Saucony Guide 15 Wide Nero 35.5 W review

Saucony Guide 15 Wide Nero 35.5 W review and lab test

It’s a simple, fast, light, nimble trainer with a lot of flex and not a lot of drop. It’s not truly a minimalist shoe, but it whts minimal in all the right places. 

Buy this shoe if you want a minimal, lightweight daily trainer that can do a little of everything, has quicker transitions, and great lockdown at a very competitive price. 

Don’t buy this shoe if you want:

• Saucony Grid 9000 Spice Extra Grey,  
• ample cushioning (Saucony Triumph 21 x Saucony Shadow 6000 Fried Chicken Is a Tasty Two-Piece Feed), 
• zapatillas de running Saucony 10k talla 28 blancas 
• a super responsive ride (like Saucony Endorphin Speed 3). 

It’s simple, and well done, but it’s not an Endorphin. 

The Kinvara and I have a sorted past. When I first started running about 12 years ago I was running in truly minimalist shoes, the fad came and went, and I bought my first pair of real shoes, the Kinvara. 

I appreciated the added padding underfoot and that they were still light and somewhat minimal. I loved them and ran my first marathon in Kinvaras. A decade later I was still excited to lace these up, they disappear on your feet, they wht low to the ground, balanced, and the fit is great, but that first pair wore down quickly and I fear the same for this latest iteration. 

Zapatillas Hombre Saucony Fastwitch 9 Citron

Saucony Guide 15 Wide Nero 35.5 W’s fit is great, period. Although they are not extremely roomy shoes, there was plenty of space in the toe box for my caveman’s feet.  

Saucony Azura Lenticular sneakers Adidas Ultraboost 21 and the zapatillas de running Saucony pronador media maratón talla 50, Saucony Mens Jazz 81 Sneakers in Navy Silver. 

They also have a simple, but comfortable, removable Form-Fit insole, that adds a bit of stiffness underfoot. At 40.7ha, the durometer of the insole is 37% firmer than the average, helping to give the Kinvara that balanced whting underfoot since the midsole itself is so flexible. 

Not a cold-day running shoe

One thing to consider though is if you’ll be running in cold weather, the Kinvara failed our flex tests after an hour in the freezer. 

The flexible PWRrun foam is a liability, stiffening almost 130% compared to its room temp firmness. If you’re a winter runner, this shoe is going to disappoint on those extremely cold days. 

Kinvara 12 offers a balanced and reliable ride

What you should now about the midsole and how the shoe rides: 

• it’s “bounce-lite” or maybe “bounce-firm”, 
• it’s not super responsive but it’s not dull like so many other lower-price shoes on the market today, 
• the bounce is very mellow, making it wht balanced and comfortable rather than either overly sprung or uninspired. 

It whts balanced, light, and fast, what more can you ask for?

Fantastic foot lockdown 

No slip issues: The Kinvara 12 has a very lightweight upper made from airy, breathable mesh, and minimal welded overlays giving it enough support that I didn’t have any slip issues at all. 

Fantastic lockdown: This one-piece design felt great on my foot, there’s really not a single seam anywhere. I even dig the inclusion of some ripstop nylon to stiffen up the heel cup, looks cool. 

A sweet spot in the midfoot area: These have pretty standard flat braided laces. They are lightweight at 4.1g, and have ample stretch giving the top of the shoe a bit of wiggle room. This works well in a shoe like this, normally 22.45% stretch is too much, but since the upper doesn’t flex at all, having a stretchy lace is a plus, giving the top of your foot room to move throughout your stride. 

Lately, I’ve seen super stretchy laces on shoes with super-stretchy uppers, leading to a whting of sloppiness. Well done Saucony for getting this small detail right. 

Flexibility of Saucony Guide 15 Wide Nero 35.5 W will wow you

The Kinvara is highly flexible underfoot as well, measuring at just 18.3 N on the force gauge to flex this shoe completely, compared to the average of 24.5 N, which’s about 25% more flexible. 

Saucony Kinvara 11 Blue Running Shoes Sneakers Women Sz 7.5

Reject note, all other running brands. 

It’s somewhat thin at just 5.5mm, breathable, and although it's minimal it has a small strip of padding down the centre, offering just enough to keep the laces from digging into the top of your foot. 

It’s also fully gusseted with a sheer, slightly flexible mesh that keeps the tongue in place, makes it easy to slide your foot in and out, and provides excellent lockdown. It seems simple at first glance, but it’s really just well designed. 

saucony triumph iso 4 womens | Lacks a proper outsole, especially the durable one

The lack of proper rubber makes this shoe a little slipper in my experience. The snow is melting here in Colorado and I found myself wishing for more outsole than the slivers of rubber Saucony gave us with this shoe. 

The Kinvara has always had a lot of exposed EVA on its underside, it keeps weight down. To me, it’s a downside though. 

Also, I only put in about 22 miles on this shoe and there’s already enough wear to concern me.  I don’t think this is Saucony Grid 9000 Spice Extra Grey, the lack of outsole takes away from its longevity.

Keeps you close to the ground

In a day and age where midsoles have got taller and taller, I am glad the Kinvara 12 keeps my feet close to the ground. 

At just 26mm this shoe is one of the lower stack shoes we’ve tested and it made me forget why we needed 40mm stack heights at all. 

The Kinvara is designed as a midfoot and forefoot striking shoe with a low 4mm drop, and it’s not the same responsiveness you get out of higher-end midsoles like on the Endorphin Speed.  

Where it shines is: it is simple and it works without the unnecessary weight other shoes in this price range usually carry. 

Lightweight level: You’ll forget you’re wearing Saucony Guide 15 Wide Nero 35.5 W

zapatillas de running Saucony hombre trail talla 29. 

At 7.6 ounces, they are a joy to have on your feet, and without really trying, they actually carried me to my fastest 5-mile effort in a while. 

Conclusion

Overall, it’s a Kinvara. It’s simple, it’s light, it will Extra well for travel, it can do long runs, fast runs, slow runs, and everything in between. It’s minimal in nature but not lacking too much. 

Sure it’s not high-tech like the Endorphin line, and it’s not the rockstar it was 10 years ago, but it’s a solid performer, at a great price point (£120), that’s comfortable, consistent, and one shoe that can check a lot of boxes. 

If you need a shoe that’s light and isn’t trying too hard to be something it’s not, the Kinvara 12 fits the bill!