Inov8 Baregrips (destroyed)?

See through shoes!

So I've had the Baregrips for about a year. I've worn them in 2 races, and a good number of training runs. (I just worked out that I've done about 200km in total in them) I'm not the kind of person that runs 100s of miles a week, and I certainly don't wear the Baregrips every week by any means. The soles still look brand new, literally, if I washed them, they look as if they haven't been worn. 100% total and utter aggressive outsole grip.
Fantastic.

The uppers though, are nigh on dead.
This, has, quite frankly, shocked me.

I know that these are lightweight fellshoes. They are 200g per shoe and are made as a grippy barefoot shoe for offroad running. They are lightweight and they are minimalist. From the photo you can see that the wear pattern on them is through bendy bit just at the 1st metatarsal.

A Big Hole. (Medially)

I'm not averse to holey shoes. Let me make that very clear. Holes make excellent bailing devices, water just pours out as you run. (or shoots out if you have enough water in your shoes and there is a small enough hole... the resulting pressure can create quite a stream).

I think the reason I am flabbergasted and annoyed is that I've never actually had a shoe which the upper fails before the grip before.
Ever. 

Yes, there is an argument that the higher performance the item, the better it works in the short term, but long term longevity is sacrificed. Think about Formula 1 tyres. I dare not think how much each tyre costs, but it lasts all of a few laps, but with grip that you can't even begin to believe. If you had some of them on your car, at the right temperature, you'd stick to the road like glue. (an odd analogy, because you have to take aerodynamics, downforce etc into account, but I hope you get my point)
Expensive, high performance stuff lasts for less time than lower performance, low price stuff.

Its like the pair of 5:10 moccasyms I bought for climbing. They were my second pair of climbing shoes ever, and they stuck to the wall like my feet were covered in glue. I climbed in them twice a week and was SHOCKED when I went through the toe in 6 months. My footwork was sloppy, and I dragged my toe everywhere on the wall, ok, it was bound to happen. I was still very much a beginnner.

Still a ridiculous amount of grip

If I was running in these Baregrips twice a week, and tearing through heather, gorse, rough rock and goodness knows what else, then yes, I would fully anticipate that they would probably be trashed beyond recognition within 5 or 6 months. Its what they are made for, yet they are a high performance shoe that is likely to not last so long.

That being said, I feel like I've barely worn them. I looked forward to using them in the clag and mud of the winter, and yes, they were great until it just got too cold. I didn't expect them to stay in pristine condition forever, but I did expect them to not have holes in after less than 10 days of full use.
Am I being a little harsh on them?

Hole on the lateral side of the shoe

I don't know. You may have seen the review on the Roclite 268 that I wrote a while ago, and the destroyed blog as well. It took fully a year or more of constant fellracing and adventure racing, in pretty nasty conditions, to finally begin going through the uppers on them. Yes, they are 68grams heavier, and no they don't have the same kind of grip on them, but that's more like the kind of wear that I would expect.

Inov8. You have some excellent shoes. You have some excellent grips, but you also have some quite fragile shoes.
Is it possible for you to have a look at the Baregrip or the X-talon sole units and put on an upper that doesn't eat itself? Roclites are great, and it seems that when the grip starts going, it really goes, and then the upper begins to go as well. However, in this case, having a shoe with a fantastic sole but an upper that no longer holds your foot, might be a little limiting to running.

Just for the record, I'm still running in these things as the grip is fantastic, I don't think it's going to be long before they completely fall apart on me. Hopefully not somewhere a long way from home. A lot of the upper is still in very good condition, but the weak spots are almost making them un-runnable.

I wonder if there is a way to graft the sole onto another shoe upper? A phantom Frankenstein of a shoe with is indestructible. THAT would be a good shoe.

Mudclaw 333 Review

Ok, so I have quite a few pairs of inov8 shoes. I've never had a pair of mudclaws before, never really needed them. Living in London, you get the occasional bit of mud, and running in a number of places, roclites or mudrocs tended to be fine, no matter what you were running on. Ok, you might get the odd bit of ground where you might slide a little, but nothing serious.

