Trailfly Ultra G 280

Hiya, (this is my 1st Reddit comment ever, and I'm talking running shoes, what's wrong with me!). Been a very good client of Inov8's for years (Mudtalons, Traiflys 270 1 and 2, Roclites 290, 275 1 and 2, 280 Ultra...), I'm also concerned. My favourite overall for my terrain (Irish hills and mountains) is the Roclite 275, I've bought the Trailtalons (standard), and find them terrible, heavy, tall, unstable. I was thinking giving a chance to the Trailtalon Speed, but have you tried it? How do they compare to the Roclites? Thanks!

The first pair of "proper" running shoes I bought were Inov8 terrocs in late 2005. I thought I was going to buy some Walsh PBs, but tried the Inov8s in a running shop and thought they were just what I wanted. By later standards, at 330g they were heavy, but lighter and better in mud than anything I'd known then. I used them for mountain biking and many activities. At this point, inov8 was a new, innovative company making seemingly more modern trail running shoes than others whose designs had barely changed in years. Later, Inov8 remained my go to for a trail running shoe, and I used x-talons as my favourite for years, then things like Roadclaw when I was running on harder surfaces, Terralultra when I started running longer distances. Living in a rural area, having shoes I knew fitted me and would work meant I could buy them again online, without needing to go into a shop and fit. The shoes fitted me well, they were light, I liked the off road grip of eg x-talon, and new running on tarmac from my door to get to somewhere off road was fine. Then came the rebrand and complete redesign of almost all the shoes. I bought up a few pairs of my favourite x-talons, immediately suspicious of their replacements with much deeper cushioning, but not wanting to take the time to go to a shop and start working out new shoes and new fit. The new logo looked cheap and unoriginal vs the old one. I hadn't followed the chnges of ownership, but was immediately suspicious. I've still not tried the "new" designs, remain wary, but as of today see that x-talons are being manufactured again. I can probably retreat into my safe comfort zone with the shoes Ive been wearing for years.

Hi, Not much of a runner (bits of trail here and there, but nothing to write home about). Just signed up for a 20km fell race so need some shoes. Will of course try them on before buying, but any suggestions? I run in either Hoka W torrent 2 size 7, or Innov8 Trailfly wide in a 6 or 6.5 With the hokas, I feel super stable, but get blisters on the outside of my little toe and big toe, within 2km so I think they are too narrow. With the trailfly, no blisters and very comfortable around my forefoot, but I feel like I’m going to roll my ankles (and do if the ground is uneven) and pronate, which has never been a problem for me in any other shoe. I have a very forefoot strike, although slightly more midfoot if tired, and other than in my trailflys, pretty neutral gait. I do have an old Achilles injury caused by pressure from a seam in a too small pair of hiking boots - it’s well rehabbed but I do get tendinopathy easily if a shoe places pressure on it (I can have shoes that touch it, just when they dig in I have no tolerance for that). I do think I do maybe slightly spin my heels out on landing (possibly landing lateral forefoot and rolling towards big toe, resulting in heel spin), because I always kick the inside of the other ankle. I have reasonable arches so do find I get numb toes if the laces put pressure in the wrong place. I have tried many, many times to find shoes that work for me, had gait analysis etc, but the best shoes I’ve found are the 2 above, which I don’t think fit well enough to take the increase in running I’m about to do (or indeed, the terrain?). It’s one of the things that puts me off running is I’ve never found shoes that feel good. Apologies for the long post - hoping if anyone has any suggestions it’ll be a starting point, otherwise I’ll be running through the mud in January barefoot 🤦‍♀️😬 I live in north west England

Inov-8 TrailFly are my current wide-fitting trail shoe.

I've put 200km on my Inov8 TrailFly and they barely show any sign of wear. They're an awesome shoe: ample toebox, low stack, low drop, solid grip.

Interesting that you don’t like the trailtalons for longer distances. I’m running in a pair now. I’ve used the trialfly over 50+km but I hear you on the energy return issue. To deal with that problem earlier this year I switched to Trailfly max for a 125km in the Pyrenees, they were a disaster (I’d rather stick to the regular trailflys). That said they do a trailtalon max version and if you are one of the many who do get on with them, those might be a great option for you.

I’d suggest inov8 Trailfly . I’m on my 3rd pair and I find them perfect. They recently redesigned their last placing a specific emphasis on brining in a much wider toe box. Lug dept is 4mm and offset is 6mm. Great for dry trails. If you live in an area where it gets wet and muddy in the winter then you could go for the trailtalons, basically the same shoe but with a 6mm lug - same offset. Much better in the mud. Because of the deeper lugs they take (in my experience) about 50k for the outsole to wear in, but I’m finding them great now. Good luck.

The dull foam comment hits true on the trailfly for sure. I do really like the Mudtalon speeds for the fells in winter months but I'd go with another brand for a long race.

I have the Mudtalon zero and they are a great orienteering shoe if metal studs and cramped toes are not your thing. They also feel bouncy and fun to run in. But the new Trailfly does not fit me at all and the midsole and grip felt a bit meh. For the stuff they're good at I'd rather wear a road shoe. My wife loves them though and did her latest ultra race in them.