Forums >Gears and Wears>Kinvaras for the winter
The winter's not far away. In the last months I became a Saucony Kinvara addict and I would like to find shoes that would be as similar to Kinvara 3 as possible, but a bit more adapted to the conditions of the Russian winter. To be precise, let's say, for the temperatures from -5°C to -18-20°C (Google says it's around +20F to -5F). I almost never run when it's colder. Also, they should be less slippery on packed snow then Kinvaras. Any ideas? What about Peregrines?
Thanks.
Bruno
Hey Dimitri
I believe Saucony makes a trail version of the Kinvaras that might be just what you are looking for.
Thank you, Bruno, I've read about them and I had an impression that the TR modification is more like a different shoe. For example, iRunFar wrote: "Really the only features of the TR shared by the Kinvara is weight and heel drop. Every other aspect, especially the fit, is drastically different."
In the comments to the review, people mentioned Peregrines as an alternative.
I have, and quite like, a pair of Peregrine 3s. They feel very much like a road shoe but with a pretty aggressive tread. I also have a pair of Kinvaras (road, not trail) that I like a lot. The Peregrines don't have that minimal slipper feeling that the Kinvaras do, but I'd grab them every time over the Kinvaras when heading out to run in cold/snowy conditions.
A list of my PRs in a misguided attempt to impress people that do not care.
I have, and quite like, a pair of Peregrine 3s.....
I thought you were now being paid to wear the Kinvara 4s? Inside the sneaker they have a picture of a bunny and are referred to as the GC1s Kinvara 4s.
I'm still waiting for the endorsement checks to start rolling in now that I've turned pro.
Last year, I've run all Winter (in Canada) in 2 different shoes: kinvara 3 and merrell mix master. Mix master has a more traction, but both were doing fine on packed snow. I believe the older mix master model (the one I used) can still be found for quite cheap online (bought 2 pairs last june to use this Winter )
For the cold, I wore woollen ski socks and was toasty in -30 weather. The worst was days with inches of melted snow.
To me it depends on what your looking to get out of the shoe performance wise. If you want the feel of the kinvaras but with better traction, and possibly more material for the colder temps, I would consider purchasing a pair of crampons or Yak trax which can fit over your shoe, and then either layer up with socks or bump up to some nice wool socks. Whatever you decide on, just remember to throw some screws in your iced tea and go run.
I stud my old Kinvaras and use them throughout the winter. They work great. Easy and cheap. Use a handful of strategically placed #6 or #8 3/8" hex head sheet metal screws. Here's a link with instructions: http://www.gobroncobilly.com/?p=40
Chasing the bus
I found studding was absolutely necessary for ice, but didn't do much for loose or even packed snow. But unless your ready to run in snowshoes with AKtrail (which I'm not), ya gotta start somewhere, and screwed trail shoes seemed a good compromise. My feet never got cold at all last winter, even in single layer socks, down to -20F, as long as I was running.
“You're either on the bus or off the bus.” ― Tom Wolfe, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
Last winter, I tried running with ice cleats, but they felt a bit awkward. I couldn't get used to them. As for plain Kinvaras, they seemed a bit too slippery. I have a bad habit of getting injured every December, when snow falls, and I used to blame poor traction for that.
Studs... I think I'll try them. Thanks for the detailed explanation. As for out of the box options, so far we have Peregrines and Merrell Mix Master. How about New Balance MT1010 or something? Do they feel like Kinvara in any way?