Since living in the Peak district and running a lot on peat bogs and around the moors, I have used the Baregrips, which have been great, but when running on stoney and lumpy, rocky ground, they just don't work for my feet. Its too painful and I lose all semblence of pace and running ability. (I've always been like that on stoney ground... pebbly beaches were my nemesis as a child). (and seaweed, but thats another story).
As winter came, and wetter weather, the moors have become a bit more boggy and a lot more wet, and hence, they have become a lot more slippy. Perfect for Baregrips, but when you don't spend the entire run on terrain like that, you need something that is going to work well on bog, and also not be agonising on stone. I have put off getting a pair of Mudclaws for a long time, but after a run where I fell over a good 5 or 6 times within 20 minutes, I figured that it was probably a good idea to get a pair, see what they were like, and save myself the agony of continual pitching over in the mud and down drain holes.

Brand spangly new

The 333s have a 2 arrow sole, so slightly less sole difference than the roclites, and quite a bit more than the Baregrips, the grip on the bottom is quite extreme with huge studs in a very aggressive pattern. Its the kind of thing that would take your face off if you got hit around the head with it. Just what you need for slippy slidey mud. The idea was to have a pair of shoes that quite simply does not slip under any but the most ridiculous circumstances, and provides some protection from rocky ground as you pound down a hill at the end of a race/ run.

The sizing of the 333s is much the same as old school Mudrocs, and the current Baregrips. For me the 7 is just a fraction too long, and the 6.5 is certainly too short. I opted for the 7s as I'm going to be running over winter, larger sizes in which I can fit another pair of socks was going to be a pretty good idea. On the first run out, they were fine. No blisters, no issues, nothing.
Comfortable as you would hope a pair of shoes to be.
Having used the Baregrips, I knew what I expected on the levels of grip, and across mud, bog, peat, grass, steep hillside etc, I was not disappointed. They grip onto all these things as if you have nailed your feet to the ground. No problems in the slightest. I have to say that I have slipped in mud a few times, but not necessarily slipped over, on those occasions, I think it would be fair to say the only way you could have not slipped would be to be wearing nailed boots. (A small point, but don't expect to go out and NOT slip over, or slide a bit on really deep mud, if you don't want to slip over, don't run in the mud)

The only thing they do not grip to in any way shape or form is wet rock.
This is fine if you are tentatively clambering across a large amount of it, simply because you know you can't grip to anything. Don't stand on the top of rocks, you'll slip off, don't trust your feet unless you have them wedged into a crack, or at the lowest point of the rock where they cannot slip off. However, when descending a welsh hillside at a relatively decent speed, and you put a foot on a previously hidden bit of rock as opposed to the grass all around it, a rather good impression of a flailing idiot is needed to prevent you from losing all balance and dignity.

Pressure points after a couple of runs

Good grip to a point, but not on all surfaces which you are likely to come across in a run/race.

Having done a good couple of hundred miles in these now, I can happily say that I haven't had any blister issues, or crazy painful points in them. Not even the blood blisters on the medial side of the 1st metatarsal head that that I got from the Baregrips has appeared. Actually, tell a lie, after I did about 3 days in a row of a fair distance of running, I did have a couple of hot spots around the big toe on my left foot. Apart from that, however, they seem pretty ridiculously comfortable for short and long runs, and the pressure points have not returned, or developed into blisters.

I do have a minor issue with the length of the sole, and I realise this is quite a personal thing - but is worth mentioning. When running in heather and long grass, the extra little bit on the end of the shoes that I am not used to having- the 7's are ever-so-slightly too long for me, I keep catching the ends on the undergrowth, and have taken a fair few spills because of it. (not just in these, but also in the Baregrips). The Roclites are fine (I wear the womens model in a 7- which is a perfect size), but the last on these just seems to be a bit long for me, and it takes just that extra bit of brain processing and muscular effort to enable me to remember where my shoe ends, as opposed to my toe. If the shoe was made with a womens specific last- where the 7 is just that mite smaller than the mens 7, it would be perfect.

The uppers are not showing any signs of wear- unlike the Baregrips- I bought the 333's specifically because they seemed a lot more robust than the 272's, and that decision seems to have been vindicated so far. The 2 arrow sole, with the extra grip underneath seems to give me adequate protection from stones etc on mixed paths, though I try not to run on them too much, considering the grip on the bottom, I'd rather not wear it down too much with excessive path running. None of the studs have come off (yet) I head this was a common complaint with previous models of Mudclaws. Also, my heels are in good shape, they have not been ripped to shreds as the old white ones used to do to Robs heels...

I will be using these shoes quite a lot over the next few months, along with the Baregrips, though where the Baregrips will mostly be an on-the-moors training shoe, the Mudclaws will be a racing shoe, until the weather turns nicer and I can go back to the Roclites for the Spring/summer.

