Scott Kinabalu Ultra Review
The Scott Kinabalu Ultra is a trail running shoe designed for hard-packed tracks and trails. A high level of cushioning, combined with a durable midsole foam, makes the Kinabalu Ultra a good choice for ultra trail events or long days out.
Along with the Scott Kinabalu Trail the Kinabalu Ultra is the latest trail running shoe from Scott. The Kinabalu Trail is a more flexible shoe that is suited to a wider variety of trail conditions. The Kinabalu Ultra, in contrast, offers a smoother, slightly more controlled ride to help carry you through longer distances. This doesn’t mean that it is a slow, plodding shoe or that it has an overly soft midsole with no feel for the terrain. In fact, it is almost the opposite of what you might expect.
Scott running shoes have never had super soft midsoles. For your feet to function, they need to know that they have touched the ground. A firmer midsole gives the body the feedback that it requires. However, they don’t feel hard or like they lack cushioning. This is partly due to your feet offering some shock absorption and partly because of the curved shape of the midsole, or rocker. This is what Scott calls ER3 Technology.
Essentially, when the runner’s foot touches the floor the curved shape of the midsole reduces the impact force by keeping the foot moving. This helps maintain a quick cadence, reduces over striding and helps keep the runner in a more upright posture. This makes the runner lighter on their feet and reduces the impact on the body, allowing you to run longer with less wear and tear.
Scott uses their rocker technology on all their running shoes and has been gradually improving it over the years. The ER3 has more medial and lateral guidance to help keep the runner’s foot moving from impact to toe-off more efficiently.
The stack height is 39mm in the heel and 32mm in the forefoot. This is quite a high stack for a trail running shoe. However, it doesn’t feel high when you are wearing the shoes and the midsole feels very stable. The midsole is made from a new Kinetic Nitrogen foam. This not only has a high shock-absorbing ability and feels responsive, but it is also resilient. This means that the ride of the Kinabalu Ultra will feel the same at the end of a long day out as it does at the start. The Kinetic Nitrogen foam is also designed not to get harder in cold conditions and not go soft and mushy in hot conditions either.
The heel cup is semi-stiffened with a level of padding that is comfortable without being excessive. The cuff of the shoe has a similar level of padding. The tongue is thin with light zonal padding down the centre to protect the foot from pressure applied by the laces. The tongue is only gusseted initially at the top of the laces. There is a tab on the tongue which the laces thread through to help stop the tongue from slipping to one side.
The upper is made from Matryx, which is a very thin material designed to resist abrasion and tearing. When laced up I found that the upper pulled in effectively around the foot, supplying a snug and comfortable fit. As with many running shoes that have high stack heights, your foot sits inside the midsole. This helps to make the shoe more stable and makes the rocker more effective, as your foot must follow the guidance that it offers to move you through the gait cycle.
The toe box isn’t excessively roomy, but the big toe line is straight which means that the foot isn’t under tension and the toes are free to move and function. I find this always makes toe boxes feel roomier. Having a straight big toe line also means that you have a stronger, more efficient toe-off.
There is an overlay that runs around the upper just above the midsole. This is to give a bit more abrasion resistance. The overlay goes over the toes to create the toe bumper. There is an additional lace hole at the top of the laces, so you can make the heel fit snugger or butterfly lace the shoes.
The Scott Kinabalu Ultra has a very solid and stable feel when it’s on your feet, which is not what you might expect from such a lightweight shoe. A men’s UK 8 weighs 270 grams, while a women’s UK 5 weighs 240 grams. The efficiency of the rocker makes the Kinabalu Ultra feel even lighter once you are running in them.
The traction is made up of 4mm lugs. These are multi-directional and designed to roll smoothly on hard-packed surfaces. I can testify that they work well on much softer tracks and trails too. With all the rain that we have had in the UK this winter there aren’t many dry trails around. Considering that the midsole is on the firmer side and there isn’t a lot of ground feel, I found that the traction was surprisingly good.
On hard-packed trails the lugs aren’t noticeable and the Kinabalu Ultra rolls along smoothly. On more broken ground with tree roots to negotiate, or on the edges of farmers’ fields, the traction was also good. A 4mm lug isn’t long enough to give a high level of traction on soft ground, but I was still making comfortable forward progress.
