The Shoe Review: Saucony Kinvara 14

Shoe Specs

Weight	7 oz / 200g
Stack/Offset	31mm / 27 mm
Drop	4 mm
Upper material	synthetic breathable mesh
Sole	PWRRUN midsole, PWRRUN+ insole, outsole primarily exposed foam but with rubber on toe and lateral heel.
MRSP	$120.00
Current online price	$56.41 - $90.00
Recommended use	Daily trainer, tempo runs, speed

Intro

This marks the 14th version of Saucony's Kinvara, and it's my first experience with Saucony since the 2007 Grid Sinister, which interestingly had a full-length plastic plate in the midsole for propulsion. Perhaps they were ahead of their time, but I digress. The Kinvara 14 has made my return to Saucony an easy choice. This update features an enhanced upper for better breathability and a slight increase in stack height with added PWRRUN foam, creating a cushioned yet responsive ride. After running the Chicago marathon in Altra Torin 6s, I sought a lighter, more responsive shoe with a slight heel-to-toe drop to soothe an irritated Achilles tendon. The Kinvara 14 met all these criteria, and after logging 400 miles, I can confidently say it's now one of my favorite shoes.

Fit

The Kinvara 14 features a minimally redesigned upper with a snug lacing system that hugs the foot well. The heel cup is more rigid, providing stability and preventing heel slippage. The PWRRUN+ sock liner offers additional support, molding to your foot after a run or two. The shoe is true to size with a roomy toe box, avoiding any toe rubbing or hot spots.

Cushioning

The Kinvara 14 includes an EVA (PWRRUN) midsole and a cushioned PU (PWRRUN+) insole for a softer, more responsive feel. Despite a 3mm foam increase from the Kinvara 13 to the 14, the weight of the 14 is slightly lower, resulting in a fast and slightly more bouncy shoe.

Responsiveness

The shoe also features a new rocker geometry that aids in a forward foot roll, making it quite responsive to speed changes. While other cushioned shoes may fall flat with speed changes, the Kinvara 14's minimal style and low weight maintain a high foot turnover rate with its bouncy responsiveness.

Breathability

The upper has been redesigned with a highly breathable synthetic fiber mesh, keeping your feet cool during faster tempo runs.

Durability

After running about 400 miles in these, I found the durability to be quite good. The upper may seem flimsy, and a misstep might risk tearing the mesh, yet I've taken many missteps without any tears. In other shoes, repetitive bending of the mesh caused fabric tears, so one might expect the Kinvara's minimal mesh to have durability issues, but after 400 miles, there are no tears. The outsole is mainly exposed EVA, which one might expect to break down quickly, but it hasn't shown significant degradation.

Traction

Designed as a road shoe, the Kinvara 14 performs well on wet or dry concrete or asphalt but struggles with ice and snow. While I haven't run many trails in these shoes, I noticed less traction on grass, unsurprisingly.

Drop

A significant feature of the Kinvara 14 is its 4mm drop, much more minimal compared to other daily trainers and similar to a racing flat. However, zero drop can sometimes cause Achilles strain, and a 4-8 mm drop can provide relief for this tendon. After marathon season, this shoe helped ease me back into daily mileage despite some protesting Achilles tendons.

Style Points

In the past, I've avoided bulky trainers and even super shoes due to their blocky appearance. When I think of a fast shoe, a racing flat comes to mind. The Kinvara fits squarely between these two types of running shoes, and with various colors and holiday variations, I feel I could wear them on race day to catch attention while sprinting by, or blend in with a crowd and wear them casually.

Recommended use

These shoes are excellent for speed work and tempo runs and could serve as daily trainers as long as you keep the distance moderate. For longer distances, they lack the cushioning to protect your feet from the impact. I found that anything over 10 miles typically resulted in more aches and pains the next day and a slightly longer recovery time.

Conclusion

The Kinvara 14 is a fantastic mid-distance shoe that fits well, is responsive, and excels in speed and tempo work. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride and have already picked up another pair of 14s, with plans to get the 15s when they become available. Choose the Kinvara 14s if you're looking for a lightweight trainer for speed work and tempo runs, or for daily training if you intend to keep your distance below 10 miles.