Tag Archives: Saucony Kinvara

Brooks Pure Flow 6

Leave a reply
Goodnight! What the hell were you thinking Brooks?? The Pure Flow 6 is easily as bad as the Saucony’s Kinvara 6. I gave my pair to the local clothes closet charity. Its like running in clogs! How do you go from making a wonderfully fantabulous shoe like the Ghost 10 to an absolute shoe wreck like the Pure Flow 6? It’s not that much of an exaggeration to say its like running in a wooden shoe. Its supposed to be “lightweight” and it comes in at 9.4 ounces. Yes I have a kitchen scale.
‘
So after I gave them away, tonight I ran in their competitor from New Balance, the Zante. I lucked out and found a pair of the originals in a shoe shop in Canada. They come in at 7.8 ounces. THAT’S lightweight. And soft…. you have incredible oneness with the ground, but really cushioned. I hadn’t appreciated them fully until I’d wasted my money on the Brooks. You can’t ask any more out of a shoe.
[Sunday 4/22 update. Did the Sunday morning “long run” in the Zante for an hour. With a gun to my head I couldn’t have done that in the Brooks. Feet felt even better after the run.]

Sunday morning with Kinvara 6!

Leave a reply

zzz-kinvara-6

Interesting shoe. The lightest I have at 7.9 ounces. Beautiful morning for a test run. Saucony Kinvara fits tight on your feet. Every previous shoe I’ve ever had fits like a 9.5 American. This tight fit loosens up some with each mile. The snug fit is appreciated on corners especially, no perceived risk of sliding off your shoe base. You corner well. You also have to figure its going to expand a little with wear, like breaking in a new pair of gloves.

I hadn’t planned on getting a new pair of running shoes before winter, but when I saw these prior year shoes (Kinvara 7’s out now) on Amazon for $72.61, I couldn’t pass them up. A lightweight shoe is what I’m into. A Hoka One One Clayton purchase is planned for the spring. When you flip the shoe over and press on the heel with your thumb, it is definitely a firmer heel then the Clifton, Zante or Ghost. But then, few people have an actual ‘heel strike’. The rest of the sole is quite soft.

I’ll be curious to see how they feel as the miles accumulate. Right now it is a nice shoe, but the Clifton’s actually feel rejuvenating for your feet as you run. The Kinvara’s let you run forever! They are lightweight shoes built for running lots of miles! I also think the edge might go to the NB Zante for comfort ahead of the Kinvara. Also the New Balance supports American manufacturing more, though I’m not sure to what degree. I’m still searching for the shoe that takes 40 years off your legs.

[I ended up either throwing these away or giving them away. Hard and tight is not what you want for a running shoe. Ginger Runner on YouTube as an example just raves about Kinvara, all I can think is there’s a financial incentive. I’d be embarrassed to make something so bad. In over 20 pairs of running shoes its the only one that couldn’t get the size right, not to mention their sole was so hard it was a traction hazard.]

zzz-saucony-logo1

Purchased from Salk Trading, 172 Trade Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40511

Hoka One One Clifton 3 !

Leave a reply

zzz-clifton-3

A recent trip to downtown Ames scored a pair of Clifton 3 running shoes from Brown’s Shoe Fit. The first thing I noticed handling this $140 shoe from Hoka One One was how light it was. Once I got it home and put it on the scale I found it came in at 9.2 ounces for a 9 1/2 size shoe. The same trip I had “bounced” a pair of Brooks and Asics in my hands and you could tell immediately how much heavier they were in your hands.

They were imbalanced heavy in the sole. The Clifton’s were “balanced” in the sense the uppers were the same felt weight as the soles. After the first mile they broke in and you got past the “clump, clump”, and each footfall brought a nice ‘cush’ feeling and spring in the step. During a Sunday morning run, they were as kind to old peoples feet as is possible in a shoe.

Now I want to get another Hoka, the Clayton to see how they compare. I’ve found out in my short time as a runner, that weight is a BIG factor in how enjoyable your running experience is. Another shoe I’ve heard a lot about is the Saucony Kinvara. Despite my sentimental attachment to the Brooks Ghost 6 that got me into running, they are just to heavy to justify. That’s one thing that bugs me about shoe reviews, don’t “describe” how heavy they feel, give us the ounces.

[5/29/17 update. I’ve noticed that after just 6 months of running in the Clifton 3, and those were over the less frequent running winter months, they are nearly worn out! I’ve noticed after looking at my New Balance that even though a year old, they are hardly worn! Same with the Nike. Hoka while making a very nice shoe, does not make a durable shoe. Its even less of a bargain when you consider their higher initial price. So no matter how nice a shoe they are, it’s ridiculous to pay $150 for a shoe you only get 6 months out of. The thin layer of rubber on the outsole they had to know wouldn’t last long. You are overpriced and under made Hoka.]