Saucony Kinvara 3

Name: Saucony Kinvara 3
Brand: Saucony
Rating: 4.8 (11 reviews)

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 7.3 oz · 23/19mm stack · 4mm drop

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The Saucony Kinvara 4 replaced it

How it ranks

The Saucony Kinvara 3 ranks among the stronger daily trainers in our data. Value and comfort are its strongest sub-ratings. Durability scores well below its other sub-ratings. Most runners who compared it with another shoe preferred the other shoe. The rating is based on 11 runner reviews and 14 other rated shoes in the Kinvara product line.

Good

Overall

Good 86

Value

Exceptional 97

Comfort

Good 86

Appearance

Good 83

Cushioning

Decent 70

Durability

Bottom-tier 57

Confidence

How settled the rating is against every other rated shoe. A shoe can rate high on confidence with relatively few reviews of its own when its product line has a long record and external ratings from retailer sites agree. Confidence is low when we have few ratings or when runners disagree.

See the product line's history

Confidence

94 High

High 94

Based on

The bars show roughly how much each source contributes to this shoe’s rating. Their influence depends on how many reviews we’ve collected, how many earlier versions are in the product line, and the external ratings available.

Product line track record
Our ratings
External ratings

What runners say

“Averages 350-500 miles per pair; owns over 10 pairs.”

5/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a marathon

“Decent cushion for low drop; good for cushion, bad for firm feel and ground contact.”

4/5 Full review 35 mpw training for a half marathon

“Light but sacrifices durability; foam sole wears down fast.”

4/5 Full review 35 mpw training for a half marathon

“Switch to conventional trainers and get aches in feet/ankles/achilles; go back to Kinvara and feel better.”

5/5 Full review 25 mpw training for a half marathon

“Never been injured wearing this shoe; was injured a lot in college.”

5/5 Full review 25 mpw training for a half marathon

“Raced last 3 marathons in Kinvara 3s.”

5/5 Full review 60 mpw training for a marathon

“Great cushioning whilst maintaining light weight.”

5/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a marathon came from the Brooks Ghost 5

“Extremely durable and reasonably lightweight.”

5/5 Full review 25 mpw training for a half marathon

“Best shoe (aside from the original Kinvara) ever run in.”

5/5 Full review 40 mpw training for a marathon

Prefer this shoe over another

21% 6/28

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Oct 22.

Pros

Reviewers find it comfortable and versatile, from daily miles to marathons.
Light at 7.9 oz with a 4mm drop, still cushioned.
One reviewer averages 350 to 500 miles a pair across more than ten pairs.

Cons

Durability averages 4.0 out of 5, the weakest dimension, and one reviewer says the foam sole wears down fast.
One reviewer warns it is the wrong shoe if you want a firm ride with ground feel.
Three of eleven reviewers report an injury while running in it.

Kinvara 3 rates 86. This shoe has high confidence. See how we rate shoes.

Better Shoes Rating of prior versions of the Saucony Kinvara

Each dot is one version of the Kinvara, placed by its rating and release year. The gold dot is this shoe.

Rating

40 60 80 100

62 86 2012 71 91 89 2015 93 81 2017 80 91 2019 77 84 2021 78 84 2023 83 87 2025

Release year

We use the reviews of past versions to inform this shoe’s rating. See why.

Kinvara 16

2025 · 3 reviews

87 Good

85 Confidence
Kinvara 15

2024 · 13 reviews

83 Good

86 Confidence
Kinvara 14

2023 · 49 reviews

84 Good

97 Confidence
Kinvara 13

2022 · 36 reviews

78 Decent

96 Confidence
Kinvara 12

2021 · 6 reviews

84 Good

86 Confidence
Kinvara 11

2020 · 7 reviews

77 Decent

87 Confidence
Kinvara 10

2019 · 51 reviews

91 Very good

99 Confidence
Kinvara 9

2018 · 55 reviews

80 Good

99 Confidence
Kinvara 8

2017 · 57 reviews

81 Good

100 Confidence
Kinvara 7

2016 · 21 reviews

93 Excellent

98 Confidence
Kinvara 6

2015 · 8 reviews

89 Good

94 Confidence
Kinvara 5

2014 · 128 reviews

91 Very good

100 Confidence
Kinvara 4

2013 · 129 reviews

71 Decent

100 Confidence
Kinvara 3 This shoe

2012 · 11 reviews

86 Good

94 Confidence
Kinvara 2

2011 · 3 reviews

62 Below average

89 Confidence

Runner Ratings

11 ratings

5/5 9

4/5 2

3/5 0

2/5 0

1/5 0

See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight: 7.3 oz
Men's / women's: Men's 7.9 oz · Women's 6.7 oz
Release: 2012
MSRP: $100
Stack: 23/19mm
Drop: 4mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Outdated Kinvara

4/5

Overall

Decent cushion for a low heel-toe drop shoe. Good if you want cushion, bad if you want firm stiff and more ground feel. Light but sacrifices durability. Foam sole will wear down fast. I like the shoe so bought several of these older models.

YourMom.Com · Jul 12, 2018

35 mpw training for a half marathon

Comfort: 4/5
Cushioning: 4/5
Durability: 3/5
Appearance: 4/5
Value: 5/5

Best Shoe of All Time

5/5

Overall

This is often listed amongst the best shoes ever made for a reason. Extremely comfortable and a high quality, no frills trainer that is unbelievably versatile.

PrimalCabbage · Feb 6, 2018

75 mpw training for a half marathon came from the Saucony Kinvara 4

Comfort: 5/5
Cushioning: 5/5
Durability: 4/5
Appearance: 5/5
Value: 5/5

5/5

Overall

Excellent Shoe. Love the 4mm drop. Great cushioning whilst maintaining light weight.

kc1223 · May 11, 2015

50 mpw training for a marathon came from the Brooks Ghost 5

Comfort: 5/5
Durability: 3/5
Appearance: 4/5
Value: 5/5

5/5

Overall

Anonymous runner · Apr 7, 2015

75 mpw 3,911 miles in this shoe training for a half marathon came from the Nike Free 5.0

Comfort: 5/5
Durability: 4/5
Appearance: 4/5
Value: 5/5

5/5

Overall

I have run in over 10 pairs of this shoe. I average 350-500 miles per pair. I typically run 40-50 miles/week. I ran 1,800 last year. All miles logged in pairs of this shoe. I have raced in them at all distances 5K to marathon. It is the best shoe (aside from the original Kinvara) I have ever run in.

Anonymous runner · Mar 10, 2015

40 mpw training for a marathon