Saucony Kinvara Pro review

Saucony continues to innovate with these chunky carbon-plated running shoes. Rob Slade puts the Kinvara Pro to the test to see if they’re worth the hype.

To me, the Kinvara Pro feels like a strange offering. It’s a carbon-plated trainer with a stack height of 42mm, which means it can’t be used in competition, if you had wanted to. It’s also £200, which is a hefty stack of money to pay for a shoe you can’t use for racing.

First impressions of the Saucony Kinvara Pro

So what’s the performance like? Well, the combination of a three-quarter-length carbon plate and PWRRUN PB superfoam is slated to deliver decent levels of rebound and a gentle roll.

In fact, Saucony likened the latter to a propeller. My experience was somewhat different, though, and I didn’t quite get the level of propulsion I was hoping for. That said, it is more noticeable when picking up the pace in tempo sessions, or when switching my gait so I’m landing on my heel first.

Fit and performance

As with most carbon-plated shoes, there’s also a certain amount of stiffness and firmness here, with the midsole foam not quite offering me the levels of cushioning I’d have liked.

Of course, that’s a personal preference to an extent, and if you’re looking for something akin to a supershoe for your training, while keeping your racing shoes fresh, you may well find the ride to your liking.

Meanwhile, fit proved true-to-size and I didn’t need to worry about going up a half size like I do in some other brands. There’s a good amount of space in the toe box, too.

The upper hugged my feet nicely and felt breathable, while the cushioned ankle collar and tongue offered high levels of comfort. The laces did their job well, but I did find them a little on the short side, though this wasn’t a major issue for me given my low volume feet.

Support and traction

That cushioned ankle and a solid heel cup help provide good support, which is essential given how tall this shoe is, and at no point did I feel unstable during my test runs.

The outsole also delivered good traction both on wet and dry pavement and doesn’t collect stones, but the treat pattern does make me wonder quite how durable this shoe will be over the long term.

Conclusion

So what’s the takeaway here? Well, if you’re on the hunt for a carbon-plated shoe for tempo runs or intervals, and don’t mind the stiffness associated with it, this could be a fair option for you.

That being said, there are other shoes on the market that can do the same job with slightly more comfort and for less money (such as the Hoka Mach X at £160).

Price:	£200 / $263
Sizes:	6-14 (men’s UK), 3-10 (women’s UK)
Stack height:	42mm
Drop:	8mm
Midsole:	Carbon-plate
Weight:	269g