Time to continue with some reviews of gear used in
Russia. My footwear were the
Inov-8 OROC 280, a lightweight trailrunner with spikes to give extra grip. I was the only person to use trailrunners on this expedition, all the others used rubberboots. Lets have a look, shall we?
The important bit: Weight for the pair in Size 42,5 is 567 g.
What makes this shoe stand out - besides the colour - is that it has before mentioned spikes, a whopping nine of them to be correct. Six under the forefoot, three under the heel, guaranteeing you solid grip on every surface (except marble floor, on which it is damn slippery). Every surface means for me rock, ice, mud, tree roots, swamp, forest ground, be they normal, wet, flooded or frozen.
Nine spikes to rule them all. Ähem, have splendid grip on any surface.
The shoe is super breathable, dries quick and is absolutely not waterproof, just as I like them. The laces seem to be made of some kind of dyneema material, at least they are a lot thinner and stronger than normal laces, again something I prefer - they keep knots better than the normal lace materials. The upper is made of neopren, and Inov-8 tells us it helps to protect us better from dirt and debris. The truth is I still get all kind of grit in them if I am not wearing gaiters.
The OROC 280 has the Endurance sole, which is in my experience just as grippy as the Slicky sole, but your milage may vary. The profile of the shoe is similar to the Roclite, which is to date my favourite profile for outdoor shoes. As durability is something that is always asked about, I have walked over 200 km in my OROCs so far, and yet have to see problems with endurance, but I also only wear them for trailrunning and backpacking.
I would say the footbox is normal to narrow, if you have wide feet in the front then you might want to look at another shoe, but for folks with narrow to normal feet these are fine. Now, with the winter upon us, these trailrunners allow you to walk save on icy trails, lakes and mountains without needing spikes or similar, thus a useful piece of kit if winter doesn't send you back indoors and crampons would seem like overkill for your trips.
I can't think of anything I don't like about them at the moment. Improvements? Well, all black would be cool, obviously. I was thinking if two additional spike even further at the front would make sense, as I walk/ run with the front of my foot striking first and this could give a tiny bit more traction an real slippery surfaces, but after some more consideration I came to the conclusion that they're fine as they are. Well, except if they'd come in all black, obviously.
All in all a very lightweight, fast shoe with great grip, good durability and fine looks =) Sadly the
usual suspects don't seem to have the shoe currently in their line-up, so I suggest if you like a pair that you email them and ask if they can get it for you, or visit your local outdoor shop and get them there!
Time to continue with some reviews of gear used in
Russia. My footwear were the
Inov-8 OROC 280, a lightweight trailrunner with spikes to give extra grip. I was the only person to use trailrunners on this expedition, all the others used rubberboots. Lets have a look, shall we?
The important bit: Weight for the pair in Size 42,5 is 567 g.
What makes this shoe stand out - besides the colour - is that it has before mentioned spikes, a whopping nine of them to be correct. Six under the forefoot, three under the heel, guaranteeing you solid grip on every surface (except marble floor, on which it is damn slippery). Every surface means for me rock, ice, mud, tree roots, swamp, forest ground, be they normal, wet, flooded or frozen.
Nine spikes to rule them all. Ähem, have splendid grip on any surface.
The shoe is super breathable, dries quick and is absolutely not waterproof, just as I like them. The laces seem to be made of some kind of dyneema material, at least they are a lot thinner and stronger than normal laces, again something I prefer - they keep knots better than the normal lace materials. The upper is made of neopren, and Inov-8 tells us it helps to protect us better from dirt and debris. The truth is I still get all kind of grit in them if I am not wearing gaiters.
The OROC 280 has the Endurance sole, which is in my experience just as grippy as the Slicky sole, but your milage may vary. The profile of the shoe is similar to the Roclite, which is to date my favourite profile for outdoor shoes. As durability is something that is always asked about, I have walked over 200 km in my OROCs so far, and yet have to see problems with endurance, but I also only wear them for trailrunning and backpacking.
I would say the footbox is normal to narrow, if you have wide feet in the front then you might want to look at another shoe, but for folks with narrow to normal feet these are fine. Now, with the winter upon us, these trailrunners allow you to walk save on icy trails, lakes and mountains without needing spikes or similar, thus a useful piece of kit if winter doesn't send you back indoors and crampons would seem like overkill for your trips.
I can't think of anything I don't like about them at the moment. Improvements? Well, all black would be cool, obviously. I was thinking if two additional spike even further at the front would make sense, as I walk/ run with the front of my foot striking first and this could give a tiny bit more traction an real slippery surfaces, but after some more consideration I came to the conclusion that they're fine as they are. Well, except if they'd come in all black, obviously.
All in all a very lightweight, fast shoe with great grip, good durability and fine looks =) Sadly the
usual suspects don't seem to have the shoe currently in their line-up, so I suggest if you like a pair that you email them and ask if they can get it for you, or visit your local outdoor shop and get them there!
Inov-8 OROC 280 Review
I bought the OROC 340, just because I wanted a more substantial rand for kicking in when going up hills. I wasn't quite sure how the 280 would hold up to icey snow they are thin and fantastically light (I am Steve the Destroyer).
