Inov8 - TRAILTALON 290 V2
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Reddit Reviews:
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Last updated: Dec 15, 2025 Scoring
Liked most:
1103
405
"The roborock I have kicked and smashed with my foot so many times out of anger when it doesn't collaborate, and still he rocks 4-5 yrs later and no broken parts"
"they are extremely durable. ... I’ve got well over 1000 miles out of a pair and they still have grip and the uppers are in great shape"
"I've used them for 1500 miles of multi-day hiking with no issues!"
69
3
"just for hiking and trail rubbing ... Personally I wore them for my ultra."
"I'll be wearing the Adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra for them [30 Mile in August at Lean Horse (Custer, SD) on a gravel railroad bed followed by a 50K at the Wolverine State 100 (Alpena, MI) on crushed limestone and then the Dead Horse 50 Mile (Moab, UT) on slickrock]"
"I consider it to be more of a long distance shoe. ... I used it to run up to 100 miles on rough terrain."
22
5
"They also have the best sole material I’ve found for slippery mud and rocks."
"they provide grip even if you're in mud up to your ankle."
"the 6mm lugs really helping in the shitty clay mud of the Surrey and South Downs hills."
22
3
"I have incredibly wide feet and the only shoes I've found to fit are Altra."
"perfect fit for my feet. Tight heel, roomy toebox"
"Particularly loving the anatomical toe box as I have wide feet."
4
1
"perfect fit for my feet. Tight heel, roomy toebox"
"they better hold the midfoot in place on oneven trails if you don't have a beefy midfoot"
"I find mine very comfortable."
Disliked most:
4
41
"I hate the baffle design of my Therm A Rest Neo Air XLite and have to use it at a fairly low pressure for comfort. Which makes the insulation way worse than its R-value would suggest."
"leaked out the valve all through Washington, leaving me on the ground multiple times per night, waking me up every hour or so."
"I'm a side sleeper and my arms and shoulders ache and/or fall asleep or go numb on the Xlite."
4
19
"very fragile when they come into contact with any rocks or roots. ... When I finished they were full of holes. ... For 160 euros I'll be lucky if they last the month."
"In the front right corner of the left shoe (and vice versa with the right one) they have a strange sharp strengthening that cuts against my toe. ... It doesn't really hurt the first few kilometers, but if I run over 8 km, especially in the descents they destroy my toe to a point it really hurts a lot and I can't wear the shoes for another 2 days."
"the material is starting to tear on both sides where my foot bends. ... Low miles on the shoes. ... so it appears durability has decreased as well. ... It’s very disappointing."
0
4
"the new Innov8 last shape I find really narrow in the mid and quite long in the toe so I sent them back."
"The problem is that the precision fit isn't precise - a massive step back given their intended use."
"the new Innov8 last shape I find really narrow in the mid and quite long in the toe so I sent them back."
0
1
"hate the lack of energy return. ... Feel like I've got bricks on my feet after 50 miles!"
1
3
"a bit of heel rub"
"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 find the heel cup slightly low that makes the lock in feel less secure than it could be"
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.
r/trailrunning • Why are so many trail shoes now high stack + high drop? ->I love Inov-8 the Trail Talons are great.
r/trailrunning • I’ve been running in the mountain for over a month and my shoes are getting destroyed what should I get ? ->Really enjoying the new INOV8 Trailtalons at the moment. Haven’t done a ton of distance yet but feel pretty good on and off road
r/trailrunning • Replace Inov8 Mudtalon with Hoka Mafate Speed 4? Northern England running ->Topo mtn racer has better grip. Inov8 has better grip also; Trailfly for hard trails and Mudfly for wet/mud.
r/trailrunning • What to choose as second shoes? ->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.
r/trailrunning • Help needed to find shoes that fit these feet. ->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...
r/trailrunning • What happened to Inov8 shoes? ->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.
r/trailrunning • What’s the best trail running shoe you’ve ever owned and why? ->I use the VJ xtrm 2 for hill running in Scotland, handles mud and rock really well, and it's been more durable than my trail talons
r/trailrunning • UK fell runners. - shoe help please ->I’ve been wearing Inov-8s for 15+ years for trail and fell running and even moved to them for XC races when achilles injuries meant I could no longer wear spikes. Always done the job for me, reasonable value and regularly available with chunky discounts online.
r/trailrunning • Looking for my first trail running shoes..help needed ->Inov-8 has a bunch of models in a wide size now. Even the older models I use have a lot of room for my toes. Durability is fine I think, compared to what I read about Altras.
r/Ultralight • advice wanted on trail runners for hiking ->I'd say yes (not having used the latest models personally though). I find mine very comfortable.
r/Ultralight • advice wanted on trail runners for hiking ->I can also confirm the durability of Inov-8s!
r/Ultralight • Another discussion on shoes - please help ->Don’t know of any places that offer that kind of support but you could try inov8. They’re outsoles are supposed to be tough. The ones I’ve used fell apart before the sole showed any wear. They’re sizing isn’t very consistent though so worth trying in a shop if you can find them.
r/trailrunning • Getting back to running after paralysis: check ✅ / Making my shoes last more than 3 months: not check ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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