MEET THE TEST TEAM
OUR RATINGS
90+ %
BUY NOW
A GENUINE
CLASS LEADER
80-89 %
IMPRESSIVE
ONE OF THE BEST
YOU CAN BUY
70-79 %
GOOD
A DECENT
PERFORMER
50-69 %
AVERAGE
IT’LL DO THE JOB
WELL ENOUGH
0-49 %
POOR
SIMPLY PUT, DON’T BOTHER!
HELEN WEBSTER
220’s editor is also a qualifiedopen-water swimming coach.
ROB SLADE
220’s content editor andresident adventure seeker.
MATT BAIRD
Has spent years testing tri kit and accessories for 220.
JACK SEXTY
A strong agegrouper focusing on top-end gains.
JAMES WITTS
He’s a published author writing about sports science.
SAUCONY KINVARA PRO
£200
To me, the Kinvara Pro feels like a strange offering. It’s a carbon-plated trainer with a stack height of 42mm, which means it can’t be used in competition, if you had wanted to. It’s also £200, which is a hefty stack of money to pay for a shoe you can’t use for racing.
So what’s the performance like? Well, the combination of a threequarter-length carbon plate and PWRRUN PB superfoam is slated to deliver decent levels of rebound and a gentle roll. In fact, Saucony likened the latter to a propeller. My experience was somewhat different, though, and I didn’t quite get the level of propulsion I was hoping for. That said, it is more noticeable when picking up the pace in tempo sessions, or when switching my gait so I’m landing on my heel first.
As with most carbon-plated shoes, there’s also a certain amount of stiffness and firmness here, with the midsole foam not quite offering me the levels of