What was surprising is that the midsole does flex and bend enough for you not to twist an ankle or knee when hopping over tree roots or boulders. The Kinabalu Ultra is designed to keep the foot moving when it touches the ground and to do that the midsole needs to be stiff to maintain its rocker shape, but it does compress and twist enough to allow the runner to negotiate some broken ground.
The rocker in Scott running shoes isn’t too controlling in my experience, and the rocker in the Kinabalu Ultra doesn’t change that. It is more noticeable and more effective than the rocker in the more flexible and lower-stacked Scott Kinabalu Trail, but this is what helps you through longer runs when your legs are tired.
I live halfway up a hill and usually end up running up it at the end of my long runs. The firmness of the midsole and the ER3 rocker seemed to make it easier than usual, allowing me to finish my long runs feeling good rather than dragging myself up to the house.
The Scott Kinabalu Ultra is a trail running shoe designed for the long haul, but it doesn’t feel unresponsive and I have enjoyed putting in pickups or faster sections during long runs without feeling that the shoe was slowing me down or that I was trying to run fast in a pair of walking boots.
A lot of running shoes designed for ultra distances are so stable and cushioned that they feel heavy and difficult to run in at anything other than your “ultra pace”. The Scott Kinabalu Ultra is not like that. If you want a trail running shoe that helps you along a bit and offers a good level of underfoot protection, then the Kinabalu Ultra is worth considering.
Scott running sizing has varied a bit in recent years in my experience. The Scott Kinabalu RC 3 was a little smaller, so I went up half a UK size. The Scott Kinabalu Ultra and the Scott Kinabalu Trail are both larger fitting than the Kinabalu RC 3.
They are both similar in length to Brooks, Saucony, 361, Altra and Topo. If you use Hoka, New Balance, Karhu, Inov-8 or La Sportiva then we would suggest trying half a UK size smaller in the Scott Kinabalu Ultra and the Scott Kinabalu Trail to get a similar length. For example, a UK 11 in the Scott Kinabalu Trail is a similar length to a UK 11.5 in Hoka or New Balance.
In summary, the Scott Kinabalu Ultra is designed to offer a durable and resilient level of cushioning and good traction in a lightweight package. The ER3 rocker provides a nice level of propulsion without being overly controlling and although it is designed with longer runs in mind, the Kinabalu Ultra would still be a nice shoe for trail runners who don’t run all day.
Alternatives to Scott Kinabalu Ultra
361 Futura 3: A softer ride but not quite as responsive. The rubber used for the outsole is very good at sticking to wet surfaces and still rides well on firmer ground. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/361-futura-3-review/
La Sportiva Prodigio Max: A firmer ride which softens up as you use them. Traction is a similar level. Feels like a bigger shoe and not easy to run quickly in. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/la-sportiva-prodigio-max-review/
Saucony Xodus Ultra 4: A similar feel to the ride but the rocker doesn’t do as much work for you. Traction is better suited to harder packed surfaces. More pointed toe box. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/saucony-xodus-ultra-4-review/
Topo Vista: A broad rounded toe box gives the feet more room to spread and function. A similar firmness to the cushioning. Traction is good. Not easy to pick the pace up in. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/topo-athletic-vista-review/
Inov-8 TrailFly Max: A broad rounded toe box gives the feet the room to spread and function. Available in two width men’s and women’s. The midsoles soften to become a little softer than the Kinabalu Ultra. 6mm heel to forefoot allows a more natural gait but no rocker to carry you a long. Traction is good for hard packed terrain and still offers some traction on softer ground. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/inov-8-trailfly-max-review/
Hoka Mafate 5: A much softer ride. Especially on the heel. The forefoot is firmer and the Mafate does have a positive push off. Traction is good on soft and hard packed surfaces. The foot print is big which makes them feel less nimble. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/hoka-mafate-5-review/
VJ Ultra 3: A broad rounded toe box gives the feet the room to spread and function. The cushioning is much softer and the rocker more noticeable. Traction is good on hard packed surfaces and versatile enough to give some traction on softer tracks and trails too. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/vj-ultra-3-review/
Brooks Cascadia 19: A bouncier feel to the cushioning. Available in two width men’s and two width women’s. Traction rides well on hard packed surfaces and grips on softer ground. https://www.northernrunner.com/blog/brooks-cascadia-19-review/
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