Customer Review

Wanted to luv these shoes!I really wanted to luv these shoes - but as the other review stated – narrow… and the tongue seemed to extend too far up the front of my ankle.The shoe is very light and looks great... but have returned it... thanks for the speedy shipment Zappos...!

Too narrow - Read great reviews online, so I thought I would give it a try. Unfortunately it was too narrow. Not quite too tight for my average width foot, but I felt like it did not give much wiggle room for comfort. It is a very light shoe with minimal padding, so it is good for those who want to feel the trail and move swiftly on it.

MY FIRST LOVE - I have to begin by saying that this is the 1st trail shoe that I ever completely fell in love with. I’ve always found trail shoes to be nothing more than a road shoe with a tougher upper, a stiffer sole, a bit more traction and a lot more weight. In order to justify spending the extra $$$ on another shoe specifically for trails, it had to be low profile enough to “grab the ground” so as to avoid ankle rollovers on roots, large embedded rocks and just uneven terrain. Then it had to have SUBSTANTIALLY more aggressive tread than that of a road shoe so as to fly through the mud, grass, and loose gravel uphill or down like a human ATV. Though secondary, a tough upper and a REALLY cool design would probably win me over.INOV-8 read my mind and delivered a NEAR perfect trail shoe with a brilliantly simplistic lug pattern on a well-cushioned forefoot and a lower heel for ultimate control. So when I first put them on, I was so excited that I ignored the fact that my arch hung completely over the narrow last. Then when the skin around my Achilles heel area blistered on longer wet runs, I alleviated the problem by taping my upper ankles. After researching feedback on the shoe (which included steaming it over a kettle), I concluded that the heel cup was designed too low and it angled in too sharply at the top with minimal cushioning. I first replaced the insoles with the thinner ones the company offers but eventually had to settle on an extra-thin set from another anonymous shoe I had. Minor inconveniences for the “ultimate trail shoe”. (Incidentally, this is the only reason for a lower rating on comfort. The 290 is still offers superior flexibility and feel for technical terrain than any other shoe I know of). My only complaint is that INOV-8 has continued to broaden their line of shoes without tweaking the shoe on which their company was built.Sure, they’ve come out with some other nice shoes that have either compromised the lug pattern or their classic looking upper design for a cheesy flashy look that better fits in the “geeks are cool too” running shoe market. Fortunately, with the increased popularity in fell type trail shoes, the options have grown as well. With the emergence of great shoes like the New Balance 800 and the Montrail Highlander, it’s really hard to justify taping up ankles and changing insoles for a trail shoe anymore. I’m waiting for INOV-8 to tweak this shoe to perfection but by observing their strategy for growth in the past couple of years, I just don’t see that happening.So now I’ve retired my MudRoc 290s and will always hold them dear to my running heart as my first love. I’ll even take them out for a spin once in a while for “good ole time’s sake”, but am now very content with my latest flings. I just hope a marketer from INOV-8 happens to read this review and is inspired enough to reissue this shoe that was almost perfect. It would be ashamed if they didn’t, because everyone else seems to be determined to perfect what INOV-8 started.

Great trail running shoes!I got these shoes to run in the California Mountains for 4 months. They fit perfectly and I do not have a wide or narrow foot--just average. Though I did get a 7.5 rather than my normal size of 8.5 based on online reviews. They are light and very flexible-perfect for xc racing but also great for everyday long runs in the woods (which I used them for). They don’t slip on rocks, woodchips, and various other terrain and they allow you to keep moving when reg running shoes cause you to slow down (yes I ran the same trail numerous times with these shoes and then reg. running shoes...these win) I def highly recommend these...just wear old socks when you run with these in the heavy dust and ultra soft, deep dirt. And try not to run with them on pavement...they are light racers. They are not supposed to have all the comfort of reg running shoes but of trail shoes where grass and dirt are your comfort.