Agree withe everything Benshep has said.Originally Posted by Travs
I personally think there is no better shoe for grip in the big mountains and certainly would not do a Lakes AL/AM in anything else.
Agree withe everything Benshep has said.
I personally think there is no better shoe for grip in the big mountains and certainly would not do a Lakes AL/AM in anything else.
Pete Shakespeare - U/A
Going downhill fast
Just to play the devil's advocate; the question has got to be asked:-
Do Inov8 produce a "good all round fell shoe" ( as per the O.P's original question )?
If they did, they would surely not offer a range of so many "specialist" models?
I was a bit of an oddball until I was abducted by aliens; but I'm perfectly OK now!
Back in the days of 'old' there were 2 choices:
Walsh PB Racer
Walsh Raid
The PB Racer was (and still is) a great shoe and one which I often use for short grassy races such as Grasmere Sports and Great Whernside.
Then along came ETA's, Felldancer, New Balance and a few others, but until Inov-8 arrived on the scene and flooded the market with great choice, the PB Racer was always the best.
Just look at the pictures in the old Fell Runner magazines ~ everyone was wearing them. :-)
See the light in the night
LOL No!
Yep, agree with Ben. As you said "all round" I would plump for the Roclite 280, which I have just ordered from Sportshoes. For training on the moors they do most jobs really well. If it's particularly boggy they will cope (but Mudclaw would be better) but when it dries out & the ground becomes harder in summer they will still be fine where the Mudclaw would be too aggressive. They're a good starting point & will offer plenty of protection for somebody new to fell running. As you gain experience & speed you will no doubt start buying a pair for every eventuality! (I'm looking at you Ben!).
Roclite was my first fell shoe & I'm still buying them, which says something.
Go on eBay and find some nearly new ones - then you can have 2 or 3 pairs for the price of one pair out of the box. Can't have too many boots - buying 2nd hand for every eventuality is what I did.
Not got my head round the new Roclite range.
In the "old days" - 315 was 3 arrow and 9mm drop, 295 was 2 arrow and 6mm drop
Now - 280 seems to have replaced the 315, ie it's 3 arrow and 9mm. Seems a bit weird that with a bigger drop and more cushioning it's now lighter than the 295 ?
I find the X Talon to be a reasonable all rounder. I try to run with a forefoot strike on trails which helps mitigate the lack of cushioning, and if i come across some grass or bogs there's just about enough grip to get by with; i'd liken them to a worn out pair of PB racers with a bit more cushioning thrown in. For high performance grip nothing grabs like a PB Racer, unless you have fat feet and can live with the mudclaw range. I've been off Winder in both the Talon and the PB Racer, the Talon was letting go and i almost smashed my arse on rocks.
Luke Appleyard (Wharfedale)- quick on the dissent
I echo comments about the 265 - great grip on grass, excellent on rough rocky ground, low profile which provides extra stability on descents. It also has a good combination between being light but decent amount of protection.
265 is my shoe for a lakes AL and most AMs with the 190s making an outing for more runnable AM routes.
Agree with that. If I had to have one pair of shoes for all off road running it would be the 265s. I even did half of the L100 to Dalemain in them last year. Admittedly I was in need of a change to more cushioning by then, the ground was very hard though. Better to have too much (especially in races) grip than risking having too little.
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