Not quite as new, but still pretty clean

A great shoe for complete confidence on wet, muddy ground. Even hiking boots feel like ice skates after wearing them. However, a nightmare for wet and icey stone.
Comfortable, seemingly robust and a good choice for winter on the moors and mountains.

Inov8 Race elite 3 (preview)

I reviewed the Race Elite 2 a while back, and generally it turned out to be a very useful little bag. However, I found it just a tad too small for the longer runs I was setting out on. I didn't want to use a rucksack with a water bladder, something like the Osprey talon 5.5- which is great for ridiculously long runs- but something still bumbag sized so that I could get used to the feeling of one when running. The reason for this is so that when on a race with a small kit list, I can fit it all in a small bumbag and be used to running with the weight. I found that when I started running with the Elite 2, I was a little put off by the weight around my waist, and running with a rucksack wasn't getting me used to it.

What I needed was a bumbag with a bit more room than the Elite 2, and a water bottle- give me enough space for food, water and enough clothing to keep me warm should the weather turn nasty- and you need more of that in the winter than in the summer. The Elite 3 seemed like quite an obvious candidate. I have never really seen another fellrunner with the Elite 3, but I have seen a number with the OMM 4 litre bag. I was interested in that, however, I wanted a bag with the water bottle in the centre (or at least diagonally across it) so that it is stable. The OMM 4 has the bottle on one side, which, it seems to me would be a little unstable when the bottle was full.

So taking the plunge I was able to get hold of a Race Elite 3. (no, nothing spectacular. My sister bought it for me as a birthday gift).

The provided bottle

Immediate differences to the Elite 2 (apart from the obvious bottle, and 2 pockets instead of 1) is that the waist belt is a lot thicker and sturdier than the elite 2- to be more comfortable with the slightly heavier weight, one would guess. The wings are bigger to accommodate the extra storage space, with the pocket on the left being waterproof-y type material, and the one on the left, stretchy mesh- end result being that the bum bag ends up feeling a little like a comfortable rucksack hip belt. The bottle is held in the holder with elastic wrapped around the outside, and tightened across the top of the bottle. The reason for getting this particular model was because the diagonal fashion of the waterbottle.

the elasticated bottle holder

It fits a lot of stuff in it- unsurprisingly. The danger here is over stuffing it and carrying more than you really need. On a recent run (of about 36km) I had 3 bars, a waterproof top, spare gloves, compass, waterproof trousers, cut down map, and a waterproof bag with some odds and sods in it (mobile phone and the like). A lot more than I could have fit in the 2 litre one, and that kind of stuff would have been rattling around in a rucksack. The water bottle configuration was excellent, easy to get hold of as I was on the move (I am right handed, if you're a lefty, it might make things a little more difficult) and its a bit of a faff getting it back in, but it is brilliantly stable- not like a bottle on one end of a bag dragging you down on one footstep and not the other.
Over all, it seems a good size- and when I was out last time, I ended up wearing pretty much every single piece of clothing I took with me- I got a tad cold, (and didn't take enough food, but thats another story).

slightly sturdier right pocket

My one minor gripe with it at the moment, after a couple of runs is that the buckle clip thing is placed in such a way that it sits directly on top of my ASIS (anterior superior iliac spine- the nobbly bit on the front of the hip). The clippy bit of the buckle is the one that adjusts, but the solid part is sewn on and is unadjustable. Most probably a weight saving thing, but its in just the wrong place for me, and I have to move the entire bag around a bit in order to get it comfortable. Slightly annoying.

Mesh left pocket

Shame I don't have any pics of me actually out and wearing it in action, however, I haven't been out running with anyone to take pictures of me... ah well.

So- so far, it appears to be stable, carry enough stuff to be useful in the autumn/winter for a decent 5 hour jaunt,  has a decently thick waist belt, (but with a minor issue with the belt buckle) but it fills the gap between an emergency bumbag and a rucksack very well indeed.
If both buckles were adjustable it would be just about perfect. We'll have to see how it fares in the next few months, when I suspect it will get a fair amount of use and abuse.

