Inov8 212 X-Talon
March 9th, 2009 by Andy NicollClick here to view the Inov-8 212 Shoes.
I’ve done a couple of races in my X-talons now so I thought I’d give you my thoughts.
Although I’m a convert to Inov8’s trail shoes, these are the first fell racing shoes that I’ve ever tried as I’ve always been a fan of the classic Walsh PB and belived that where a ’stud’ is required they just couldn’t be beaten. Until this one came along I’ve always thought the Inov8 fell shoes just looked all wrong (especially the mudclaw with the offset laces) despite lots of folk wearing them and some good reviews.
To me the x-talon takes the great features of the Walsh PB (light weight and grip) and the Adidas Swoop (fit and cushioning) and blends them together to give a VERY impressive off road shoe.
They are very light 212 grammes for a UK size 8 (sounds about right as mine weighed in at 230 grammes on the works scales in a size 44) - and the fit is very good for a racing shoe. One of the most important thing about a pure fell shoe, as opposed to a trail shoe, is that your foot is kept as low to the ground as possible to avoid rolling your ankles on uneven surfaces. The x-talon achieves this but without compromising on cushioning which, for a fell shoe is excellent. I really think that if you are a reasonably light runner you could run a LONG way in these without a problem.
Where they really score however is in their grip. The sole pattern is similar to the Inov8 trail shoes but with fewer and more pronounced studs. This results in a sole that grips soft ground well and clears mud very quickly (in the same way that a football boot does) but I’m sure it will also lead to very quick wear if they are used on hard surfaces. However, what they’ve managed to achieve where so few others have is to make the shoe grip on wet rock. The x-talons match the Walsh in this very important area giving the wearer confidence over all surfaces.
If I had one tiny critisism it would be the laces. They are very thin nylon things (like really thick fishing line) with clever little lumps of rubber along their length to stop them coming loose. Although they’ve stayed tied in both races I’ve done they aren’t as easy to do up tight as a conventional lace.
Overall these are great shoes from the box - only time will tell how they last through the season.
Here’s a pic of mine at 1 hour 18 mins old (after the Noon Stone fell race).
Click here to view the Inov-8 212 Shoes.
March 10th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Look at that !! Brand new shoes and youve got them all mucky. Years of materials development and design went into the creation of this footwear. Carefully selected colours to be asthetically pleasing and create shelf appeal…. and you take em out of the box and go and jump in puddles! Do Inov8 do wellies?
June 24th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
I agree with Adi, I’m at a loss as to how people can go out and buy new shoes and within 2 hours ruin them, they even have the audacity to take a photograph and show it on t’internet. I blame the parents myself, I was brought up on the National Assistance and we had to look after things as they were passed down to other members of the family, aye when I was a lad blah blah blah!!!!