Skip to content
40Race Shoe FinderEst. 2023 · London

Head to head

New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4vs
Saucony Kinvara Pro

FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4

£157

Typical street price · £190 RRP

47mm — over limit
Kinvara Pro

£99

Typical street price · £190 RRP

42mm — over limit

Choose the FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4 if…

  • You want the bigger return: 2.4–3.5% economy gain against 1.8–2.9%, and that gap widens the longer you are out there.
  • You want more shoe underneath you late on: 47mm against 42mm, which is protection over a long race rather than speed over a short one.
  • You race off a strong, repeatable stride and want the more aggressive ride rather than the safer one.
  • You have a broad foot, or your toes spread as a long race goes on.
  • You want more races out of one pair: about 650km of competitive life against 600km.
  • You are racing Ultra / 50K+ — built for it, where the Kinvara Pro is not.

Choose the Kinvara Pro if…

  • You want something more forgiving. This is the steadier platform — useful if your form goes late, or if you are on your feet longer.
  • You want a conventional fit rather than a narrow or wide last.
  • Money matters: it is selling around £99 against £157, and the time difference between them is smaller than the price difference suggests.
  • You are racing Half marathon — built for it, where the FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4 is not.

What does this
mean for you?

Every figure below is recalculated from your race and your current time. The gap between two shoes is not fixed — it grows with how long you are on your feet.

Over marathon from 3:45:00

Time back
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4: 111s–186sKinvara Pro: 69s–145s
Cost per second saved
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4: £0.10Kinvara Pro: £0.10

Ranges, not promises. Both figures are against a standard trainer, and the honest answer for most runners is that the difference between two shoes of this class is smaller than the difference a month of decent training makes.

Every number.

010203040504741
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4
010203040504234
Kinvara Pro

What you pay

Street price
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4£157
Kinvara Pro£99

What the shoe is actually selling for across the shops we read, not its RRP.

RRP
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4£190
Kinvara Pro£190

List price. Almost nobody pays it for a race shoe.

Cost per race
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4£15
Kinvara Pro£10

Street price divided by the races the foam stays fast for.

Cost per second saved
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4£0.10
Kinvara Pro£0.10

The whole-life question: what each second of race time costs you.

What it does

Estimated saving
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4111s–186s
Kinvara Pro69s–145s

Against a standard trainer, over the distance and time set above.

Economy gain
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v42.4–3.5%
Kinvara Pro1.8–2.9%
Built for
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4Marathon · Ultra
Kinvara ProHalf · Marathon
Best use case
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4A max-stack plated trainer that makes easy miles feel effortless. Beloved for long runs.
Kinvara ProA plated long-run trainer rather than a racer. Comfortable, durable, and very good at what it is actually for.

How it is built

Weight
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4269 g
Kinvara Pro269 g

Manufacturer figure at men's US 9.

Stack (heel)
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v447 mm
Kinvara Pro42 mm
Stack (forefoot)
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v441 mm
Kinvara Pro34 mm
Drop
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v46 mm
Kinvara Pro8 mm
Foam
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4PEBA FuelCell
Kinvara ProPWRRUN PB over PWRRUN
Plate
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4carbon fibre
Kinvara Procarbon fibre

Rules and fit

Road legal
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4No (47 mm)
Kinvara ProNo (42 mm)

World Athletics caps road racing shoes at 40 mm of stack.

Fit
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4wide
Kinvara Prostandard
Stability
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4balanced
Kinvara Prostable

Neither is better in the abstract — it depends on your stride.

Race life
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4~650 km
Kinvara Pro~600 km

How long the foam stays fast, not how long the shoe survives.

Data confidence
FuelCell SuperComp Trainer v4verified
Kinvara Proverified

marks the better figure where one is genuinely better. Fit, foam, drop and stability carry no mark — they depend on your foot and your stride, not on which shoe is superior.

In your size.

Where to buy

Your UK size

Best price today — some sizes£157at Amphibianking — £33 under RRP

9 retailer checks failed on the last run, so their prices are missing rather than wrong.

Prices are captured when the site is built and stamped with the time of that check. We never rank a retailer by what it pays us; where a link earns a commission it is marked sponsored and the price you pay is unchanged.

Where to buy

Your UK size

Best price today — some sizes£99at Startfitness — £91 under RRP

9 retailer checks failed on the last run, so their prices are missing rather than wrong.

Prices are captured when the site is built and stamped with the time of that check. We never rank a retailer by what it pays us; where a link earns a commission it is marked sponsored and the price you pay is unchanged.