Anyone wear these? I just won a pair at a raffle at my local running store and I’m just looking for people’s opinions on them.
Are they size 10.5? If so, they suck and I will take them off your hands. 
Sorry. They are size 11. Is it just the 10.5s that suck or the shoe in general haha?
Just the 10.5s 
I have no real opinion of them, literally just started with them.
I love mine. Just started in my second pair. I use them for speed work and racing.
For logging miles, the Kinvaras beat me up pretty good. For me, it’s almost like training in a racing flat. I’m not a lightweight (5’9 165), but if I were, I suspect it would be easier. I use them for speedwork and tempo runs. My buddy, who is a similar size/weight as me runs up to 70 miles a week in them, no problem.
Anyone wear these? I just won a pair at a raffle at my local running store and I’m just looking for people’s opinions on them.
I would just use the search function and look for “kinvara”. Lots of people use them and there have been many threads. I’ve been running in them for going on almost 2 years now.
I have fallen in love with my Kinvaras. I also run in brooks adrenaline, which are a stability shoe, but I have no problem running in the neutral Kinvara’s. I was careful to slowly build up my miles in them, but now I regularly run 14 miles with no issues. I am not a pro-minimalist shoe person, but just love how fast my Kinvara’s feel.
For logging miles, the Kinvaras beat me up pretty good. For me, it’s almost like training in a racing flat. I’m not a lightweight (5’9 165), but if I were, I suspect it would be easier. I use them for speedwork and tempo runs. My buddy, who is a similar size/weight as me runs up to 70 miles a week in them, no problem.
You might be my long lost twin!
I started wearing Kinvaras about 1 year ago. I really love the way they feel and gradually integrated them into my weekly mileage. (I’ve always been a fairly neutral/mid-food runner). Once I was doing the majority of my running in them, I found that my achilles were staying very tender (which seemed to be directly related to the shoes) and I eventually experienced a severe calf strain (which may have been more a result of my training at the time - plenty of speed work and hill repeats).
So this year I will continue to use the Kinvaras for quality workouts & races, but will stick with my Asics 21xx for bulk mileage. I agree with the correlation with weight. I think that if I could get back to sub-150 that I might have less lower leg issues with them.
I’m going on my third pair of K2’s and love them. I do all my run training on them. 5’6" 177 and run between 30 and 40 miles a week. highly suggest building up the distance over time. Went to my running store and they had me try another shoe (can’t remember which) but the material on top of the shoe felt constrictive.
I wear them for everything except 10k races as below, then I wear the A4.
I race and train in them. 50+ mpw. 4 mile recovery to 18 mile long run.
I find I have to replace them more often than usual.
I like the pair that I have.
Kinvaras are decent shoes. I’ve worn them as short as a 10k and as long as a marathon. Regardless of your running style and shoe preference, I’d strongly suggest working them into your rotation slowly. Even people that prefer low-drop shoes can have calf/achilles issues because the Kinvara is such a plush ride. If you have particularly strong feet and lower legs, then it may be too much shoe for speed work. I stick with them on my easier days.
I had a pair that I used to train for IMWI '11 and they were wonderful. No lower-leg issues as suggested previously, but I did find that once I needed a new pair, I really needed a new pair! I was out for 90+ min runs in these with no problems for IM training, but then when I hit about 350-400mi on these, I started to get shin, knee, and foot problems. I assume it is because they are so lightweight that once that cushioning they do provide breaks down, there isn’t much else between you and the road.
I tend not to be loyal to shoes as I usually just buy what is on sale/cheapest, but I would definitely buy another pair of these (if I got a good deal on them)
Been in their predecessor and now the 2 for a little over a year, and I do all my training in them. Love the shoes, and they don’t leave me feeling beat up at all (I’m 5’11, 170). About the only thing that I notice is I tend to get arch rubs on the right foot on longer runs (13+ miles).
John
You won kinvara’s and haven’t put them on yet? What were you thinking? Although the 3 is due out soon, the kinvara 2 has been a great training/sometimes racing shoe for me.
Love mine. I’ve been through several pairs since I started wearing the Kinvara around Christmas '10. I cant say enough good stuff about them. I have been through three 26.2s and one 140.6 in them. I get right around 350 miles out of them before I start feeling beat up after runs and open up a new pair.
I’ve been using them for a while and really like them. As some of the others have said, I stick to using them for speed work and races <= 10k.
If you are looking for a shoe that feels similar to the Kinvara but provides a bit more cushion… try the saucony mirage. Same heel/toe drop but with about 1.5 oz. more cushioning built into the shoe. I can run in those all day. And by all day I mean a couple hours.
I’ve been using them for a while and really like them. As some of the others have said, I stick to using them for speed work and races <= 10k.
If you are looking for a shoe that feels similar to the Kinvara but provides a bit more cushion… try the saucony mirage. Same heel/toe drop but with about 1.5 oz. more cushioning built into the shoe. I can run in those all day. And by all day I mean a couple hours.
Love my saucony mirage!!! Should I use Kinvara for race days? Im new at this so I don’t know a thing about shoes. I started off with brooks adrenaline because it was recommended for my step but I got to a point where they became painful. Graduated to the Mirage and have no issues. Compared to the BrooKs Adr, they are much lighter and so my other question is: do I train using a heavier shoe?
I had a pair that I used to train for IMWI '11 and they were wonderful. No lower-leg issues as suggested previously, but I did find that once I needed a new pair, I really needed a new pair! I was out for 90+ min runs in these with no problems for IM training, but then when I hit about 350-400mi on these, I started to get shin, knee, and foot problems. I assume it is because they are so lightweight that once that cushioning they do provide breaks down, there isn’t much else between you and the road.
I really like my K2’s. Used the originals and liked those too. (I’m 5’9, 163 lb.) I used them all last season for 5k’s, 1/2 marathon, sprints and Oly tris, and a half IM.
I also get about 300 - 350 miles on a pair and then notice “issues”. Fortunately, they cost less than other shoes I’ve used so it works out ok on the cost.
I am currently training for AR50, so I’m going around 50 mpw. But about 20 of those are on trails with the Kinvara Peregrine (built on the same last as the Kinvara).
These shoes force/encourage me to stay focused on my form (i.e., landing on the ball of my foot or mid-foot). I’m 49, so I have less padding under that region than I used to have. The Kinvaras have a bit more padding in that area than other minimal types of shoes, so I’m usually a happy guy even after some long runs.