Inov8 - TRAILTALON 290 V2

My absolute shit bust favourite was my first pair of On Cloudventure Peaks - the orange and grey ones. It was a proper game changer. I hate massive chunky Hoka-style soles. The Ons were light, insanely comfortable, with amazing feedback, good grip - basically everything you want in a shoe. Closely followed by my first pair of Inov8 XTalons (the red and white ones from c.2012). I’d had bad trouble with my ITB and had tried gait analysis (which led to some Saunconys), physio, orthotic footbeds etc, but on the recommendation of some mates and having read Born to Run I bought some low drop, minimalist X Talons which allowed me to run pain free again, and I never looked back. I wore them for everything - training runs on pavements, trail runs, and the swimrun world championships, OTIllO, in 2013. Probably my favourite shoe because it allowed me to rediscover the joy of running, albeit not the best. Honourable mentions to my workhorse Inov8 Trailtalon 290, which have seen me through a few 50 and 100 milers, and my Roclite 275s, which were superb on the Cape Wrath Ultra.

Imov-8 Trail Ultra 290. Things were nearly indestructible. Put 1200 trail miles on one pair. Bought a couple pairs as they were discontinuing and that was it...lost a pair out the very slightly rolled down back window of my old 4-Runner driving back from the Trans Rockies way back when.

If you don't have a very wide heel/midfoot you could also try the Inov8 Trailfly or Trailton wide models. Foot shaped, wide at the front and with a durable graphene sole. Both available in zero drop versions. I went from the Lone Peaks to these models and couldn't be happier, they better hold the midfoot in place on oneven trails if you don't have a beefy midfoot.

Will second Inov-8. They changed their toe box to be more rounded and offer wider fits. You can also get most models in a ‘speed’ version which is lighter and sits lower. Not everyone is a fan but the new shape suits me better. I have the model with the large but not huge lugs (the trail talon?) and can’t complain at all.

While I like my trailtalon wide, I agree that they’re very wide even compared to Altra. I will not get the wide in the future. Upper durability hasn’t been a problem so far. The heel collar has degraded somewhat but with no impact on how it feels.

Trailtalons have 6mm lugs and still do great in mud. The boomerang footbed helps on tarmac. Still much more a mud than road shoe though.

I started noticing this a couple years ago and planned accordingly. For me I have huge feet and it's hard to find good shoes. For those in my situation and like a low drop and low rise, look into Inov-8. I've only bought these shoes since early '23 and I hope they never change.

I love Inov-8 the Trail Talons are great.

Long reply here but I understand this quite niche problem all too well. I have a bunion in the same place on left foot but actually have skinny midfoot so always struggle to get a lockdown in 'wide' shoes. The Inov8 Trailfly and their new range works well here. I'd actually go for the standard fit over wide as the toe box is already foot shaped. The width I think is in the midfoot. For example, I have a pair of precision fit Mudtalons and get a super snug midfoot lockdown but the toebox still lets my foot spread. The problem you actually have is that a lot of 'wide toe box' shoes still carry that super straight line on the inside of the foot which obviously doesn't work. Even the Prodigio Pro mentioned is quite accommodating but suffers from this to a degree as the bunion pushes the mesh out and can become uncomfortable by forcing your foot or all toes away to the side. Salomon shoes are quite bad for this, even though I suck it up and wear them as the midfoot just suits my feet. The Trailfy is the comfiest shoe I've worn in years, and I've even cleaned mine up and now wear them for walking around daily and the gym. They do a Trailtalon too if you need more softground grip, plus a road shoe. Edit to add: if anything like me, mine is just on the one foot so if I buy wide shoes, the other is super sloppy. This is why a better shape toe box works better than a wide fitting shoe in my opinion.

I've previously had Roclite 290s, and wanted another pair but they have been discontinued, I emailed them and they said the closest thing they did now was the TrailTalon - this has a much thicker sole and more drop, (and are twice the price I paid for my Roclites) but I bought them and I'm pretty happy with them, my only real complaint is the heel part of the shoe isn't tall enough, so it feels like I may lose a shoe in a bog (but haven't yet!) I've done just over 100 miles in them, so can't comment on durability yet...

The most important thing in a trail shoe, to me, is lug depth. I'm into fell running and just straight lining it off hills so often go out in shoes with 8mm lugs, but for trail running I'd go for a 5mm-6mm lug. As such an inov8 trailtalon could be worth a look imo. That said, most of my races are 5-10km so maybe a more comfortable ride would be preferred!

I used to rave about Inov8, especially for tackling the UK's winter mud. But ever since they rebranded, their shoes have been distinctly average. Nothing they produce is outstanding anymore, and while it's a minor point, they look really cheap now. I'm also convinced the sizing has changed. I get massive heel slip in the TrailTalon, even after trying different sizes and lacing techniques. To me, it seems like Inov8 no longer prioritises innovation or quality.

The obvious one is that they’ve replaced their fell shoes with a trail shoe that’s good in mud. It’s super sloppy on foot, no precision, high stack and delicate so it falls apart when you bash through heather or bracken. The roclite 275 has been replaced by the trailtalon. Again, it’s much higher stack and a baggy fit. It’s just not the same shoe. I’m not the only one - I’d say at least twice a month the topic of inov8 being in the bin comes up on the club run. Far fewer seen in races these days and those that are seen are often old mudclaws or xtalons. I’d rather race in walshes than mudtalons. I’m similar on being a long time repeat customer of theirs.. I’ve probably worn 8-10 pairs each of 212s and mudclaws down to slick. I can’t see myself buying another shoe of theirs unless something drastically changes. If they are forged in the fells (as they like to emphasise), they currently reside in Regents Park.