kinvaras ok every day? achilles woes...

They don't have any fancy support, but as far as cushioning, they have a good bit. If they are the only thing that doesn't hurt your achilles, wear them!

i wore them for my entire summer base training last year and then i was a heel striking, overpornator at the time as well. i was perfectly fine in them and absolutely loved them. if i had been running with the forefoot strike i use now then i'm sure i couldve gotten them into the 500+ range (got about 250-270 in them before my shins started to hurt; partly due to another reason but after running with a heelstrike for 200+ mile in them the shoes were dead anyways)

Are you an overpronator or just a pronator? If you overpronate, why not try the Saucony Mirage? Both of them are fine for everyday wear.

i am an overpronator, from what i have been told. however, i seem to do best in more neutral shoes, for some reason. basically, the thing that makes the kinvaras work with my achilles is the fact that the heel shell doesn't have any hard plastic in the structure, so it doesn't press/rub on the bursa. are there other shoes like that too?

blaznbison24 wrote:

Are you an overpronator or just a pronator? If you overpronate, why not try the Saucony Mirage? Both of them are fine for everyday wear.

Wore them every day for over a year, just now switched shoes (to a lighter model, matter of fact) but had absolutely no problems in them as an everyday trainer.

I'm not exactly sure what has caused your Achilles issues, but I can tell you a few things about the Kinvara.

The heel to forefoot ratio is about 3:2. Most traditional training shoes are closer to 2:1. This should encourage more of a mid-foot forefoot strike rather than heel striking. Most minimalists shoes on the market are doing this now.

I don't know if that is helping or hindering your Achilles. Minimalists will tell you it is helping, but you should decide for yourself.

Also, there is hardly any carbon rubber on the outsole. Because of that the shoes will wear quicker than other trainers. Nike has been doing this for a few years by not using any carbon rubber on the forefoot outsole, giving their shoes a very spongy feeling in the forefoot. The trade off is that the softer foam will wear more easily. I would say the life of the shoes is probably about 250 miles if you are running on harder surfaces.

FYI--I have worn the Kinvaras for over a year, mostly used for quicker training runs and some races.

thanks for the info, everyone. i guess what was concerning me was the possible increased risk of a sfx or something, because of increased impact, but this doesn't seem to be a real problem unless i overextend their running life...

as for my achilles, it's not really a problem with the tendon itself, per se, like, it doesn't "feel" tight, but i have developed bursitis on the lower outside part of it. it happened on my other foot before, so i cut the back out of my shoe, and that relieved the problem. i would do that again, but i don't have access to the necessary power tools right now (on vacation) so i was hoping i could just ride out the summer in the kinvaras.