K-Swiss Kwicky Blade Light

K-Swiss still have a long way to go when it comes to breaking into the saturated running shoe market. Although the company has sponsored some top triathletes at Kona this year, the amount of regular triathletes that pick out K-Swiss as their preferred band is about on the same level as those that pick Adidas as their brand of choice. Having said that, the new Kwicky Blade Light shoes are light and responsive as well as providing enough cushioning to enable to shoe to be used for training as well as racing.

The shoe features the Blade Light cushioning for absorbing the shock that a high amount of road racing generates. The cushioning material is unique to K-Swiss and means that the shoe is perfect for both training and racing if you are a lighter runner. If you are a bit of a heel striker and know that you tend to plod instead of spring, then you might want to consider a shoe with a little more cushioning such as one of the Asics shoes.

By choosing to incorporate the Blade Light system into the Kwicky Blade Light, K-Swiss have managed to keep the shoes weight to a mere 9oz, which sets it firmly at the lower end of the running shoe weight spectrum. The new natural running shoes from Nike and Adidas are lighter, but they don’t offer nearly as much arch support or durability as the K-Swiss Kwicky Blade Lights.

One of the main additions to the Kwicky over either the Blade Light Run or the Blade Race models is the Iron-mask hydro-phobic technology. This is effectively a water resistant coating that keeps your feet dry whilst still maintaining airflow and climate control within the shoe. This has been incorporated into the trainer so that when you are running through a water station during a race and dump a load of water over your head, your shoes do not subsequently become saturated and therefore uncomfortable to run in.

Over some of the longer distance triathlons in hotter climates I can really see this technology paying dividends as this climate controlled waterproof cocoon that your foot fits snugly into, means that the potential for blisters is reduced. Even when wearing dry fit socks, in hot temperatures where your feel have already swelled, dumping load of water into your shoes can cause rubbing and irritation – which is not something that you want when you are either racing or peak training.