Andriy K. from Ukraine, Public Profile

I`ve bought these shoes specifically for preparation for my first sky marathon and the actual race. Even though it was very dry on the race day which was quite opposite to what I expected, and a reasonable runner probably should have choosen another footwear like Trailroc 235 model, the traction was very good, even on rocky terrain - I never fell once running without poles, while some guys with poles did.
The wear is quite noticeable after 260 km (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwBTSxkynkd4SThMSGV1MmxiVHM/view?usp=sharing) and 3 lugs on the left shoe are almost detached (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwBTSxkynkd4bnJKVmVHUi1vYTQ/view?usp=sharing), but overall there is plenty of life left. The sole is rather stiff which speaking honestly is not so bad at a 50 km run in the mountains. The mesh is rather strong and dense so that very little mud comes through when stepping into puddle for example. I run with a forefoot strike (which is how it should be with this type of shoes) and the toe box is wide enough. I wish Inov8 used was more consistent with their natural running notion and used insoles without excessive padding in the heel area - these so-called 3 mm insoles look more like 6 in the heel area and I had to shave them off (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwBTSxkynkd4OWlRSnVqcE5TQ1U). Also, I had like everyone else to buy size a half size up, so I wonder why Inov8 would not correct their sizing chart so that the difference between US and UK sizes would be 0.5 rather

These are great shoes for running on moderately wet or loose trail, when it becomes too slippery in Trail Gloves. "Too much" of cushion compared to Trail Gloves is not so bad for night trail runs, when you occasionally step on something sharp.

I`ve used these as belaying gloves for ice climbing. The palm is a bit slippy for my taste, so you have to grab a rope really tight. As a general purpose glove they are very comforable, temperature-wise may be used down to -15 C when more or less static and probably down to -20-25 C when active.