Kiprun Kipstorm Lab Review: 2 Comparisons

Kiprun Kipstorm Lab (299,00 €)

Introduction

The discharge of the Kiprun Kipstorm Lab got here as an entire shock to me. With out the same old enormous advertising campaigns or months of bulletins, Decathlon all of a sudden launched this shoe onto the market. It’s Kiprun’s first actual “racer” that’s severely aiming to make an affect in from 5 km to the half marathon.

In March 2025, Jimmy Gressier broke the European document for five km in Lille with these sneakers in a time of 12:57 minutes. I used to be extraordinarily excited to check as a result of the important thing knowledge promised quite a bit to maintain up with the massive names like Nike and Adidas, elevating excessive expectations.

Professionals:

Extraordinarily light-weight: weighing roughly 167 g, the shoe is barely noticeable on the foot.

Excessive reactivity: The mixture of PEBA foam and the J-shaped carbon plate supplies highly effective propulsion (“pop”).

Good stability: The outer shell product of firmer foam makes the shoe extra steady than many different “tremendous sneakers”.

Direct operating really feel: By eliminating the insole, contact with the shoe may be very fast.

Cons:

Sophisticated dimension choice: The shoe runs very massive; you typically have to decide on a half to entire dimension smaller.

Lacing: The skinny laces can simply come undone when you do not pull them very tight.

Pricing: At €300, it’s priced at or above the extent of established premium manufacturers, which is uncommon for Decathlon.

Tester: 

Markus Zinkl is 35 years previous and lives in a small village in Bavaria, Germany. He began operating simply to assist his principal sport, soccer. Since he stopped taking part in soccer, operating has turn out to be his principal sport to remain match.
He now runs 5-6 instances per week, overlaying between 60 and 80 kilometres. Other than an area relay race, he hardly ever runs in competitions. Markus runs each on trails and on roads and is a complete gear geek. Along with operating, he spends most of his free time mountain climbing, particularly within the mountains, the place his curiosity in gear additionally comes into play.

Specs

Weight:

Official: 167g (Males’s EU 42)

  Pattern: 173 g (Males’s EUR 43,5)

Stack Top: 39 mm / 35 mm (5 mm)

Availability: Obtainable now for £299.00 at Kiprun/Decathlon HERE

Hyperlink zu allen RTR-Testberichten: HIER

First impression, match and higher materials

As quickly as you unpack it, you instantly discover that the shoe is ultra-light. Weighing in at 173 grams, it’s a actual flyweight and considerably undercuts a lot of its rivals.

The higher materials is a wafer-thin, virtually clear mesh that has hardly any construction however nonetheless provides surprisingly good assist with out being restrictive. The Takumi Sen might be taught a factor or two from this higher.

One vital level for me is the laces. They’re very skinny and really feel considerably stiff. Care needs to be taken to keep away from “lacebite” – strain factors on the instep – and you must be sure you tie them actually tightly, in any other case they have an inclination to come back undone.

One main situation is the match, or extra particularly, Kiprun’s dimension chart. As with different fashions from the model, the Kipstorm Lab runs very massive. I usually put on a dimension 44.5, however right here I needed to go right down to a 43.5. This resulted in a really sporty “race match” with little room within the toe field. My clear suggestion to different runners would due to this fact be: select half a dimension smaller for a standard match or a complete dimension smaller when you prefer it actually tight, as I do for competitors.

One other attention-grabbing function is the absence of a standard insole; you stand straight on the midsole, which reinforces the direct operating really feel.

Midsole

The guts of the shoe is the development of the midsole, which feels very tender and bouncy. Kiprun has opted for an thrilling mixture right here: on the surface, there’s a shell product of Fluid Foam (a TPU foam) that gives stability, whereas on the core, the extremely reactive Featherbounce PEBA foam is answerable for vitality return. 

Inside, there’s a particular J-shaped carbon plate (the Hook Plate).

This geometry is clearly noticeable; it supplies aggressive propulsion with out making the shoe really feel as unstable as a number of the competitors’s pure PEBA fashions.

Outsole

There are not any main abnormalities within the outsole, which on this case is a optimistic factor. Resulting from its extraordinarily low weight, the rubber is stored to a minimal and solely positioned in essentially the most strategically necessary areas. 

In my take a look at, I had completely no issues with grip in dry circumstances. As I used to be unable to check it in moist circumstances, I requested different testers about their experiences: they reported that the grip works surprisingly effectively even on moist asphalt, which isn’t a given for such a minimalist racer.

Working expertise and abstract

In abstract, the Kiprun Kipstorm Lab may be very responsive and reactive. It feels mild as a feather in your ft, which is nice enjoyable, particularly at excessive speeds. The aggressive geometry and low 4 mm drop actually drive you onto your forefoot. For me, the sneakers have been good for brief, intense interval exercises and quick tempo runs. When you’re searching for a shoe for marathons, you would possibly discover it lacks a little bit of “cushioning”, however for private bests over 5 kilometres as much as half marathons, it is a actual weapon – offered you discover the proper dimension.

Rating: 9/10

Trip 9.5 – Match: 9.5 – Worth: 7 -Fashion: 10

2 Comparisons

Adidas Takumi Sen 10 (RTR Assessment)

The Takumi Sen 10 is taken into account the traditional shoe for five to 10 kilometre racing, nevertheless it follows a special philosophy from the Kipstorm Lab. Whereas the Adidas, with its decrease sole (33 mm), focuses on direct floor really feel and cornering stability, the Kipstorm Lab provides virtually 6 mm extra cushioning but is round 30 grams lighter. By way of operating really feel, the Kipstorm is extra dynamic due to its aggressive geometry, whereas the Takumi feels extra like a standard, direct competitors shoe. By way of value, the Adidas is commonly out there for lower than £200, making it considerably cheaper, nevertheless it doesn’t provide the intense “weight-to-cushioning” ratio of the Kipstorm.

New Stability SC Pacer v2 (RTR Assessment)

With its traditional 8 mm drop, the SC Pacer v2 is far more accessible for a lot of runners and fewer demanding on the calves than the aggressive 4 mm drop development of the Kipstorm Lab. Technically, nonetheless, the Kipstorm is in a special league: it’s noticeably lighter and provides extra cushioning  due to the Kipstorm’s greater stack peak, than the New Stability, which is nearer to the bottom, Whereas the Pacer v2 is commonly seen as a hybrid between a quick coaching shoe and a racer, the Kipstorm is an uncompromising elite racing instrument. These searching for consolation ought to select the Pacer; these searching for that final share level of race efficiency ought to go for the Kipstorm.

Translated from the unique German overview with help of Deepl.com

Thanks for studying our overview!

Purchasing at our companions beneath is way appreciated and helps assist RoadTrailRun

TOP4RUNNING EUROPE

Use RTR code RTRTOP4 for 5% off all merchandise, even sale merchandise

RUNNING WAREHOUSE

Europe solely: use RTR code RTR5ALL for 5% off all merchandise, even sale merchandise 

SPORTSSHOES.COM UK/EU

Use our code RTR235 for five% off all merchandise

Samples have been offered at no cost for overview functions. No compensation was offered by manufacturers for writing this text. RoadTrail Run does have affiliate partnerships and should earn fee on merchandise bought through purchasing hyperlinks on this article. These partnerships don’t affect our editorial content material. The opinions herein are completely the authors’.

Cap:$35                                                            Bucket:$39

Free US Economic system Delivery!

Please Like and Observe RoadTrailRun