After my previous article “Why a man who doesn’t like running loves trail running shoes?”, I received several inquiries about where to buy Inov-8 shoes. At that time, however, I was having a little trouble answering that it took me a while to tell which Inov-8 shoes to choose. Because the Inov-8 shoes have completely different shoe widths – fit depending on the product, and the out-sole is completely different according to the purpose of sports. It is a product that is hard to choose because of wide variety.
Their homepage is made mainly for people who perform special sports in niches such as trail running and cross-fit, so products seems to be designed only for people who running on muddy ground, climbing steep mountains, doing intense gym movements. It doesn’t look like a product that ordinary people who want to use for ordinary walking and running. In this article, I would like to tell you what kind of shoes Inov-8 has and what characteristics they have so that those who do normal walking, jogging and running can choose shoes that suit them.
As I wrote in “Why a man who doesn’t like running loves trail running shoes?”, I initially thought it was completely unrelated to me. Honestly, even if you look at the website, it doesn’t look like shoes that ordinary people buy. Although some shoes are used for special purposes, most shoes are very comfortable to use as ordinary walking, running and everyday shoes, so I will explain the differences of each shoes and how to choose shoes for ordinary people.
What kind of Inov-8 shoes can we choose?
What sports are Inov-8 shoes made for?
Inov-8 is a company that has become famous for trail running, but is also known as a cross-fit shoe. If you look at the website of Inov-8, the usage of shoes is explained in 3 categories, Run/Gym/Hike. Since Run and Gym are categorized into more detailed categories, so the products fall into 10 categories.
Run has 5 categories.
- Hard ＆ Rocky – Packed with extra protective features, these shoes make light work of all technical trails and rocky ground.
- Soft ＆ Muddy – Aggressive outsoles with longer rubber studs provide confidence-boosting grip when running over all soft ground and mud.
- Path ＆ Trail – Increased underfoot cushioning and wider-fitting uppers provide extra comfort for running over groomed paths and gentler trails.
- Road – Lightweight, cushioned and super-grippy road running shoes designed for training and racing all distances.
- Snow ＆ Ice – Tungsten carbide spikes on the outsole dig into all frozen and snow-covered terrain to ensure the ultimate in winter grip.
Gym has 4 categories.
- Versatility – The shoes that support all of your training needs. Lift, run and move in our versatile range.
- Lifting – Bringing lightweight flexibility and superior support to weightlifting shoes.
- Natural – Stripped-back and super-natural, the collection that brings the foot closer to the ground.
- Cardio – Super-lightweight & flexible, our Cardio range move naturally with the foot in motion.
Hike for Hiking
There are a total of 12 Inov-8 shoe series. Most of the main functions can be identified by the product name.
In this way, shoes are classified according to 10 types of usage scenes.On the other hand, looking at the types of shoes, there are 12 shoe series on website. Each shoe series has a different shape of out-sole designed for each use scene, so the following table summarizes what kind of shoe series is designed for which use scene.
In this way, each series is suitable for what kind of use, and what kind of outsole is attached can be known from the series name. There are several kinds of shoes with different functions in each series, but you can find out the main function of the Inov-8 product by looking at the product name.
The first part of product name is the shoe series name.
Next, if there is a letter G, it means that shoes are using G-Grip, an outsole using graphene.
The next number is the weight of the shoe in grams.
If the word GTX is attached at the end, the product is a waterproof shoe using GORE-TEX.
If there is a letter such as V2/V3, it means version of the standard long hit product.
In this way, the main functions that Inov-8 is promoting can be understood from the product name. There are several different types of outsoles with high flexibility and high gripping power, which are the most characteristic of Inov-8 products, depending on the application, but you can see what kind of outsole it is by looking at each series name. In addition, the lightness of shoes, which is another uniqueness of Inov-8, can be seen at a glance by looking at the product name. You can also judge from the product name the important function of whether it is an outsole using graphene or whether it is waterproof using GORE-TEX.
The Inov-8 shoes are surprisingly light when you take them with you, but when you bend the the shoe, you’ll be surprised how it bends very softly. It is designed so that the main characteristics of such products can be understood to some extent only by the product name.
