Type a shoe name, like Pegasus, Clifton or Kayano.

Saucony Kinvara 5

Daily trainer · Neutral · Road · 7.6 oz · 4mm drop · 24/20mm stack

Discontinued — we no longer see this shoe in stock. The Saucony Kinvara 6 replaced it

How it ranks

The Saucony Kinvara 5 is one of the strongest daily trainers in our data. Comfort and looks are its strongest sub-ratings. Durability scores well below its other sub-ratings. Most runners who came to it from another shoe preferred it. The rating rests on 128 runner reviews and 14 other rated shoes in the Kinvara product line.

Saucony Kinvara 5

of 2

Exceptional

97/100
Overall
97
Comfort
95
Value
92
Appearance
91
Cushioning
86
Durability
50
Confidence

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 will score low when we have few ratings or when runners disagree.

See the product line's history

Confidence

100/100

100

What runners say

“Tears occur on every pair on both sides of the toe box where the foot flexes.”
5/5 Full review 50 mpw training for a half marathon
“Toe box is just a little bit too short unless I wear really thin socks and even then taking it on 12+ km runs is a blister-risk.”
4/5 Full review training for middle distance
“On trails, the shoe might last two-three months before they begin to rip across the sides and in various places on the front.”
4/5 Full review 50 mpw came from the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 14
“The mesh is very breathable yet durable and not prone to ripping unlike the mesh of the Kinvara 4.”
4/5 Full review training for middle distance
“With added cushioning, able to run in this shoe as a recovery shoe up to about 400 miles versus Kinvara 4 at 275-300.”
5/5 Full review 110 mpw training for a half marathon
“Light weight (7.7 oz) and low drop (4mm) give it versatility as both a racing shoe (10k-Marathon) and daily mileage trainer.”
4/5 Full review training for middle distance
“Holes develop pretty quickly around the toe area.”
5/5 Full review 80 mpw training for a marathon
“Light with just enough cushioning and versatile enough to run a 5k or a marathon in.”
5/5 Full review 65 mpw training for a marathon
“Pieces of the outsole started to fall off as early as 180 miles.”
4/5 Full review 60 mpw training for middle distance
“The heel tab is nice and low and the liner in the heel area is super soft and still quite durable.”
4/5 Full review training for middle distance

Prefer this shoe over another

50% 58/115

Where to buy

No offers available

Affiliate links included. They never affect our ratings.

Prices updated daily. Last checked Sep 14.

Pros

  • At 7.6 oz reviewers still find enough cushioning for daily miles.
  • Runners use it for track intervals, tempos and marathons alike.
  • The Kinvara 4 before it scores 73 on a hundred and twenty-nine reviews, and reviewers rate this version's fit, comfort and upper above it.

Cons

  • Reviewers frequently report the upper mesh tearing near the toes.
  • Durability is the weakest dimension at 3.6 out of 5, and several runners retire pairs near 200 to 250 miles.
  • Four reviewers find forefoot traction poor on certain surfaces.

Rating & Confidence vs. other shoes for sale

Each dot is one rated shoe for sale, placed by its rating and by how much evidence sits behind it. Shoes toward the top right are both well rated and well established.

Confidence
50 60 70 80 90 100 25 50 75 100

Better Shoes Rating

Kinvara 5 rates 97. This shoe has very high certainty. 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

Release year

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

  • Kinvara 16

    2025 · 2 reviews

    88 Good

    74 Confidence

  • Kinvara 15

    2024 · 13 reviews

    82 Good

    84 Confidence

  • Kinvara 14

    2023 · 49 reviews

    88 Good

    94 Confidence

  • Kinvara 13

    2022 · 36 reviews

    77 Decent

    93 Confidence

  • Kinvara 12

    2021 · 6 reviews

    87 Good

    84 Confidence

  • Kinvara 11

    2020 · 7 reviews

    71 Decent

    76 Confidence

  • Kinvara 10

    2019 · 51 reviews

    97 Exceptional

    98 Confidence

  • Kinvara 9

    2018 · 55 reviews

    88 Good

    97 Confidence

  • Kinvara 8

    2017 · 57 reviews

    89 Good

    98 Confidence

  • Kinvara 7

    2016 · 21 reviews

    98 Exceptional

    97 Confidence

  • Kinvara 6

    2015 · 8 reviews

    97 Exceptional

    94 Confidence

  • Kinvara 5 This shoe

    2014 · 128 reviews

    97 Exceptional

    100 Confidence

  • Kinvara 4

    2013 · 129 reviews

    73 Decent

    99 Confidence

  • Kinvara 3

    2012 · 11 reviews

    97 Excellent

    92 Confidence

  • Kinvara 2

    2011 · 3 reviews

    58 Bottom-tier

    75 Confidence

Reader Ratings

128 ratings
5/5 82
4/5 43
3/5 2
2/5 1
1/5 0
See written reviews Write a review

Specs & fit

Sizing and ride details at a glance.

Weight
7.6 oz
Release
2014
MSRP
$100
Stack Height
24mm heel - 20mm toe
Drop Height
4mm

Runner reviews

Write a review

Showing 126–128 of 128 written reviews

Reader review

4/5

Overall

very good shoe for workouts or training runs. I've done up to 20 miles in these without any problems. Put about 600 miles on them before replacing. Only downside is sometimes they bother my toenails.

Sarcolemma · Aug 27, 2014

60 mpw training for a marathon

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

Reader review

5/5

Overall

s_johnson33 · Aug 27, 2014

100 mpw training for a marathon

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

Reader review

5/5

Overall

I have been running in the Saucony Kinvaras for 3 years now and I havery no complaints. No frills shoe that gets the job done, although the shoes tend to wear out a little quicker than I would like.

Anonymous runner · Aug 27, 2014

50 mpw training for a half marathon

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

Alternatives

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99/100 rating

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98/100 rating

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86/100 rating

$80
Saucony Hurricane 25

Hurricane 25

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69/100 rating

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Saucony Triumph 23

Triumph 23

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90/100 rating

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Saucony Endorphin Speed 5

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Speed / workouts

98/100 rating

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Compared to other shoes

See how this shoe compares to others like it.

Saucony Kinvara 5
Saucony Kinvara 16
HOKA Clifton 9
Kinvara 5
Kinvara 16
Clifton 9
Current shoe
Choose a model
Lightest / Best appearance
Newest / Lowest price / Best value
Best overall / Best comfort / Best cushioning
Shoe properties
Type
Daily trainer
Daily trainer
Daily trainer
Pronation
Neutral
Neutral
Neutral
Weight
7.6 oz M Lightest
—
8.5 oz M
Stack
24/20mm
—
40/35mm
Drop
4mm
—
5mm
Release
2014
2025 Q2 Newest
2023 Q1
MSRP
$100
$130
$145
Best price
—
$119.53 Lowest price
$149.99
Ratings
Overall
Exceptional (97)
Good (88)
Exceptional (99) Best overall
Comfort
Excellent (95)
Good (86)
Exceptional (99) Best comfort
Cushioning
Good (86)
Decent (79)
Exceptional (99) Best cushioning
Durability
Bottom-tier (50)
Bottom-tier (53)
Very good (92) Best durability
Appearance
Very good (91) Best appearance
Good (89)
Very good (91)
Value
Very good (92)
Excellent (95) Best value
Good (88)
Specific shoe

Search for the exact model to add to this comparison.

Saucony Kinvara 5 In Context

More on the Saucony Kinvara

Compare every Kinvara version

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