NEW MEMBER OFFER!

Get 35% off GOES, your essential outdoor guide

LEARN MORE

GET MORE WITH OUTSIDE+

Enjoy 35% off GOES, your essential outdoor guide

UPGRADE TODAY

Image

The Gear Junkie Scoop: Inov-8 Road Shoe

Published: 

New perk: Easily find new routes and hidden gems, upcoming running events, and more near you. Your weekly Local Running Newsletter has everything you need to lace up! Subscribe today.

By Stephen Regenold

Inov-8 Ltd. is a U.K.-based shoemaker known for its trail-running shoes. The company's line — which spans from traditional supportive runners to footwear made for orienteering and equipped with carbide spikes — is one of my favorite brands. I've worn the company's shoes for years training and racing at home and around the globe.

New this year, Inov-8 debuted a line strictly made for road running. There are five models, from the “steady, comfortable and natural” Road-X 255, which is the most traditional shoe in the line, to an uber-minimal silicone “foot glove” made with individualized toes. 

 

In between these extremes, the Road-X 233 model is touted (with some great British vocab!) to offer “scintillating performance as a race day shoe for club runners, whilst also providing sufficient under foot protection for the elite to use regularly.”

 

For the past week, I've been running in these “scintillating” Road-X 233 shoes. My initial reaction is positive, as the shoe is minimal and fast, though not harsh when you're on a long run pounding the pavement for an hour or more.

The shoe has a 6mm differential or drop height from heel to toe and a neutral fit. It's a unisex model, made for women and men. Shoe weight is less than 9 ounces per foot in most sizes, which is light. (Official weight is 8.2 ounces in a U.K. size 8.)

A smooth, non-treaded sole and a meshy, lightweight build set the Road-X 233 apart. Like the company's trail runners, the sole has grooves and flex points made to mimic your foot's anatomy, including the “Dynamic Fascia Band,” which is a design feature between the midsole and outsole that Inov-8 says offers “power transfer with each stride.”

Is the shoe as “scintillating” as the company touts? Time will tell. So far, I like the shoe a lot. Indeed, this weekend I will run a marathon in the Road-X 233s, the National College Blue Ridge Marathon in Roanoke, Va., a hilly course touted as “America’s Toughest Road Marathon.”

Wish me luck on the 26.2 this weekend! I'm going to need it. And watch here for a follow-up report soon on Inov-8's unique new road-running shoe.

–Stephen Regenold is founder and editor of www.gearjunkie.com. Connect with Regenold at Facebook.com/TheGearJunkie or on Twitter via @TheGearJunkie.

 

Popular on Outside Online

sms