Saucony Kinvara 10 Running Shoe Review

Josh weighs up the pros and cons of the Saucony Kinvara 10 running shoe - a breathable tempo/interval training style of running shoe engineered for race day and speed workouts.

This neutral running shoe has a strong following globally and within Australia, but Saucony have made a few unique design decisions that are important to consider when choosing whether it's the right buy for you.

In its popular 10th edition, Saucony have prioritised an ultra-lightweight construction, featuring a 4mm offset and stripping back the weight of the outsole to give road runners a fast and lively feel.

A responsive EVERUN topsole and EVA+ midsole create a plusher ride than some competitors for smooth sailing over the pavement.

Check out the full review with transcript below.

Hi guys, Josh from Sportitude here and it’s shoe review time. Today we’re going to be doing it on the Saucony Kinvara 10.

I happen to be holding the men’s in front of me. I don’t have a women’s sample, but all the features roll over to the ladies’ quite nicely as well.

It’s a pretty exciting shoe and I do like this shoe. I’ve always liked the Kinvara and the history of the Kinvara. Version 10 is no different. Without further ado let’s get stuck in.

Outsole

With all my shoe reviews what we like to do is talk about things from the ground then work our way up. For me there is not a lot to talk about regarding the outsole because there is literally nothing there.

What we have is a tiny piece of rubber on that lateral side of the heel and all exposed EVA as you come through to that toe-off point.

It’s interesting. I mean that because what we find with the majority of lighter weight or tempo style shoes is you want to protect the midsole as much as you possibly can.

Saucony obviously sat there and said, well if we layer this with rubber, it’s going to add to the weight of the shoe and if we add to the weight of the shoe we might loose a few of those runners that like to feel nice, light and soft.

I kind of agree with the concept and the direction they’re going in. However, I look at this shoe and go, the majority of the runners that will use this potentially might be hitting more midfoot or forefoot.

It’s a light 4mm offset. When we’ve got rubber back here, it’s probably not going to be utilised that much at all. Maybe for a heel striker who can tolerate a 4mm drop, the Kinvara is for you.

But for the midfoot and forefoot runner that is striking through this region there’s nothing there that is going to protect the EVA+ or the EVERUN cushioning system. It’s exposed EVA.

That’s been my one downfall of the Kinvara 10 of late, the durability of this specific shoe. I shouldn’t say Kinvara 10, I'll use the Kinvara 9 because I wore them last year, wore them well and loved them.

They had a little more rubber through the forefoot marginally, but the Kinvara 10 is exposing quite a fair bit of that midsole.

I'll compare it quickly to the Asics DynaFlyte 3, which is this shoe here. They're sort of targeting the same runner – a neutral tempo/interval running style shoe.

You can see what Asics have done. Basically, they've protected the asset with a full ground contact outsole. That’s going to give the shoe extra miles, it’s going to protect that compression rate of the midsole.

However, Saucony haven’t done that but it is lighter. If you’re happy to sacrifice some miles for a lighter shoe, bring it.

Midsole

As we come through the midsole as I’ve touched on, there's EVERUN technology. It’s a 4mm offset, nice and low profile. It’s a very light shoe.

When you put this shoe on in comparison to the DynaFlyte 3, it does feel softer underneath. There's no surprise there, it is a slightly squishy feel which is really nice on the foot. I would use this shoe for my racing if it wasn’t for the exposed EVA.

I need to be honest. I have done a review previously where I talked about what shoes I’m currently using and the DynaFlyte is my race day shoe because it is a slightly more stable shoe for me. The Saucony is almost there, but it’s certainly a very comfortable shoe.

Upper

As we come through to the upper, what we’ve found with this specific shoe is they've kept some structural integrity and I’ve liked what they’ve done in around the heel.

They’ve got the internal heel counter which is nice and stable, a very important factor for someone that is running at speeds and the load they're going to be running in the Kinvara.

As we come through onto the inside on the collar, they’ve got these heel pods, for want of a better term. You have these little pads that sit on the medial and lateral side.

When you put your foot in there it squeezes in and around the back of your Achilles nicely. It's not restricting, just comfy in and around the Achilles and calcaneal position. It is a nice snug fit.

Forefoot stability is on play in the upper with this shoe. There is an additional bit of support in and around the top through the actual overlays that they’ve used in this shoe.

In comparison to the Kinvara 9, they had almost like a navicular strap which sat underneath the upper which connected the tongue to the midsole both medial and lateral side.

I personally like that feature. However, it did cause some restriction for some runners out there and obviously enough for Saucony to remove it from the Kinvara 10. I’m not saying it would be a deciding factor for me not to use the shoe, it’s just I liked it in the version 9.

Coming through the forefoot, it’s a nice, 'generous' toe box for this style of shoe. It's a little more generous than the previous version, the 9.

I love everything about this shoe regarding breathability. It is a fantastic lightweight fit and feel on top with plenty of ventilation.

That’s my quick overview of the Saucony Kinvara 10. It is a very popular shoe globally. It has a huge following in Australia as well. There’s a lot to like about this shoe.

A couple of things I was pretty critical of and I do apologise to Saucony about that. But you know what, we all need to be honest with each other and that’s what we do here at Sportitude.

If you have any questions or comments about this specific shoe or any other shoes on the market you’d like me to review, please contact our Sportitude shoe experts.

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Until next time, happy running. See you soon.