Shoe Review - Inov-8 Roclite 295

"Suitable for long trail races and training or as an introductory shoe to minimalist trail running. It is tough, reliable and combines underfoot protection with comfort. Designed for mixed terrain, deep cleated sole ensures grip in muddy conditions." --Inov-8 product page for Roclite 295

Shortly after being introduced to running trails, I realized that my regular road shoes just weren't going to cut the mustard on the rugged and rocky Arizona trails. It was then that I started looking for the ultimate pair of trail shoes and at the suggestion of the good folks at iRun I bought my first pair of Inov-8 Roclite 295. My first pair was purchased in 2012 and that model has since been discontinued. It was a sad day when I found out that Inov-8 changed the design, but I was excited to discover what improvements were coming to this already very solid, capable shoe.

Out of the box - side view

Front view

New lugs on the lime green outsole

First Impressions

Shortly after their release, I found myself back at iRun with a pair of newly designed Roclite 295s on my feet. I wasn't impressed. Before I continue, I should mention that I had spent much of my time running in Altra shoes with a very wide and comfortable toe box. The Roclites, in comparison to the Altras are a very narrow shoe, and I could feel my pinkie toe rubbing against the upper on these new and improved shoes. I could just picture the blisters I would get from all that rubbing. Other than that, they felt light and capable, the true test would be out on the trail.

Test Drive

My first trail run with these shoes was on a (you guessed it) rocky and rugged Phoenix trail. No mercy here. Immediately upon hitting the trail the shoes felt lighter. Now, I know that this is not true, since Inov-8 names their shoes by their weight. The 2nd generation Roclites as well as this new pair both weigh in at 295 grams. Regardless, I didn't feel like I was dragging at all in these shoes.

The upper felt strong and flexible and wrapped very naturally around my foot. I did have to adjust and fuss with the laces a little more than I would like in order to the feel just right for my foot, but that's less likely to be the fault of the shoe and more the fault of the owner. The laces didn't hold well on my first run, and I found myself retying them twice in just a short 4 miles -- something I never had to do with the 2nd generation Roclites.

The traction on the Roclite 295s is nothing to smirk at. By far, the sticky lugs on this performance outsole have outdone any other shoe I have tried. These shoes perform exceptionally well on everything from loose scree, mud, snow, roots, and gravel. The only place I've found where I don't care for the feel of these shoes is on the pavement or cement -- the large lugs were definitely noticeable.

A couple of signature features on the Inov-8 shoes is the Meta-Flex and Fascia Band. Both of these features are designed to provide more natural foot movement and to lessen fatigue on the feet. I don't know about the Fascia Band, but the Meta-Flex feature does provide for easier toe-off right out of the box. In fact, the Inov-8 shoes I have tried all require virtually no break-in period. However, the Meta-Flex feature has a dark side, which I will cover later.

All in all, I would call the test drive a great success.

Over 500 miles later...

To say that I don't like these shoes would be about as far from accurate as a person could get. I think the mileage speaks for itself. I put these shoes through the wringer! From the time I purchased them earlier in 2013 until late September, I wore these as my primary shoes. They took me through all types of terrain in both wet and dry conditions, and I loved every minute. But let me run through the result of all of this abuse running.

The Outsole

Considering all that these shoes went through, I was pretty impressed with the durability of the outsole. The outsole shows more wear than the 2nd generation Roclites did with roughly the same number of miles, but it showed no signs of separation from the midsole and still had some miles left in them. I am a forefoot striker and the lugs on the front of the shoe are now worn almost down to nothing. The original 4-5mm lugs are now 1-2mm lugs and a couple of lugs near the toes are gone -- my sacrifice to the trails.

After more than 500 miles, the outsole is nearly worn out.

The Midsole

While I tend to be a forefoot striker, I brake heavily with my heel and that shows in the midsole. While this is a neutral shoe, the midsole at the inside of my heel showed the most wear, compacting down and being ground off by some of the many rocks they brushed up against. There is still some life in them, but they will likely live the rest of their days as my lawn mowing shoes.

The Upper

This is the one aspect of this shoe that could use some serious work. It wasn't long after buying these shoes that I noticed wear on the upper near the inside of my heel. I don't have this wear pattern on any other shoe I own, and I could not isolate the cause to foot-on-foot scuffing, or to the rough terrain, but the upper simply can't hold up to the wear. The 2nd generation Roclites were well protected on this area of the upper, and it seems an odd design decision to remove any sort of protection in this area. The wear was severe enough on both shoes that I frequently noticed that small rocks were soon able to find their way into my shoes through the heel. The stitching in that area also began to fray and the upper near the insole began to come apart (refer to the pictures).

That brings me to the next issue: Meta-Flex. As I mentioned earlier, this feature does help provide a broken-in right out of the box feel, but there's a price to pay for that luxury. On the outside of each shoe, at the flex point, the upper mesh wore through and allowed small rocks to enter the shoe.

