Inov8 ArcticClaws

I've written about the Orocs in previous posts. They've been falling apart for a while now. Last year they were rescued by copious amounts of Shoo Gloo, but this year, far the worse for wear, they were consigned to non-running duties. (ie the bin). They had a good life - the Spine, icy running, and a good number of Mountain Rescue exercises and Callouts.
Time to replace them - but what with?





As I was scanning the pages, I came across last years Arctic Claws (thermal lined(!)) in the Black Friday sale on inov8s page.
Spikey shoes. With primaloft lining. At half price? What isn't to like about that? So I bought them.

What makes them good? - or at least better than the Orocs?

Studs/grip

The Orocs were pretty decent in terms of studs. They had 9 studs at various strategic points on the sole - slightly recessed so that when you weren't on ice, they kind of recessed into the sole. The grip on mud was pretty decent with some big treads. However, the Arctic Claws appear to have upped the game on both sides of this. The sole tread is enormous. Huge cleats that grip onto pretty much anything that isn't ice. The mud and peat from the Dark Peak gets released from the tread pretty easily as you run, and there are MORE studs. 16 in all, I think.
They grip to almost anything. But more about that in a bit.

Arctic Claws on the left - Orocs on the right

The problem with the Orocs was that when you ran on hard surfaces, the recessed studs would recess into the sole... which meant that they would in fact, recess into your feet. Not so bad for short distances, but after a while they got pretty painful. The only way I found to get around that was to create a kind of hybrid footbed with a layer of plastic around the areas where the studs would push into my feet, which would give me a bit more time before the studs got unbearably painful.
Not so much (it seems) with the Arctic Claws. Inov8 have apparently put plastic layering into the sole around where the studs are to protect against this very thing. So far when running around the Peak (on soft AND hard ground) I have to say that it is a very different experience to running in Orocs. No push through from the spikes at all. Generally comfortable and grippy as you like.

Size

As you might expect from a shoe with thermal lining, the toe box is pretty big. I would imagine that they are made with the thought that they are going to be used in the cold, so therefore, space for extra socks is a good idea. The racing version (arctic talon) has a smaller toe box, so if you're going for speed and have good circulation, these might be the better shoe. Personally I expect to be cold, having to wait for long periods of time while faffage happens, and do not have good circulation. The Claws enable me to have a pair of decent socks AND a pair of neoprene socks in them without my feet being compressed to the point that circulation reduces.

How are they going?

Well- I've had them since November, and no, we haven't had all that much snow since then, but I have used them a fair amount on rescue callouts. They give confidence in that they grip to everything. Mud, peat, dry stone, wet stone, river rocks, slimy rocks, everything you might come across on Bleaklow. The day they came into their own was a night search on Kinder just after the freezing rain at the beginning of December. There were patches of ice everywhere, and the rocks on the Northern edge were covered in a layer of sheet ice. Normally I'd have needed to get out a pair of Kahtoola Microspikes, or find another way - not in these. Steady and solid all the way.

Overall

yes, they are expensive, and not something that I'm going to be wearing for the entire year. Yes, they are a bit heavier than normal running shoes, mainly due to the carbide spikes in them. Yes, they really are a bit specialist in terms of use. That being said, the confidence in foot placement in the dark while fatigued carrying a heavy load is not to be sniffed at. I'm hoping that I get at least 3 winters of use out of these shoes, which means keeping them clean and generally clag free once they have been out. Inov8 have had their problems with long term wear and shoes falling apart - so I'll keep things updated in terms of how these fair. I would imagine a few of the dobs will fall out and the uppers might separate- but we shall see.  For the moment, though - I'm pretty damn happy.