Inov-8 Roclite men's 295 Trail Running Shoe

What I like about Inov-8 is they are precise performance specific designed shoes. They don't confuse you with numerous of designs to meet marketing needs oppose to purpose. Their website illustrates the difference and pupose of each design they make.I made the same mistake as others in regard to sizing and fit by ordering the WRONG shoes. I returned three pairs before checking out the INOV 8 website.Once I understood the sizing, fit and ordered the correct pair of shoes, I was amazed. After reading reviews and discovering what the problem was, it compelled me to write this review. I've been on Amazon for a long time, have written my share of bad reviews and only a few products impress me to take the time writing one. I'm not getting a free pair of shoes or compensation for doing this review.I've been a loyal Merrell fan ever since their inception and continue to be so for walking boots only. Their soles and foot bed design is not suited for running on loose gravel or skipping on wet rocks. I remember watching a contestant on Survivor wearing a pair of Merrell Moab's jumping onto wet rocks and I was saying to myself, "he's going to slip like I did." Sure enough, he fell and was out of the show.SIZINGBecause these are British designed shoes, the sizing will best suit you if use the EURO chart. A U.S. size 11(44.5) will fit like a U.S. design size 10.5 - you need to go up half size and buy a U.S. size 11.5 (45). Ecco, a European designed shoe also fits the same way. Again, the solution is to buy a U.S. 1/2 size larger or go with the Euro measurement.FITINOV 8 are available in two fits: Precision (P) and Standard (S). Sellers on Amazon will confuse you with non extent 2E or Medium sizes. To be precise, check out the "features section," it will either state Standard or Precision and if it doesn't, you're rolling the dice. Go on to the next seller or ask questions and hopefully they have the correct answer.Precision - fits snug and is designed for regular or narrow feet. They fit people who are accustom to wearing Asics or Adidas. (My son has narrow feet and wears these brands).Standard - has a wider toe box, allowing the toes to splay. They are suitable for people with wider feet; however, a person with regular width feet can also wear these at the gym or doing an activity not requiring a snug fit. If you wear New Balance and find Nike's to be slightly snug, you'll like these (That's me).I won't go into the performance specific details of the shoes because you can do that yourself by checking out their website, inov-8.com.If you're into doing heavy gym work outs, crossfit, trail runs or climbing, you'll enjoy your Inov-8's.I bought the Bare-XF 210, Rocklite 295 and Fast 250. They replaced my Merrell's and New Balance Minimus. I'm hooked.I tested my Rocklite 295 on a trail around a reservoir; steep cement and dirt face with an all gravel surface. Most shoes would have me slipping onto my butt going down the cement face, but I was confident enough to run down with no issues. And on dirt, I had no slippage and the soles remained debris free. After walking the muddy shoreline, I ran back up and suprisingly, my soles were free of mudd.

While I regularly train on trails and have been running for over 30 years, I did my first really technical trail race this summer. While I have had no trouble racing cross country using my racing shoes, this trail was another story. After reading up on trail shoes, I bought a pair of these and tested them out in the next trail races (after running in them a few times, of course).While I used to think the trail shoe was a gimmick to get runners to buy yet another pair of shoes, I found that these were well worth it for trail racing. First, the tread grips mud, sand, grass and wet rock really well. Since I had raced one of the trail runs before in my conventional racers, I could get a good comparison of the grip-these shoes make a noticeable difference.Interestingly, they slide very easily on smooth surfaces, such as my tiled kitchen floor-so it is a good idea to watch your step. It would be rather ironic (and painful) to tear up the trails only to fall in your kitchen while reaching for the Gatorade.Second, they seem sturdy and are relatively lightweight. I use them for trail racing, so that is a plus. When not racing, I just wear my trainers-even on trails.Third, they handle water quite well. The first race I wore these, we had to run through a flooded area. The shoes drained quickly and were surprisingly light after being soaked. Since many trail races feature water, this is a nice feature.Like many running shoes, the claimed size is off. They are about a half size larger than the stated size. I still do not get why sizing cannot be correct, but most runners are familiar with that weirdness.Overall, I really love this shoes-they are what I wear for trail and cross country racing now.

Too narrow, decided to return them and pick up a pair of Merrill’s. I have a couple of pairs of inov8’s, one for running and a barefoot pair for working out, so I was surprised how narrow these felt, and not just the sides, but the toe box as well. Bummer

Unlike my first pair of Innov8 shoes, these seem to be a “typical” width for my feet. The American 11.5 size was true to my foot. These shoes fit snugly, and that is fine. I have put in a couple mixed-use runs and the shoes are comfortable and did not require a lot of break-in. There is plenty of grip to the soles and they feel stable on trail runs yet functionally on sidewalks and pavement. Cushioning is good, and I am not the smoothest runner in the world! My one complaint is about the shoelaces... they are very narrow - almost like packing string. You need to double-knot them, and the small diameter makes them a pain in the butt to unlace. Not sure what it will be like when I get them packed with mud. They might look nice, but I would prefer ‘normal’ shoelaces.

Ran a Spartan sprint with these on and they performed fantastically. Other people wearing running shoes and what not were all over the place, but not me. These things gave me a ton of traction. The day was dry, but there were water obstacles and rivers to run through. The shoes did drain the water just fine, but not immediately. It took a number of steps, but this could have been attributed to the Mud Gear socks I was wearing. They seem a tiny bit thicker than other socks, but I love how they feel so I will deal with the slower draining. I have also done some trail running with these on and again they performed well, however, they don't have a shank so you will feel every rock you step on. It's not bad at first as I like to feel where I am on the rock, but after 9 miles, I was over it. Still. they performed well. I had no blisters or feet soreness at all. I have even put a few miles down on the road with these with no problems.Follow the size chart. I have a pair of Brooks and bought according to the interactive size chart that had me get a 1/2 size smaller and they fit like a glove.