Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Saucony Kinvara 2 PROBLEM

If you follow my blog you know I used the Kinvara's to run a bunch of road marathons in the last year and I actually finally retired them. They were a size 11 and fit really well...cushioned just fine for marathons and were LIGHT. 


Me loved them.


Recently bought a new pair, and of course you can't ever buy the same damn running shoe model twice in a row so I got Kinvara 2s .....also size 11.


They were a snug fit. Sigh. The hazards of internet buying. I should have returned them, but at the time I told myself that they would loosen up. 


That might work a bit for toe-box width but not for length. Yes, the toe-box was narrow but heck, my big toe was right at the end of the shoe. I ran in them for a while and finally I realized they were just not going to work. In fact I think the pressure of the shoe rubbing and pressing on the back my heel was making my AT much worse than it really was.


Finally, I broke down and bought a pair of size 11.5. I ran in them for the first time today and I'm finally back in a happy place.


I lined up all three shoes:
line 'em up


If you look below closely at the photo of the toe of the all three shoes (the heels are all lined up to each other), you'll see that the old Kinvara 1's in size 11 are about halfway between the 2's in 11.5 and the 2's in size 11.


L to R: kinvara 2 size 11, kinvara 1 size 11, kinvara 2 size 11.5
Saucony, WTF?  Almost a half size change from one model to the next? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? STOP IT


You owe me $80, Saucony. 



7 comments:

  1. Oh, dear... If a shoe fits, I usually stock up on that model. And, if it's a new model I have never worn before, I usually buy the first one from Road Runner Sports. That way, if we're not compatible, I can walk away from it w/o damage to my wallet.

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  2. I'd send this evidence to Saucony and try and get my money if I were you!

    That's really not professional of them.

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  3. @wogger: Yah. I should have bought ahead on the K1's. But I have the fantasy that a K2 should have the same basic last size. I checked out the reviews (runblogger one of my favs) and he noticed the toebox was narrower a bit but nothing about the length.

    @lynne: I'm pondering that very idea.

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  4. The Kinvara is my shoe of choice, too and I noticed when I ran the Denver 1/2 in my new 2s that my big toe on my right foot (the one that is slightly bigger) was so sore for days after. Definitely shorter than the 1s. So ridiculous. Let me know if you make any headway with Saucony. I met a guy who is a rep for them this past summer....I wish I could remember his name!

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  5. Exact same thing happened to me. Purchased the Kinvara 2 in the same size as the Kinvara 1 since I thought it was just a cosmetic update. But no go, had to go back to my original Kinvaras---Ive probably put 500-700 miles on them and still more comfortable than my JUST SLIGHTLY TOO SMALL kinvara 2s.

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  6. @anon: I'm afraid you'll have to bite the bullet and buy a pair a half-size up. Then they'll feel great!

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  7. I put 400 miles on my first pair of Kinvaras and almost 200 on my second. I was looking forward to the Kinvara 2s and bought a pair as soon as I saw them go on sale. I have 126 miles on the K2s and I think they fit just like the originals except the heel pad (where it touches the AT) seems a little taller than the originals. The size difference in your picture is significant. It looks like it is a full size smaller than it should be.

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