Do you really need heavy, traditional walking boots on British hills? We check out Inov-8's trail / adventure race shoe, that's designed to allow your foot to move as freely as it's meant to.
Inov-8 Flyroc 310 Tested
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Price:
£65
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Weight: 670 grammes (pair size
43)
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Features:Lightweright
trail / adventure racing shoe with Meta Flex, Meta Cradle
webbing and Terra Shank, mesh uppers with reinforced toe
bumper, endurance compound rubber sole, endurance last fit,
webbing upper support.
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What's It For? Inov-8 started off producing specialist shoes
for fell and trail runners and technically the Flyroc 310 is intended
as a trail or adventure race shoe. Increasingly though, the company's
shoes are being used for all round walking by weight-conscious walkers
who appreciate the shoes' lightness and grip.
Inov-8 says the shoe is 'ideal for off-road and mixed terrain use
with excellent grip in grass and muddy conditions'.
The Techy Bits You could write a book on Inov-8's technical
take on running shoes. While traditional walking boots have always
tended to hold the foot rigidly in position, Inov-8 started with the
premise that it was better to engineer a shoe which allowed the foot
to perform in a way that allows the foot to behave almost as if
running bare foot.
That means, they say, less injuries, and better feel and function
as the foot can adapt subtly to cope with uneven terrain.
A lot of the technical features of the shoes are aimed at
achieving that natural flexible fit - if you want the full monty
check out the company's web site - so webbing straps are precisely
placed to secure the upper while allowing the metatarsal heads to
move naturally, sole units are designed to give a balance between
comfort and underfoot sensitivity and so on.
The bottom line is that a lot of thought has gone into the shoe.
How It Performs If you've only ever walked in traditional
boots, even lightweight ones, then bolting on a pair of Flyrocs is
going to be something of a shock, but a pleasant one.
The 'rocs are so light and so natural that it's almost like being
turbo-charged and we found ourselves inadvertently blasting up hills
that we'd previously taken at a gentler pace - it's a bit like riding
a super lightweight mountain bike or taking off your pack; you really
do feel lighter and faster.
The fit on our pretty average medium volume, medium width,
standard-issue Brit' test foot was excellent; snug enough to prevent
unwanted movement within the shoe, but not tight like a lot of fell
shoes. What we weren't prepared for was the combination of precision
and flexibility that the Flyrocs allow. Despite having a slightly
dodgy ankle, we never felt unstable or insecure in the shoe and could
adapt easily to changing terrain.
The big-paddled rubber sole gives phenomenal grip on both dry and,
particularly soft to muddy ground giving fantastic confidence
underfoot. The rubber's not quite so assured on wet rock, but still
pretty good, some Inov-8 shoes use a stickier compound for rocky
grip.
The relatively thin sole unit gives adequate cushioning, but sits
close enough to the ground for good stability underfoot. The end
result is that you find yourself skipping condidently through
tussocky ground and descending, in particular, much faster than you
would in boots. Four wheel drive for feet :-)
It's not all roses though, the version we have uses a simple mesh
upper which is great for breathability but not so hot for dealing
with puddles and heavy rain though they dry fast. There's a Gore-Tex
XCR-lined version out about now, which should cope better with those
conditions though.
We also had a problem with the snug and unpadded heel cup rubbing
on an irregularity on the back of our heel bone. That's not the
shoe's fault, but it does emphasise the need to take care when trying
on minimalist footwear.
Superb balance, fit, grip and flexibility for walking and
trail running. The sole bites into soft ground with the relish of a
polar bear spotting a seal cub and natural movement of the foot
allows for precise and accurate foot placement with no instability.
Meanwhile the light weight gives a jet-heeled spring to your
walking.
The mesh-uppered version tested isn't ideal on damper days, though
the bumper and reinforcements mean shallow puddles aren't a problem,
but a new Gore-Tex XCR version should be better for winter use.
Otherwise hard to fault. Mind that snug, unpadded heel cup though.
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Light, grippy. precise and very natural feeling on the
foot.
Mesh upper in this version not wet condition
friendly.
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Performance
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Value
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