Inov-8 shoes have a wide variety of fit and drop.
The main function of the product can be understood from the product name as mentioned above, but there are very wide variety of fit and drop which you cannot find from product name It is prepared for each sports use and user needs, but there are considerable differences depending on the series.
The fit of the shoe is 5 steps from 1 to 5 according to the width of the shoe. Narrow widths are available for trail running applications up and down steep slopes, but wider shoes are available for groomed, gentle courses and gym applications.
One of the unique features of the Inov-8 shoe is that it holds the lower part of ankle and the heel firmly. Even when wearing wide shoes, the toes of the foot are loose while holding firmly from the heel to the lower part of ankle which gives you stable step. My favorite shoes are the fit 5 shoes, which the heel are hold nicely and the toes spread out naturally as you walk.
There are 3 types of dropin Inov-8 shoes.
Zero-drop (0MM DROP) promotes the best natural form for the athlete with largest range
of motion in the ankle joint.
3MM/6MM Drop promotes a better natural form for the athlete with a medium range of motion in the ankle joint, reducing tension on the Achilles and calf.
6MM/8MM Drop promotes a good natural form for the athlete with the lowest range of motion in the ankle joint, minimizing tension on the Achilles and calf.
For me, higher drop eases the load on my legs when walking and running, so I will not get tired even if I walks for a long distance. However, when I try wearing 0MM DROP, I loved its natural walking comfort. Wearing 0MM DROP shoes moves my ankles deeper and puts a strain on I calves, but I can walk in a well-balanced and natural posture. I recommend 0MM DROP shoes for those people who want to balance their body.
And the table below shows what kind of fit and drop products are prepared for each series. You can see that the fit prepared for each product is completely different.
I have a high and wide instep. If it is fit 3, some shoes fits me will but others are not. Fit 4 fits me well and fit 5 gives me very comfortable feeling – heel is firmly hold while toe spread out naturally.
How to chose Inov-8 shoes
Which shoes are suitable for casual walking and jogging?
Of the twelve types of Inov-8 shoes, the ones other than the special-purpose Oroc and Fastlift (red letters in the table above) can be used without problems even when walking or running.
Mudclow and X-Talon (blue letters in the above table) that can run even in muddy or wet mountains, whose soles are rugged like soccer spikes, have a soft out-sole, so firmly grasp the ground even on asphalted road It is dangerous to walk on asphalted road with soccer spikes because it slips, but the Inov-8’s shoes are designed to allow you to run on muddy field as well as on mountain rock slopes, so you can grip firmly on solid asphalted road.
All other series (green letters in the above table) are perfect for casual walking and hiking.You can choose best products for your needs – fit, drop, water-proof.
What is the difference in size and fit between men’s, women’s and unisex shoes?
Looking at the Inov-8 homepage, there are three types of shoes – for men, women and unisex. For men size range from UK 6 inches to 14 inches, for women, UK 3 inches to 8.5 inches are prepared, and for unisex UK 3 inches to 14 inches are prepared. The difference between this men’s, women’s, and unisex is only the difference in the range of sizes prepared and the difference in colors. Fit for men, women and unisex are same if size is same. Women can choose men’s shoes as long as they fit the size.
There was a discussion whether to change the foot shape for men and women in the future when I was there, but the products released at this time (June 2020) have the same foot shape for men and women. It seems that it was less meaning to make a difference between men and women, because Inov-8 shoes firmly hold the feel while toe part is changed depending on the product. There is no problem if you choose the size and color that suits you without worrying about the notation for men and women.
Where can you buy Inov-8 shoes?
You can find store information page on Inov-8.com, so if you enter the name of the country or region, the store list will be displayed. However, it’s probably faster to buy directly from the Inov-8.com page because there aren’t many products ranged in the store. They ship to 60 countries around the world, so most countries are covered. Here you can find information about which countries they can ship to..
Thank you for reading this article..
Inov-8 can be taken like a brand of product for top athletes for special sports, but it is a very comfortable product for an ordinary person to use. Not only are the functions different depending on the product, but there are various sizes and fits, so I gathered the necessary information when choosing shoes. I hope that this information will be useful to those who are interested in Inov-8 shoes.