inov 8 shoes

Do you have a particular model in mind? How much are you going to be on road with them?

50% road, no I don't know anything about any of the models.

anyone?

Well, I can't help you with inov8 as I haven't worn them. I do wear La Sportiva and they are great. I wear Crosslites and Fireblades on trails and dirt roads (and less frequently on pavement if it connects trails - a few miles at most, if that).

I know they also have a shoe called Crosslite that is specifically designed as a road/trail hybrid. You might want to check them out.

Those look like a racing shoe

I'm an idiot....That last sentence I meant to say Crossroads!

http://www.sportiva.com/products/prod/366

sorry about that.

Tried three models of this brand shoe last summer.

They are tailored to specific conditions and applications.

Low heel lifts and minimalist cushioning made them ideal for racing on technical and slippery trails. Add great traction to a lively, responsive feel and I found them to be a refreshing reprieve from so many of the over built trail shoes out there.

The mudclaw 340's with the metal dobs were a winter mainstay providing stable grip on ice covered roads.

Freaking best trail shoes I have EVER worn.

I'm currently in the 305 Roclites and have close to 800km's on them. I've run 2 races (a 44km and 50mi trail race) in them and they felt great. They are a very flexy, low profile shoe with a pretty aggressive tread (so not that great on pavement). They don't have a ton of cushioning, but feel great w/ my fore-foot stride.

I run between them and the NB826 (for road) in orthotics and really can't say enough good things about them. I had to size up one half size for them to fit.

Stay off the trails and keep it on the concrete. Get a good cushioned shoes like the Asics Nimbus 10. Just grind out the miles on the crete!

I just got the flyroc 310 and I really like it. I will only use it on the trail though as I think it is not well suited for the road. On the inov8 website one of their sponsored runners reviews the various models so you might want to check that out.

I bought a pair at runningwarehouse.com; great site for info and free 2 day shipping!!

For "moderate trails" about any road shoe should work just fine.

I was wondering if anyone has compared some of the lighter INOV8 models (212/230/250) with the NB 790s? I'd like to get something for Jan-March when there's lots of snow and ice on the roads and sidewalks. I've normally worn XC flats, but I think I need something different to alternate with.

The NB 840 (was the 800) compares favorably with some of the beefier INOV8 shoes, it is modeled on fell-running shoes. It's still a rather minimalist shoe compared to most trail shoes, weighing in at right around 10 oz.

As for snow and ice, if there is much ice then most trail shoes won't be much more useful than road or xc flats would be. Rubber on ice is rubber on ice. Shoes with metal studs are the answer. XC spikes with short spikes could work.

expert wrote:

As for snow and ice, if there is much ice then most trail shoes won't be much more useful than road or xc flats would be. Rubber on ice is rubber on ice. Shoes with metal studs are the answer. XC spikes with short spikes could work.

I am not sure about that. I run all winter in Montana and on many days there is a difference between shoes with a reasonably lugged tread pattern and shoes with fairly smooth treads. It's not a big deal, but you definitely slip a bit more with a pair of typical summer tempo run shoes than you do with shoes like INOV-8s. They all work reasonably well, if you regard sliding around a bit as part of the game. On the other hand, shoes with metal studs are a HUGE pain in the ass when you get on bare ground, and running distance in spikes on hard frozen ground is a recipe for getting pounded.

This is why I'm a bit hesitant to wear metal studs. I would most likely be alternating between concrete and patches of snow/ice, so wouldn't some sort of light, grippy trail shoe work best (along with the XC flats)?

I have worn a few inov 8 models .

I live not to far from the inov8 factory .

As far as i know they do not do a trail /road shoe most of the models are trail /fell shoes.

If you were to go for one i would recommend the f lite 300 or 335 but you possibly are better of with a shoe like the Salomon xt wings .

At the moment when i train on the trails /fells i use the roclite 315 ,this is a top shoe .

a couple of years ago i was running in the inov8 f-lite 300s and roclite 285s, but i'm prone to blisters and it took the NB 790s to cure that problem for me.

my take on inov8s is that the f-lites are very good for road-to-trail transitioning and provide plenty of cushioning for me; i would expect the other (newer) f-lite shoes (230, 250) to be fine against both types of surfaces, but would provide less cushioning. (note that the uppers of the 230s and 250s don't look very robust and could be problematic running in snow/ice, which tends to tear mesh fabric on uppers.) while i found the roclite to be good on grass and in mud and now, the outsole makes it jarring to run on hard surfaces, including not only pavement but also hardpacked dirt.

i've run in nothing but the NB 790s for the past year and a half and love them -- on snowy trail, rocky trail, muddy trail, roots, dry hardpacked trail, mtn races (including one a week ago on ski slopes), grass, and even road. (perhaps embarrassingly, i even ran a road marathon in them, knowing that was the safest way to end up blister-free.)

regarding running in snow, i'm very satisfied with "just shoes" in snow, except when it's particularly icy. in the days following ice storms i use yaktrax on the local dirt roads, which even after plowing might have an inch of ice on them. no worries about slipping with them, but they really stink on open dirt or pavement.

Try the Salomon SpeedCross, then. It has a winter-specific tread and a goretex upper.