Saucony ProGrid Kinvara
	Full Name: Saucony ProGrid Kinvara
	Category: Cushioning
	Weight: 7.9 oz. (225 gr.)
	Suggested Price: 90$
	Recommended For: Neutral runners.

• Saucony ProGrid Kinvara General Info:

New introduction for 2010, the Kinvara is undoubtly the most talked about running shoe at the moment. With “less is more” in mind, Saucony launched this extremely lightweight trainer as a lean, clean and essential everyday trainer for the neutral running crowd. Winning Runner’s World Best Debut 2010 surely contributed to Kinvara’s hype, but the shoe truly is a game-changer, especially at this price.

The sole unit of the Kinvara is what differentiates it most from most neutral trainer (we call “trainer” a shoe on which you put the big bulk of your mileage as opposed to a “racer”, a shoe that is lighter and less supportive but is only supposed to be used on race days).

Kinvara Midsole - Lateral View

As you can see in the picture above, there is very little difference between the thickness in the heel vs the thickness in the forefoot – only 4mm. The aim is to bring your feet closer to the ground and stimulate you to hit the ground more with the midfoot/forefoot rather than the heel.

The midsole is built with EVA+, to provide the cushioning on the impact. Still the Progrid Kinvara uses a small ProGrid unit in the heel. Progrid is Saucony’s trademark cushioning, it’s a “net” of plastic material that absorbs the shock and propagates it smoothly across the surface.

Kinvara - Outsole

On the outsole (the part of the shoe in contact with the ground) we can see another innovation: there is almost no rubber. The rubber has been placed only in a few strategical places: the heel, the toe and on some arrow shaped lugs (directly taken from the bottom of the Saucony Jazz, a nice retro touch). This saves a great amount of weight on the shoe overall. The downside is that rubber provides traction and helps the shoe survive a long mileage. The Kinvara could last you less than your normal running shoes.

• Saucony ProGrid Kinvara Upper:

The upper of the Kinvara is as well executed as the sole unit. Functionally, it is composed of three different layers: a net-like layer of open mesh, wrapped in a skeleton layer with the supportive overlays (this layer grabs your foot and keeps it connected to the midsole) and contained into a semi-transparent outer layer. The whole construction is seamless and this, together with the overall lightness of the shoes makes the Kinvara feel like a sock!

To add to the functional aspects of the upper, the design is also both minimalistic (the use of the three layers avoids an overcrowded look) and aesthetically beautiful. Available in 9 great gradient colours, this is the first Saucony training shoe that doesn’t look boring!

• Saucony ProGrid Kinvara Opinion:

We tried the Kinvara and we loved it, and we are sure it will have a big impact on the market. The trend in running shoes seems to be “minimalistic” “lightweight” “barefoot” “midfoot/forefoot strike”. The Kinvara arrives at the right moment with the right shoe.
We were amazed by the lightweight feeling (merely one ounce heavier than your average racing shoe) and great running feeling. The upper is seamless, snug and light; the sole feels fast and it is somehow supportive – probably given the pretty wide base.

And the sweetest part… the price. 90$ is an extremely competitive price for a shoe so well executed. We might have reserves on the shoes’ durability (but miles – and readers – will tell!) but for 90$ we can really see lots of runners give this shoe a try. And we believe that once tried… many will stick to it!

We leave you with Kinvara’s promotional video from Saucony so you can have a better look at this shoe.

Let us know what you think of this shoe in the comments!

• Saucony ProGrid Kinvara Price Comparison: