Kiprun Kipstorm Lab

The Kiprun Kipstorm Lab is a hyper shoe designed for elite race-day speed. Priced at $350, it competes with shoes like the ASICS Metaspeed Ray ($300) and Puma Fast-R 3 ($300). The Kipstorm Lab is Kiprun’s elite racer, featuring a fluid-injected TPU foam and J-shaped plate. Our men’s size 10.5 came in at 175 grams, which is not as impressive as shoes like the Metaspeed Ray and Evo Pro 2, especially since it only has 36 mm of foam in the heel. The upper is very lightweight, but the fit is quite roomy, and you might want to go down a half size. Out on the run, we were disappointed with the ride and performance. We expected the Kipstorm Lab to have some pop and bounce, but it didn’t deliver a fast or fun ride. It is oddly workmanlike. The forefoot felt firm and flat, and it required a lot of force to get much return out of it. It also didn’t feel like it was naturally providing much speed assistance, even at our fastest paces. Even though it has a super aggressive toe spring and rocker, it seemed like we had to put a lot of force into the heel and midfoot to get it going. The whole package just doesn’t come together, especially at $350. It’s not as light, soft, bouncy, or aggressive as we were expecting. It’s not the lightest, it’s not the fastest, it doesn’t have the best foam compound, and it doesn’t do anything that the other race shoes out there don’t already do for a better price.