The final issue with the upper is what I consider to be a design flaw -- the Roclite 295 does not have a gusseted tongue. Even with Inov-8's gaiters, I was constantly stopping and picking out small rocks. Even a partial gusset would be a welcome addition to these shoes.

Other than the three problems I had, which were primarily wear related, the uppers held up fairly well. They are very breathable and drain/dry relatively quickly while on the move. The support and comfort is an improvement on the 2nd generation Roclites, but the mesh needs work.

Final Thoughts

I have to say that when a company makes an incredible trail shoe such as the 2nd generation Roclite's, it sets the bar so high, it's almost sure to set itself up for disappointment in the following editions. While there is plenty to miss from the 2nd generation Roclites, there's lots to love from the redesign. If you love knobby, grippy shoes that will stand up to just about any terrain, these shoes won't disappoint. However, they aren't as tough as the 2nd generation and I won't be surprised to see Inov-8 add some durability back to the shoes in future iterations of this shoe.

Hoka's: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

The Background
In the past year and a half of running, I feel like I have gone through the entire scope of running shoes. It started no different than most runners with my purchase of road shoes from a well known sporting goods store. I got a pair of Saucony ProGrid road shoes and proceeded to hit the streets. In all fairness, I was new to running, and those shoes served me well for the short time I used them. I knew nothing about feet, pronation, gait, heel strike, or anything else for that matter. All I knew was what the salesperson at the running store told me -- I pronate and need a shoe with extra support. Those shoes didn't last long.

After my first pair of shoes failed me, I started reading up on shoes, feet, gait, form and anything else I could on running "correctly" and efficiently. All of this reading and studying shifted my focus from extra padding and support to more of a minimalist approach. Now, whether you agree or disagree with the minimalist movement, I do have to say that without it, I don't know if my form would have ever improved. It taught me all about the midfoot strike, cadence and all the other good stuff. I was able to get past a couple of nagging injuries and soon became hooked on shoes that help strengthen the feet and connect me with the ground.

Recently, I developed a pain in the forefoot on my left foot, and have a flare up of plantar fasciitis in my right foot. The trails I typically run are very rocky and my minimalist shoes were not making things better. Because of the pain I experienced while running, I found that I altered my stride to avoid pain or to compensate for weakness, which resulted in pain elsewhere in my body. Enter Hoka.

I had a long run in Payson one weekend and decided to visit my local running store, IRun, and pick up a pair of Hoka Stinson Evo. This wasn't a spontaneous, impulse buy. I had a run with the owner of the store months before and told him of some of the problems I had been experiencing. Since that time, he kept recommending I try the Hoka's and I would in turn decline citing the fear of rolling my ankle, or how ridiculous they look. Curiosity finally got the better of me, and I have to say I'm very pleased so far.

The Good
For those of you who don't know anything about Hoka brand shoes, there's one word that can sum up the experience -- comfort. Perhaps the one feature of this shoe that stands out the most is the massive midsole. I mean, look at it! That is one huge midsole! The midsole is all about comfort, and believe me when I tell you that you won't experience anything more comfortable than running in Hoka's. The rocks I would normally feel while running down my local mountains became unnoticeable. My 9 min mile run downhill became an 8 min mile because I could now fly down the trail with less worry about which rock was going to stab me in my arch. There are other features about this shoe that shouldn't be overlooked. The second thing I noticed about this shoe was the quick lace system, which I can now adjust with just one hand -- it's that easy to use! Then, when I stood up and began to walk, I noticed the rockered design of the shoe, which literally feels like you're being propelled forward. The combination of these features make for one great running shoe.

The Bad
While there are a lot of good things to say about these shoes, I do have one big complaint with them. If you look closely at the soles, you will notice the small little lugs on these shoes. That translates to decreased grip when trying to conquer uphill climbs of loose pack gravel, dirt, etc. While on a recent run at Mt Lemmon near Tucson, I found myself cursing the lack of large lugs on these shoes and almost wishing I could swap out the Hoka's for my trusty Inov-8 Roclite 295 for the uphill sections. Other than the noticeable lack of lugs, there's nothing else that comes to mind that I would change.

The Ugly
Let's face it. Look at these shoes. Maybe the look will grow on me, but for now I find these shoes to be incredibly ugly. Hoka has made big improvements on the look of these shoes, but for now I have to give them a 2/5 stars for the look. However, the look of these shoes hasn't stopped me from sporting them on the trails anytime I feel like I need to baby my feet a little.

The Summary
I won't be making the Hoka Stinson Evo my all-the-time shoe, as I still love my Roclite 295s and my Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra2 (what a mouthful!), but it's nice to have options. I will be using the Hoka's on any run over 10 miles until my feet start to recover, and I will definitely employ them as my go-to shoe for my upcoming races.