Carn Cobra Shoe - First
Look
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Price:
£74.99
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Weight: 800
grammes (pair size 43)
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Features: Multi-purpose road and off-road
shoe, Slip Fit, SQ Lateral Support and TPU heel cradle, TPU
Toe Guard, Carn uTRX Sole Unit, Dual Density CMEVA mid-sole, PORON
shock system, vented mesh upper, Flex PU Nubuck Tongue,
Locking top eyelet, Bamboo-coated lining. Available in men's
and women's versions.
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What's It
For?
New UK footwear brand Carn - it's the gaellic for 'cairn' apparently -
says that the Cobra is a 'multi-purpose shoe designed for running or
walking and robust enough to cope with demanding terrain from rock to
fell scrambling'. Realistically though, we'd say it was more of a
walking shoe that you could, at a pinch, run in for short periods if
necessary. There are much better specialist running options out there.
More about Carn in
this
article.
The Techy
Bits
The Cobra comes loaded with acronyms and technical features in a
quietly impressive way. In simple terms, Carn has reinforced the heel
cup to maximise stability, based the shoe on a chassic that's laterally
stiff in the mid-foot for stability again, but has good longitudinal
flex for comfortable walking.
Exploded sole unit, note
mid-foot stiffening plate, top
Cushioning is by an EVA mid-sole unit with an interesting addition in
the form of a small, softer wedge at the tip of the heel which is
designed for soften initial foot-strike. Another unusual touch for an
outdoors shoe is the abandonment of a conventional tongue in favour of
a Slip Fit system a bit like a very sophisticated slipper in
fact.
Finally the top lace eyelet is mounted on the SQ lateral support which
pulls the heel back into the cup for improved fit.
How It
Performed
As with the
Storm
Chaser we tested recently, we found the fit on
our typically British medium width, medium volume test foot was
excellent. The heel fits snugly but there's plenty of toe space. What's
more, the Cobra gives sublime, soft, slipper-like comfort straight out
of the box. It's arguably the most comfortable shoe we've used, ever...
That's actually slightly disquieting if you prefer a more traditional,
sturdy, ruffty tuffty feel to your outdoor footwear, but if you want
cushioned comfort look no further. Obviously this is all subject to fit.
In use we found the Cobra comfortable, cushioned and capable underfoot.
The EVA mid-sole gives a nice, soft ride and the extra heel pad seems
to soften impact on hard ground nicely. We had no problems with
stability either thanks to the substantial heel cup and lateral
stiffness and liked the light, nimble feel underfoot.
The mesh uppers are super breathable as well making them ideal for hot
weather use and travel in fact - if you want more weather protection,
the eVent lined Viper is virtually identical but waterproof.
Carn's own brand uTRX sole unit has been as good as anything similar
we've used, though not as toothily effective on softer terrain as the
likes of Inov-8's full-on fell and trail-running shoes. Speaking of
running, we did pad up a few trails in the Cobras, but we do think
there are better options out there in pure running terms, so mostly
we'd regard them as walking shoes.
Is there a downside? Despite the soft feel on the foot, there's full
TPU protection at heel and toe plus Nubuck reinforcement above the sole
which should cope with most rough terrain use. That said, we'd steer
clear of biting, loose scree for the sake of the mesh upper.
Whether you'd be happy using them on rocky terrain is a personal thing.
We would, but if you're the sort of walker who prefers stiff-soled,
traditional boots on rocky ground, then the soft feel of this and
similar shoes may well alarm you.
We'll drag them onto some proper mountain terrain soon and see how they
cope and report back.
Ultra-comfortable, ultra-soft slipper-like feel on the foot that's
belied by competent, nimble, stable performance as an all-round, dry
conditions walking shoe. We're not sure about durability on rougher
terrain, but so far we reckon these are doing nicely and also exude an
air of quality. Lovers of traditional, stiff mountain footwear should
steer clear.
Buy if you
want a light, airy and sublimely comfortable walking shoe with high
build quality and some well thought-out technical features and don't
mind the soft feel.
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Stable, breathable with an excellent comfortable but functional fit for
UK feet.
 We're not sure
how the lightweight mesh upper will cope with really abrasive scree and
heavy use.
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Know more or want to?
If you'd like to add your own
experiences of this
product check out our user review system and post your opinions to
the world. If you have questions you can mail
us direct, ask
Richard Gear or try
a posting to our
gear
forum.
