Roclite 295 Grip

[Jez Hellewell]

Has anybody else found the grip(rubber) on the Roclite 295 has changed from old Roclite models? The grip & fit is the same, but it seems they have changed the rubber compound on the sole. The grip is now horrendous on anything wet. Including grass, mud, any rock/stone surface. Shame as other than that (quite an important issue) I love Roclites for day to day running. I am now in the market for another trail/fell shoe that is happy to do the odd road mile when required.
My wife has the Race Ultra & has exactly the same problem. She now uses them for walking only.

[Last Man Home]

Ooooh! That's a worry as I've just got a new pair this morning to replace my Mizuno wave harriers. My new inov8s have the blue tops & bright yellow soles. I'll give them a thrash tomorrow /Sunday morning and feed back. I'm always wary of colourful rubber and wet rock but thought inov8 would always design for the runner (ie sticky bright yellow rubber).

I was always mystified by my wave harriers: the black bit of the sole stuck well but the coloured middle bit was skiddy - what were Mizuno thinking?

[Jez Hellewell]

Ooooh! That's a worry as I've just got a new pair this morning to replace my Mizuno wave harriers. My new inov8s have the blue tops & bright yellow soles. I'll give them a thrash tomorrow /Sunday morning and feed back. I'm always wary of colourful rubber and wet rock but thought inov8 would always design for the runner (ie sticky bright yellow rubber).

I was always mystified by my wave harriers: the black bit of the sole stuck well but the coloured middle bit was skiddy - what were Mizuno thinking?

Hopefully you'll have more success. But I've used Inov-8 for years & I've never slipped as much as I do in the latest 295's.

[stumpy]

These are my favourite trail shoes, so this sounds worrying! Better stock up on some of the black soled ones I guess :-)

[Jez Hellewell]

Me too stumpy. I usually head off for my runs up a single track/road which is tarmacced for the first half a mile. Been running up there for years. And this is my first pair of Rosclites that slip a little on it when it's damp/wet.

[Last Man Home]

Ok, five miles mixed footpath surfaces - mud, wet grass, slate-gravel and wet rock - with bits of hidden rock in amongst the grass. These shoes are really comfortable to run in. Inov8 really make a good (standard) shape for my feet.

Ok, to the point: Slippage? Yes but not the screaming ab-dabs I was expecting. Sometimes absolutely sure footed, other times that nasty little spooky slip that spoils a run but no A/T slip/falls.

I've had a good look at the studs and they have a fine texture (micro-studs??). This may be the culprit as it would cause squirm. Think of it as hard cornering on tarmac on gnarly mountain-bike tyres - you drift (tread-walk) out of the bend on the tyre's studs. With a smooth tyre you just follow the intended line. I'm hoping that once scrubbed down to the stud proper, the sickening little slips will stop. If not, Inov8 deserve a rocket up them for making slippery fellshoes after showing us they can make brilliant shoes!

Fingers crossed and here goes stacking the miles.

[stumpy]

Maybe LMH, but all the previous 295s have had those "micro-studs" good name!) too and I don't remember slipping when they were new. Could be selective memory I guess, but time will tell!

[Mike T]

I can remember reading somewhere that shoes had an anti mould treatment applied to stop them going off in storage, and that this layer was slippery until, after a few runs, it had worn off. Not sure how true this is.

[mapper]

A well known sports shoe retailer once told me that the best soles for grip are black, as the colour applied to any sole makes them slippery.
The only coloured soles I've ever had were the 'grey' Inov8 mudclaw soles and their grip was substandard compared with the black soles, particularly on wet rock.

[Graham Breeze]

A well known sports shoe retailer once told me that the best soles for grip are black, as the colour applied to any sole makes them slippery.

Yep. Black is the new black. And the old black.

And I do wonder when "fell runners and their shoes" will appear in Pseud's Corner in Private Eye.