Before my first run in the TrailRoc 255 was half over I knew
I had finally hit my Inov8 jackpot. Not that I had been gambling addictively
with the brand in search of a winner, far from it in fact, but my negative
experience with the Roclite 295 had left me prematurely cashing in my Inov8
chips. A friend of mine rarely runs in anything else but every time I took a
pair out for a spin my feet quickly got tired and sore in general, and my
arches ached in particular. The fit was just off and there simply wasn’t enough
underfoot protection to satisfy my soles. A week after the TrailRoc 255s landed
on my doorstep I still haven’t run in anything else. These shoes are sweet!
The TrailRoc series is a new line of shoes by Inov8 in which
the 255 resides at the upper (more protective) end of the spectrum. Although
there is plenty of wiggle room in the toebox the shoe fits like a racing glove
through the midlines and back to a snug heel cup with a soft yet stable heel
counter. The shoe feels like a slipper, albeit a stable one, so unnoticeable
that you might even catch a few post-run zzz’s on the couch while forgetting to
take them off.
Specifics, you ask? The TrailRoc 255 has a 6mm
split-the-difference-between-barefoot-and-traditional-shoes drop on a low profile
(or stack height). The midsole is injected EVA, which is really only useful
information if your feet and/or legs react particularly negatively to certain
types of shock-absorbing materials (I have a friend who can almost instantly tell
the difference between Asics’ Speva and SoLyte materials and who reacts in the
same manner as some folks do when given Pepsi instead of Coke, or vice versa.).
The upper is synthetic, tight-weave (think protection from debris intrusion)
mesh with TPU support overlays and has seemingly zero abrasion or irritation
points. Even though the 255 is considered the most protective in the TrailRoc
series I would say the toe bumper rand is only minimally so, although I didn’t
kick any rocks intentionally to find out.
The outsole is as aggressively-lugged and grippy as has come
to be expected from Inov8 shoes. The TrailRoc series builds its shoes on a
Tri-C outsole. This outsole is comprised of three zones of sticky rubber, each
with varying degrees of hardness (durometer). Although I haven’t yet been able
to test the shoe in wet or snowy conditions (I live on the desert rat side of
the Sierra Nevada.) I have found the 255 to be
bomber on dry, rocky trails and dirt roads. During the winter months I do a lot
of OwensValley running which usually entails
loops mixing in dirt and pavement. It was a great feeling to discover that the
255 feels just fine on pavement; in fact, it felt better than some “minimal”
shoes I have run in that were designed specifically for the roads.
The most recent incarnation of a “minimalist” footwear
movement has turned, or at least attempted to turn, the “traditional” approach
to running shoes on its head. Truth be told, Inov8 has been making footwear
that fits into this mold for far longer than the current bookshelf-life of
‘Born to Run.’ They nailed it with the TrailRoc 255, which means they most
likely nailed it with the entire series since the shoes are all built on the
same foundation, differing only in heel-to-toe drop and overall level of
protection/stability. My own foray into “minimal” running shoes has been
limited. I’ve been fortunate to sample a fair amount off the platter but, as of
yet, I have not found a shoe I would trade for the traditional (say, the BrooksCascadia) when going long or toeing a race starting line. That may have all
changed with the discovery of the TrailRoc 255…