Reviews
K-swiss K-ona
04 October, 2010
K Swiss K-ona running shoes are specifically designed for running marathons and the tough Ironman events. Up until I received a pair on K-onas in the post, I had always associated K Swiss with young, teens and their fashionable sneakers. Very attractive but not for the serious competitor.
Having, done 2 marathons (London and more recently Paris), I felt that these shoes had a lot to live up to. As official sponsors of the LA Marathon in 2010, many runners decided to purchase the K-ona as it offers a unique moisture removal system through a specially designed perforatted sole but much more importantly aided by a central ridge that runs the length of the bottom of the shoe that has large holes in them! They call this the space age technology, Superfoam TM. This may seem odd at first but when you think about the amount of sweat and water that is pouring out of a runner especially in hot conditions it makes sense to have a way to remove all that excess weight and moisture.
I have lived with the shoe for 4 weeks now and have used it as my only training shoe, just so I can give it my undivided attention and expose it to more rigorous testing. I have used it both in doors on a treadmill and out and about on the streets of Coulsdon, Purley, South Croydon, Kenley, Caterham, Chaldon. I have run on the road and cross country through the Farthing Downs. At first I was not used to the light weight and less than springy sole but after a few training runs, I began to and have stayed in love with them ever since. They are very 'airy' having a large ventilation mesh in the front part of the shoe, meaning it is great on hot sunny days.
I sweat a lot and have noticed that my socks and the shoe in general has stayed very dry (as if the seat has been wicked away). On longer 15K plus runs the shoes have offered enough support to make my knees feel comfortable enough even on up and down-hill runs. I must mention how light weight the shoes are compared to my normal Adistars and Nike 360s. They weight about 9.5 ounces. This added to the fact that they are actually very flexible and suprisingly supportive makes it hard to beat if you want a premium fast, cooling running shoe. It is no wonder world class atheletes like 3 time Ironman champions Chris Lieto, Luke McKenzie and Kim Loeffler choose shoes like this from K-Swiss. I feel like I can do better just knowing they are associated! My view of K Swiss as a brand has shifted from what I thought of as a teenage fashion sneaker brand to a world beating, premium and very serious competitive running shoe that actually out shines predictable brands like Nike and Addidas.