Launch of Decathlon’s Carbon Plated Shoes
Decathlon with its KD900x has now ventured into the highly competitive carbon plated market. Decathlon markets the KD900x as a pair of shoes that’ll push your limits. The product features a Pebax® midsole foam and a carbon plate which delivers an incredible energy return to enhance your speed and performance over the long haul. Retailing for SG$ 189.90, it is indeed the cheapest carbon plated running shoes in the market today.
KIPRUN KD900x Introduction
Based on the information from KD900x’s webpage, Decathlon worked with a leading French chemicals company, Arkema, to create their pebax-based VFOAM. Additionally, the carbon plate was also said to be developed in-house. Through the combination of both, the KD900x is able to return 65% of the energy exerted.
With the KD900Xs, the company hope to fit the gap where runners no longer have to choose between durability and high performance. The KD900x has been tested by runners of being durable up till 1,000 km and more.
Will the KD900x Make Headlines?
Many were excited about the KD900x when the news came out. As the prices for running shoes go up, a lower cost carbon plated shoes is certainly tunes to the ear for many runners. As much as the marketing has highlighted the testing and specifications of KD900x, reality can be cruel. Runners who had access to the running shoes have reported feeling underwhelmed by the performance of the KD900x. As much as to questioning if it is still in prototype phase.
The price tag of SG$189.90 is indeed lower than many other carbon plated running shoes, but only at retail price. Often, runners can find major brands (e.g., Nike, Adidas, ASICS) super shoes with some discount codes. Even without the discount codes, there are a few options listed below to consider and compare.
- ASICS – Magic Speed 2 (S$239.00)
- PUMA – Deviate Nitro Elite 2 (S$239.00)
- Nike – Zoom Fly 5 (S$245.00)
For runners looking to invest into a racer or carbon plated trainer, cost should not be the only factor to examine. The comfort, overall fit, and performance of the running shoes should be considered. While there are super expensive top of the line products such as Nike’s Alphafly 2 (S$399.00), Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3 (S$330.00) or ASICS Metaspeed Sky+ or Edge+ (S$349.00), these are not the only choices. Therefore, I believe for Decathlon to truly make a mark in the market properly, they will have to up their game to compete. The people looking to buy the carbon plated shoes or potentially KD900x aren’t just price sensitive consumers.
Do check out our latest posts, including the Price Tracker for Nike and Adidas running shoes.
