Saucony Kinvara 3 - Wear Test/Review

Last night, I was one of the lucky few to wear test the Saucony Kinvara 3s through an event with Rogue Running.  The event was a pub run sponsored by Saucony, who was very liberal with giving out free gear...mostly to encourage people like me to blog about it and give them good press.  Hey, it worked.

I got a vest, a running shirt, some arm warmers, a couple pair of sun glasses, and a set of beer mugs.  Not to mention, free beer.  We took to the streets decked out in bright orange Saucony gear and ran down Sixth Street to a few bars, spent some time at each bar, and then ran back to Rogue for some post-run refreshments.

I'll preface with the fact that I've not run in any of the previous version of the Kinvara, so this was a new experience for me.

We were all outfitted with all-black versions of the Kinvara 3.  This shoe drops on May 1, so it was interesting to get a sneak preview of the shoe.  Weighing in at 7.7 oz, the Kinvara definitely made me feel light on my feet.  The shoe had the classic Saucony fit: snug around the heel and roomy in the toe box.  I'm a fan of the Saucony last.  Theirs and Brooks both seem to work well for my foot shape.  The sizing seemed pretty true, as the shoe fit similarly to other brands in the same size.    My first instinct was that the shoe felt like a lighter, less cushioned version of the Cortana (read my review).  To me, it feels like what the DS Trainer was to the Nimbus--a lighter, sleeker version.  While not as soft as the Cortana, the Kinvara still had ample cushioning and felt like a smooth ride.  The flex grooves give the shoe a decent amount of flexibility, which was nice because I'm not a big fan of stiff shoes.  Some of the material in the upper felt similar to what the original Nike Lunaracer consisted of.  The heel-to-toe drop in the 3s remains the same as the 2s (and the Cortana) at 4mm.  Lastly, I noticed that the heel was beveled, which leads me to believe the shoe is a little more heel-striker friendly, although still geared toward mid-foot striking.

The price looks to be going up to $100, but the Kinvara is still a great value at that price point.  I'm not sure it would be my daily runner, but it would be a great shoe to do tempo and track work in.