ReplyDeleteThe spikes were excellent I walked up Ben Lomond last week and the spikes gripped very well. The only slight problem was when walking on ice and I started to remove my weight to take another step the spikes retract and lose grip. This is probably less of a problem when running and moving faster. Having said that if I didn't have the spikes I wouldn't of been able to stand on the ice without slipping.
www.wiggle.co.uk have a huge range of innov,s
ReplyDeleteCool, I didn't know they did a spikey pair. They are quite hard to find in the US, sadly.
ReplyDeleteWhat were you using for socks? Did you use liners?
As a wearer of spiky shoes i can atest to the lack of grip on marble floors or the industrial tiling found in most supermarkets. Ignore this advice at your peril. Last winter I walked into the local Meny wearing my Icebugs. My first step was into the produce aisle and I don't think I stopped sliding until I reached the beer section. Ziiiiiiiiiiip!
ReplyDeleteHow do you keep your feet warm Hendrik ? I end up reverting to boots at this time of year as the I can't stand the cold water.
ReplyDeleteGreg: Last year at this same time, I "accidentally" walked one weekend, about 70km, in non-waterproof Inov-8 Rocklites trough snow and cold water with occasional below zero temperatures. I thought that might be a problem with only thin running socks... But it worked really well! My feets stayed warm while walking and in camp I put on warm woollen socks without shoes (and if I had to go out to the snow I borrowed my friends rubber boots, but plastic bags would have done the trick with the wet shoes). I think it depends about the users physiology, environment and the way of using your gear.
ReplyDeleteHendrik: While I was still using my Rocklites I found the "arch of the foot" part dangerously slippery if I landed on wet roots while running. The part doesn't have any crossways texture but it is not much better with shoes that has slugs around the area either. I found that some Icebugs have spike on that that area and it seems to help a lot. Unfortunately most/all Icebugs run too narrow for me. It seems that you haven't needes that one extra spike with OROCs?
Steven, I put the 280s through some rough stuff and they're still fine. But if you're the Destroyer, good that you went with the 340s!
ReplyDeleteMark, I use at the moment Smartwool and Woolpower socks. In camp I slip into my Woolpower 600 socks, don the Trekmates liner socks and I'm good to go.
Joe, that sounds rather useful, really - sliding to the beer section!
Greg, in winter the current system is thin liner sock, depending on coldness a VBL sock/ plastic bag, a thick wool sock over that and of I don't have water resistant shoes I put on the Trekmates Goretex socks. The VBL is necessary if you have a slow metabolism or stand around a lot. That said, I got some Scarpa Mids in for test and will see if they're a good way forward!
Lightening up, the Sorel's are perfect for camp, but with over one kg... not UL. I never strike with the arch, always front, so having no spikes there is no worry for me. If I run I often don't even land completely on the ball =) The faster you go, the less contact you need!
I'm pretty sure 'Legolas' Morkel doesn't strike the ground at any point...
ReplyDeleteI have a pair of the Oroc 280s. While I like the sole and the little steel studs, I do not like the pointy toebox. Why do shoe manufacturers think that we have pointy toes???
ReplyDeleteExcellent post. I found your blog today on OBN. I like it and will follow along.
ReplyDeleteThe Average Joe Fisherman
http://averagejoefisherman.blogspot.com/
Thanks Ryan! Hope you enjoy the ride =) I'm off to check out your blog!
ReplyDeleteJoe, I indeed never strike the ground but just float above it, thanks to my Inov-8s ;)
ReplyDeleteAiP - I have pointy toes! Seriously though, they fit me very well, no problems with the shape. Maybe Inov-8 sees this and makes changes in the next line?
Excellent post. I found your blog today on OBN. I like it and will follow along.
ReplyDeleteThe Average Joe Fisherman
http://averagejoefisherman.blogspot.com/
I'm pretty sure 'Legolas' Morkel doesn't strike the ground at any point...
ReplyDeleteHi, since you have been useing the Oroc for some time now, how durable are they? Do the spikes last sharp on the rocky ground on the wear out? The reason why am i asking this is a thought to go to the Halti peak with them and its quite rocky out there.
ReplyDeleteI use them for orienteering, trail running and hiking in Estonia so i dont have any clue how they work on rock cause we dont have any. Compared to my last shoes VJ Twister they are a lot more comfortable, lighter, quicker to dry, easy to clean etc.
By the way, your review is the main source how i found out about Oroc`s and more greater is that i can buy them in Estonia.
Thank you very much for such great discovery.
Hei Tanel =) They do work good on rock, I have scrambled a few slopes up in them, and found them sufficiently grippy, sometimes they slip a bit (when surface is wet), but not too bad. I do think that another Inov-8 shoe, one with the super grippy rubbers, might be better, though if you own these already you should be fine. Have fun on Halti!
ReplyDeleteThanks for so fast replay, what would be the another shoe you indicated in you post?
ReplyDeleteI've been using since a year & liking the Inov-8 X-Talon 190 a lot for 3-Season use, and the Roclite 315 GTX for winter. Both have excellent grip, and the X-Talon is beautful light & airy. Too as I said, if you got the OROCs, then you should be fine :)
ReplyDeleteSent from the road.