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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Saucony Kinvara 7 8 Review}}The Saucony Kinvara an extremely popular lightweight running shoe. Compared with a traditional shoe it sheds many latest version of the pointless excesses Kinvara is quite different to its predecessor, even though it has not been truly optimizedlooks almost identical. This makes The eighth iteration is far more softly cushioned, and I would classify it as a great maximalist shoe. While it's midsole is nowhere near as tall as the Hoka Bondi, which is half way house for runners as thick again, I found the Kinvara to transition between a traditional be more softly cushioned. I've really enjoyed running shoe and something closer to an ideal. If you get on well with in the Kinvara you could continue your journey in one of three directions:* You could head towards a 8, far more minimalist or even barefoot style than any of runningits predecessors, perhaps trying but I feel for the [[Saucony Endorphin]] and then many fans of the [[Merrell Trail Glove]]Kinvara line who may be looking for a more direct replacement. * If you want more cushioning, then there is liked the [[Hoka Shoe Review| Hoka RangeSaucony Kinvara 7]], including then you may want to check out the awesome [[Hoka CliftonTopo ST-2]] that provides massive cushioning in a shoe that weighs barely more than the Kinvara.* If you find the Kinvara is giving you for a good level of cushioning, then consider something lighter weight like the [[New Balance RC5000v2]] or [[Asics Gel Hyper Speed]]successor. Of course you could continue with I've rated the Kinvara ;}Compared with its predecessor8 as "Highly Recommended", and it's a strong competitor to the outstanding [[Saucony Kinvara 6| Kinvara 6Hoka Clifton]], version 7 is a little lighter, a little firmer, and a little more drop, but the changes are relatively modest. Version 7 is actually a little closer to the [[Saucony Kinvara 5| Kinvara 5Altra Escalante]] , which is probably no bad thingexalted company. The Kinvara is one of my top picks for runners looking to transition to a better running shoe from something more traditional, and is a worthy shoe in its own right, so I've rated it as "The Best of the Best." {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
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=Characteristics=
* {{H:WhyBuycushioning}}. The eighth incarnation of the Kinvara will appeal to runners looking for something that's quite close to a traditional running shoe rather is far more softly cushioned than either a true minimalist shoeits predecessors, an optimally cushioned shoe, or a [[Maximalist]] shoe. and I'd recommend considering say it's more softly cushioned than the [[Hoka CliftonBondi]]. In fact, the Kinvara is now nipping at the heels of the awesome [[New Balance RC5000v2Hoka Clifton]]. The Kinvara 8 offers slightly less cushioning than the Hoka Clifton for slightly less weight, or [[Asics Gel Hyper Speed]] as better shoes, but they are also further from and comes a remarkably close to the traditional design. * {{H:cushioning}}-to-weight ratio of the Clifton. The I think that this is the Kinvara is softly cushioned actually a little more springy and comfortable, though itresponsive than the Clifton something that's not as soft as a [[Maximalist]] remarkable achievement in a shoe like this cushioned. The Kinvara has a thin layer of TPU foam (EVERUN) at the top of the [[Hoka Clifton]]. In factmidsole, it offers almost exactly but I haven't put on enough miles to know if this will help with the same cushioning as the [[New Balance RC5000v2]] while weighing roughly twice as muchshoes of longevity or not. * {{H:drop}}. The Kinvara has 4mm of drop, which is slightly more than I think is a good compromise for somebody transitioning from a traditionalideal, high-heeled shoe. In fact, if youbut shouldn're transitioning from t cause many people a shoe that has 10+mm of drop you may need to look for something in the 6-8mm range as part of your transitionproblem.* {{H:structure}}. This shoe uses single density two types of foam, which but these are not intended to control foot motion in the way that a Medial Post would do. Instead there is a layer of Saucony's "power grid" that's claimed to be 15% lighter and 30% more durable than TPU foam at the top over a thicker layer of standard EVAfoam. Of courseThis is intended to improve comfort, every manufacturer claims rather than interfere with your biomechanics. The only thing that I found that their phone it might be intrusive is better than the "standard" shape of the heel, which is sloped a little so take that it is higher on the inside (medial), which makes it a little bit like running on a camber. I got used to this with a huge pinch of saltpretty quickly, but I think it's suboptimal.
* {{H:flexibility}}. The Kinvara reasonably flexible, and perhaps more flexible than you might expect from its thickness. However, don't go expecting the kind of flexibility you get in a minimalist shoe.
* {{H:outsole}}. There is hard rubber covering only a few patches of the contact area. You can see these patches as the orange and green color patches on the underside of the shoe in the photographs above. This means that the Kinvara has quite a rather more bit of exposed midsole than I, but that'd like in a shoe of this s quite reasonable given its outstanding cushioning-to-weight and cushioningratio. * {{H:shape}}. The shoe is does not match the shape of the human foot, so it's worth considering [[Shoe Modifications| cutting open the toe box for comfort]]. The Kinvara is certainly not as bad as some shoes, but it's nothing like an Altra or a Topo. {{H:TryCuttingShoes}}<br/> [[File: Kinvara8 Upper (1).jpg|center|thumb|300px| A shot of the Kinvara 8, backlight to show breathability]]<br/>[[File:Kinvara8 Upper (2).jpg|center|thumb|300px|Again, a backlit shot of the Kinvara 8, this time from above. ]]* {{H:upper}}. The upper is seamless in the forefoot, with just and consists of a fine mesh inner liner and a few modest reinforcement overlays on the outsidemuch coarser meshed overlay/outer. There is a seem where they've added extra cushioning little bit of padding around the heel that's a little more noticeable than some other competitor shoesrear of the upper, and the ankle opening is generously padded. Sadly, Saucony have continued to add their "Pro-Lock", which is intended to create a tighter fit around the midfoot. I didn't find this made any differencewhile running, either positive or negative. The upper is inflexible and padded only around However, I did find it made the heelshoe slightly trickier to put on, with good padding around and slightly trickier to get the ankle openinglaced tension just right.
* {{H:tongue}}. The Kinvara has a sock style tongue that is attached to either side of the upper. I found that this worked remarkably well, as it felt like a conventional tongue that stayed in place perfectly. The tongue has thick, soft padding.
* {{H:lacing}}. The flat laces work well and remained tied. There is some noticeable elasticity in the laces, which I think adds nicely to the comfort of the shoe. This is not the bungee style laces, but a traditional lace with just a tiny bit of stretch, something that I find is a nice addition.* {{H:heelcounter}}. The [[Heel Counter]] is quite firm and pronounced, but fairly small. It has relatively hard heel counter that remarkably hard edges, but I did not find any problems with it doesn't come up overly high, and the padding that's between the edges digging inheel counter and your foot pretty much negates it.{{FastBlr|saucony/kinvara-6-952|952|Saucony Kinvara 7}}{{ShoeGraphs8}}
=A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes=
{{:Shoes-include}}