Shoe Review - The Inov-8 Roclite 295
A couple of weeks ago, I received a courier package. "What the heck could that be?", I asked myself. My birthday isn't until November. I don't think anyone would send me a bomb.
The return address was that of my friend Jason in St. Louis. Jason was recently in Vancouver to celebrate his birthday at the North Shore Enduro and stayed at our house. Did he swipe a towel and feel guilty enough to return it?
Inside was a nice "thank you" note for the hospitality and a pair of Inov-8 trail shoes. "Dude... that was so not necessary!", I thought as I opened the box. Jason must have noticed my shoe tree of dilapidated Montrails in the basement. 'Probably doesn't know that I routinely get 3,000 and sometimes as much as 5,000 kilometers out of a pair of running shoes before I retire them to the garden.
Straight up, I knew precious little about Inov-8 shoes other than I'd noticed an ad for the brand in TrailRunner Magazine.
My first impression as I took the shoes from the box was that they were very light. Super light for a trail shoe.
As I laced them up in the living room, the next thing I noticed was that they fit wonderfully well. "What the heck are you doing wearing running shoes in the living room?", came a voice from the hallway. (Note to reader: carpet is white and no-shoes-in-the-house rule applies to all.) Oops.
Given the persistent monsoons of May and June, I didn't try my new shoes on the trails until this week.
Nice! The shoes fit as if they were custom-made. The buddy I was running with commented about the knobby treads and I noticed they gripped well on the slimy rocks and wooden bridges of Vancouver's North Shore Mountains. They seemed very well made, too.
Anyway, thank you Jason. I'll use these on the XTC this weekend and the STORMY B2B with you when you're back in town next weekend.
I'll check back in on this shoe review at the end of the summer and report on what's left of them!
Comments
Fresh pair on the way...
Well...
I've finally "blown up" the pair of Inov-8's I've been hammering on for the last 700 miles or so. Had to break down and buy a new pair.
I want a little more cushion for STORMY 100 than my Inov-8 X-Talon 212's offer, so I'm grabbing another pair of 295's to give it a go in Squamish.
Secretly, I really just want to match Jackson...
Great shoes...
Anyone who knows me well enough knows I have a taste for light shoes that borders on fetishism.
I haven't bought any other kind of shoes since I started trail running than Inov-8's.
I have to admit they are probably not the most durable shoe out there, but really I have had 5 pairs over 4 years so not too bad. The first ones I got were OK but got bolted to my snow shoes as they were a more stability type shoe, which I don't need.
Since then I have bought 4 pairs and while they have got me through 4 seasons of trail running, and have been kept in a rotation, they are all about to fall apart.
While I have thought of trying other types of shoes, nothing really attracts me enough to make a switch. So soon it will be time for a new pair of Inov-8's, although I'll have to ditch all the ones with no tread left and holes throughout the upper (all of them) this time.
The only other option I've considered that I may end up going for to try something different is a pair of Walsh fell running shoes, although they are extremely hard to get.
Less really is more...
I'm in your camp Ryan. I think lots of different things work for everyone, but light shoes is one that I figured out can work for me and why carry more weight than I have to?
At first, the thinner mid-soles weren't enough to protect my "tender" feet. After a while, I got used to it and I could continue to go lighter and lighter and now only run in the lightest shoe Inov-8 offers.
Haven't seen the new comer, the X-Talon 190 yet, but looking forward to it!
You're, of course, QUITE welcome!
Glad you're enjoying them, Ean. I like them too.
Looking forward to watching you put them through their paces at B2B this weekend.
Always a treat to see you!