In conjunction with hills & naturally-derived vitamin D, Innov-8 Roclite 295s changed my life forever. But they come with a warning.
Despite being durable, stable & medium-cushioned, at 295 grams they’ll blow away in a strong wind. Check them out here; after that there are deals all over the net.
Innov8s are fantastic, aren’t they?
I did nearly 500 miles in my Terroc 330s last summer. I found them to be kind of like high tech moccasins. Hiking in shoes with such flexible soles actually seemed to make my arches stronger – not something you get from traditional boots.
They should come with another warning though: the rubber soles are not nearly as sticky as you might like. Friction climbing the Trap Dike in the Adirondacks in the Terrocs was just plain terrifying!
Hi Dave, well you can’t have everything. I wonder if it’s a matter of area ? That sole is so heavily cleated there’s as much air as rubber in contact with the rock. Anyway, I’m sold.
>>shoes with such flexible soles actually seemed to make my arches stronger
Absolutely. I’ve been running in mine, but I think eventually I’ll get a second pair, higher up in the cushioning range, for walking. Over here, word-of-mouth rates the Flyroc 310 for that. What have you been using for socks ? I found mine worked even better when I moved to a medium-thick wool.
Yeah, the nubby cleats are definitely an issue when it comes to surface area and sole-to-rock contact, but I’ve done other slide climbs in vibram soled shoes with similar cleats and I got much better traction. Still, like you, I’m sold on the Innov8s.
I’ve only used the Terrocs, so can’t comment on how they rate comparatively in terms of cushioning.
I think that Darn Tough makes the best socks. Nothing else I’ve tried (Smartwool, Icebreaker, etc.) comes close. For hiking I use either the medium or full cushion boot sock. For trail running I like the thinner ones with the lower cut. It takes ages to wear a pair out and I’ve never rubbed a blister in them – even on days where I’ve backpacked 25+ miles. They’re definitely the magic socks to go with the magic shoes.
I’ll give them a try, if only for the name… I’ve been using Smartwool & to tell the truth have no complaints at all.
Is this some kind of cryptic Ray Bradbury reference?
I think it’s just an entry about off-road running shoes.
Ok, just wondering..
( http://katehartman.com/teaching/downloads/TheSoundofSummerRunning.pdf )