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.

Review: Simple Hydration Bottle

I was given a Simple Hydration water bottle to test out.  It has a simple little design that allows the water bottle to slide into the back of your shorts and "hook" onto your waistband.  The bottle is even contoured so that it lies flat against your lower back.  Check out the video:

Seemed like an interesting product, so I agreed to give it a try.  I initially filled the bottle with water and did  an easy jog around down the street.  I immediately felt the bottle bouncing up and down.  It wasn't terrible, but definitely noticeable.  I then went out on a 4 mile run.  When I returned, I tested the bottle in several ways.  I wanted to try the bottle out when I was sweaty to see if it would increase the amount of bouncing.  My hypothesis was correct, as the bottle bounced even more with sweat essentially creating lubricant between the bottle and the skin.

Next, I tried the bottle slid through a SPIbelt, as shown in the video.  While it didn't bounce quite as much, it was still quite noticeable.  Lastly, I looped the bottle through the SPIbelt and into the back of my shorts.  This provided the most stability, almost neutralizing the bounce at a slower pace.  However, regardless of how the bottle was worn, at a fast pace, the bottle bounced a lot.  This is not a product that I could ever use while doing a race.

I did another round of tests with the bottle 3/4 and 1/2 full.  As you would expect, bouncing was reduced as the volume of water decreased, but unless it was through the SPIbelt and into the shorts, the bottle bounce enough to be noticeable.

One other thing I noticed was the seam on the water bottle.  The seam wasn't smooth at all, which I'd imagine would chafe the hell out of you on a longer run.  I didn't test this hypothesis (and won't), because I just can't see myself being able to cope with the bouncing for that many miles.  The seam on the bottle really should be on the sides, but that would likely require new molds and/or a new process for making the bottle.  Right now, they produce two pieces that are mirrors of each other and fuse them together.  Perhaps they can spend a little more time smoothing those seams down.

One last thing that comes to mind with this product is water temperature.  The bottle is sitting on your back, so the water is going to be quite warm when you drink it, although it might be a positive if you live in the north and you are running in the winter.  That does bring up one test I did not do: tucking this bottle into running tights.  Those might fit tight enough to keep it in place.

At $20 and a whole list of negatives, I'd pass on this one.  I imagine if you are back-of-the-pack runner, this product might work for you, but you'll probably need to coat it in a thick layer of body glide.