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.
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.
inov8 Trailfly. You've got the Trailfly Speed, Trailfly Max, Trailfly Zero or standard Trailfly all with either a standard or wide variant.
I'd also add that their last is as wide as the old Vivobarefoots and wider than the newer Vivos. Comparable to the Altras that I have in a similar size. I measured these by overlaying the insoles on top of each other.
inov8 Trailfly. You've got the Trailfly Speed, Trailfly Max, Trailfly Zero or standard Trailfly all with either a standard or wide variant.
I'd also add that their last is as wide as the old Vivobarefoots and wider than the newer Vivos. Comparable to the Altras that I have in a similar size. I measured these by overlaying the insoles on top of each other.
The Inov8 graphene G-grip I have are awful on wet surfaces, but they last a long time, I have approx. 400 km on my G280 parkclaws and the outsole is almost like new. Their sticky grip outsole is apparently what you need for better grip.
I love Inov-8 shoes, but for some reason their new wide toe box shoe, the inner heel padding wore out on my after 200 miles. First time I had a blister in ages. Other than that, they make the best quality shoes.
ghost_of_a_flea
