Mudclaw 300

They are making the mudclaw 300 again got a new pair recently perfect for muddy fells and UK mountains far superior to the Mudtalons

Good to know about the new Mudclaw! I have a pair of Mudclaw 300 and they're incredible on the darkest of days, grip gives you amazing confidence. The new stuff, not a fan of.

So... I have a pair of VJ Maxx2 for normal local trails, it's already quite worn down so just a basic shoe. Then I have another pair of Maxx2 for technical trails on specific terrain. A pair of Brooka ghost for regular road miles, pair of brooks glycerin for easy road miles, pair of hyperion for road races or parkruns here in the UK. Pair of inov8 mudclaw for short muddy races (up to about 15mile) Pair of inov8 xtalon 260 v2 for longer all day winter mountain runs in UK, and a pair of xtalon 200 for short muddy races.

Depends what tou mean by aggressive. I assume you mean lug depth? Which would be Inov8 Mudclaw, Inov8 Mudtalon both 8mm lugs Inov8 Trailtalon uses 6mm lugs. OMM Fell shoe has variable size lugs that are 8-11mm. Which are the longest I have heard of. Salomon Speedcross aren't big, they're 5mm. VJ XTRM uses 7mm lugs.

Ex road runner here, have always used Brooks Ghost and Hyperion. For trails mostly the older inov8 models. Recently got aome VJ shoes, the Maxx2 is absolutely brilliant, but I have also picked up the XTRM2 recently for harsher terrain. They're a little more snug than im used to, will my feet be OK using them, or atleast do feet get used to fitting in tighter shoes or more snug shoes once you get used to them? Most fell running and some short trail races shoes mark them as 'race fitter 'precision fit'

Thanks. Gave them a blast up Waun Fach in wales today and they were great, not great in wet grass but everything else felt fine, even a bit of tarmac and they drain quick. I never got a chance with the Mudtalon much, I bought a pair and used them once locally and they weren't great, the stack height made everything feel off and I couldn't grip on awkward paths. Thw older Mudclaw was brilliant in mud and fitted like a glove. Did you try the Mudtalon Speed? Be interesting to see how they compare.

Worth noting that G270s are very passive lug-wise for inov-8, have stopped being made, and inov-8 have gone massively downhill in the past few years, including but not limited to using a new factory with massive QC issues and replacing the excellent mudclaw with the mudtalon, which falls apart and much worse on rough terrain. The classic mud shoe of theirs was the mudclaw, which is coming back for sale this winter, however it is being made by their new shitty factory, so it remains to be seen if they will survive a week of running.

Still not the same though really - other brands overtook them in the meantime with better outsoles and the new mudclaws are made at the new factory. Build quality much worse

Because the whole GRVL-concept is basically a solution to a problem that doesnt really exist. Every roadshoe with a tiny bit of rubber outsole is going to be perfectly fine for running on gravel'y stuff. You dont need a specialized shoe for that. It isnt exactly rocket science to be able to understand that a shoe with 8mm lugs (Mudclaw) aint the best choice for harder surfaces.

I feel the 'new' range is just uninspiring and feels old fashioned. I tried the Trailfly Speed which was heavy with a dull foam. Standard Trailfly was heavier with more dull foam! They just aren't competitive with other shoes out there. La Sportiva Prodigio shows how a modern all round trail shoe should be (and it's been a massive success). It's a shameas they used to be one of my favourite shoe brands, I went through 4 pairs of the G270's loved that shoe. Numerous Roclite, Mudclaw, X-Talon. I just don't consider them as an option any more. I live in the Lake District and not many of my friends wear them either any more. Mudclaws used to be the go to. See a lot of VJ, Terrex, Nnormal, La Sportiva and Hoka now.