Lightweight footwear brand has more innovations up its sleeve.
More news from KORS - the Kendal Outdoor Retail Show - where we
were introduced to Inov8's latest, erm, innovation, the new
for this autumn x-talon 212 which is claimed to be 'the
world's lightest elite racing shoe'.
As with all Inov8 shoes, the number part of the name denotes
weight, so the x-talon tips the scales at around 212 grammes which
is, says Inov8, lighter than similar fell-orientated shoes from the
likes of Walsh.
That's all the more impressive given that while the shoe isn't
massively cushy, it still has more mid-sole cushioning than most pure
fell shoes combined with tough-looking but light mesh uppers and a
very aggressive, sticky rubber outsole.
It's intended for mountain, off-road and cross country racing and
will be in the shops for September 2009 priced at
£70. There are other shoes in the Inov8 range better
suited to walking, but if you're after a full-on lightweight off-road
running shoe, they look very interesting.
New For 2009...
We also had a quick guided tour of the Inov8 2009 range due out
early next year and while we're not going to go into detail, there
are a couple of interesting new shoes, three new women's-specific
models, some neat revisions and a range of all black,
ultra-lighweight, race elite packs.
The walking-friendly Flyroc 310 for example, gets a total cosmetic
update for next year - see below - and a new women's-specific version
with slimmer last, while the Roclite 320 features new medial and
lateral posting in the mid-sole unit, which basically improves
stability and should be a plus for anyone who finds current Inov8
shoes a little wayward on foot-strike.
Details of the current Inov8 range plus their handy useage matrix,
which makes sense of their ever expanding range, at www.inov-8.com
