and couldn’t get rid of the pain. started running in these shoes and the smooth motion that i was able to get the pain went away. they are worth the over priced $150. I guess when you want good things you have to pay for it.
This is probably a little too much shoe for me. I weigh about 155. I am old, move like a brick and break like fine china though, so I am going to stay with them for training. I sure do like lightweight shoes though.
I personally have swung between the Kayano and DS Trainer for the past 8 years.
The Kayano rocks - no doubt about it - and if they are heavy - and feel like they slow you down - that is more than compensated for by the fact that they provide good stability and cushioning - meaning I can run farther with less pain.
For the lighter runner - the Asics DS Trainer is agreat shoe and one which I race in also.
