ENDURE: Feb 2012

THE GEAR MAKES THE WOMAN?

Lindsay reviews the K-Swiss Blade Max Stable


The website tagline is: “This Shoe Will Ruin Your Life”. Hardly what I was thinking, but I do enjoy my runs immensely lately because I’m able to think about anything else but my feet (read the rest of the ad here). Long story short, my feet have turned into be my “Achilles’ Heel” of sorts; long, too flexible and prone to injury (the dreaded "pronator" syndrome)....which of course means I'm still a ways-away from ditching shoes altogether or going "minimalist" without years of slow weaning. Thus, I’ve gone through many, many sneakers over the past 11 years, never fully satisfied with just any one. Different brands, different sizes, different models...there was always at least one or two things that didn't work for me.

Fast forward to September of 2011. Although a little surprised that SELF Magazine would be interested in the opinions of the "running-mom type", I was selected to become a sneaker tester. After a few weeks of back and forth with their contact, I received some running shoes to test. As a bit of a "shoe-enthusiast" it was like Christmas. Unwrapping the box with all the anticipation of a child, my eye was caught by the bright white, green and blue pair of K-Swiss “Blade Max Stable” shoes......

Not really sure about K-Swiss as a running shoe brand (aren't they they tennis shoe company from the 80's & 90's?), at least they looked cool. After talking it over with some of the other Pro-Activity endurance athletes, I came to find out that K-swiss was putting some serious investment into endurance sports and was trying to make inroads within running, similar to those they have already established in triathlon, where they sponsor some of the top athletes, races and gear. Hmm.....maybe not just tennis?


I laced up the following day and decided to go out for a quick run and.....oooh....it was love at first stride.  Could the "blades", which are marketed as a design that improves energy return during push-off, actually be delivering on that promise? I’ve never instantly felt as good in any of the NUMEROUS shoes I've had as I did with the Blade Max Stable, a very welcome change. OK, so it wasn't a foot massage.....but if there is a pavement-pounding equivalent, they were pretty close. My shins felt great, there was plenty of room in the toe box, they were nice and "cushion-y" (a technical term), and I glided all the way from mile one to mile five with nary a blister or issue.



Luck? Who knows.....but, despite following through and testing other shoes, I’m 100% certain this is a brand I’ll stick with as I train and race this year (NYC Marathon - wish me luck). This of course assumes K-swiss doesn’t mess with perfection and change them up too much as shoe manufacturers seem to do all too often.


I’ve put in a bunch of miles from that first test, and I'm happy to report that each has been as nice as the first - so they seem to hold up well over time. So from my perspective, if you've been told that you are a "pronator", perhaps this is an option you might benefit discussing with your coach/trainer/Physical Therapist......

If you're not in need of quite such a stable model, K-Swiss also offers quite a few other models - from traditional trainers to zero-drop to racers. You can check out all their offerings here, but I highly recommend K-Swiss Blade Max Stable sneakers for anyone looking for a great running shoe on a stable platform.

Lindsay