Bog bashing to Hope

The morning saw Lynne and I over at Chew Valley hiding in holes in bivvy bags waiting for SARDA (search and rescue dog association) dogs to find us. All part of a training session for handlers and their dogs from various Mountain Rescue Teams from around the country. I sat there in my Lamina 35 and a Rab Storm Bivvy Bag and stayed dry and warm for a good few hours with 3 lots of dogs finding me.
The Storm bivvy beaded well- as you would expect for something just out of the bag on its first use, though the top of the Lamina got a bit damp around the top- mostly from moisture from my respiration in the Bivi bag.
Glad I had a synthetic bag not a down one that would have lost a lot of insulation almost immediately.

So we stayed there for a few hours, helping them out by lying in holes and, in my case, having a bit of a kip.


The afternoon needed a bit more of an active tilt, and as we were due over in Hope for the evening, and I have kind of volunteered my services for a High Peak Marathon bid, I thought it might be nice to have a look at a bit of the route I don't know- which goes from the trig at Brown Knoll in a South Easterly direction to Rushup edge and along to Hollins Cross. I decided to head up over from Hayfield rather than from Glossop, as I really didn't fancy the trog along the side of Kinder which I know pretty well anyway, and the clag was really down, so there was little chance of seeing anything up there apart from cloud.

Cloudbase was somewhere around 430m or so- the vast majority of the hill was totally obscured, and it was heavy fog (known by less optimistic people by drizzle), as I don't yet own any of the lightweight waterproof jackets which are on my list, I put on my Dragon Jacket- with windstopper membrane- not waterproof, but very windproof and certainly enough for the weather.
The first part of the run just went up into the cloud base, but its a route that I've done before, so all I needed to really worry about was temperature regulation. Feet were wet within seconds, but were kept warm with the somewhat thick Teko Wool socks that I had on.
I had a bit of a dilemma with the shoe choice, yes, it was going to be muddy and slippy, but there were also parts of the run that went along bridle ways as well. Baregrips would have been an ideal choice, but I'm just not comfortable enough running along hard ground in them, so Roclites it was instead. Grippy to a point, but more comfortable along harder ground.

I was certainly happy I had the Roclites on as I toiled my way up the bridleway to Edale Cross, rocky and gnarly, basically looking like the bottom of a river bed. At times I was ankle deep in water, but thats all part of the fun.
Passing Edale Cross, I hit the path crossing the bridleway and went south, with the wind hitting me from the west. Underfoot changed to flat paving slabs across the moor, just like the rest of the bridleway over across Bleaklow. I followed this for a while again being glad of the Roclites, and then I had to turn off the slabs and onto bog proper in order to get to the Trig point. I took a bearing and followed that, though to be honest, all I really needed to do was follow the muddy boggy trail of footprints in the vaguely correct direction. There was a little bit of confusion as I got to a place that was basically a massive grough, but thankfully, I had gone this way before, on the 15 trigs, and was able to pick my way directly to the Trig point.

The Trig point was ankle deep in water, so I stood there, took another bearing, sighted through the mist and cloud, and worked out what kind of direction I was going in. Also- time for a quick snack. I bought some Torq bars the other day, there are 4 flavours, apparently divided into 1, 2, 3 and 4. I broke out the 1- which is Tangy Apricot. The website says that its a "moist and chewy energy bar // with TORQ ribose. Made with Fairly Traded fruit. Very low in fat. Easy to eat."

Well, I broke it in half and stored some for later, and yes, its moist and chewy, but I would certainly not call it easy to eat, especially on the move- but a little more on that later as I have more problems with it later in the run as I was trying to eat it while running. 

Off I trotted, away from the trig point into the cloud, following a very well defined path along the moor. This was perfect territory for Baregrips, but unfortunately, as previously mentioned, I wasn't wearing them. So I pounded through some rather bog-tastic terrain, mostly with decent grip, but also slipping and sliding a fair amount. The worst bit was keeping running momentum going as I disappeared shin deep into sucking mud. It was like trying to run with my legs half bent instead of straight, which was fairly amusing, and quite tiring. I only nearly twisted my ankle once, and got out of it by going with the fall and rolling into a pile of muddy peat. Up again, and on and on. With the cloud down as it was, it was almost like running forever in a landscape where time had no meaning, but eventually, my bearing following got me to exactly where I wanted to be. Hang a right and a left, and I was on the bridleway over Rushup edge.
Once more, now off the bog, I was happy with the shoe choice, and that pretty much continued all the way to the end. Up over Lords seat I picked up the pace a bit and had a glorious run through the rain with an ocean of cloud around me. I thrashed over to the road into Edale, crossed it, seeing a party of somewhat bedraggled and not entirely happy "youths" being led by an equally bedraggled leader up to the top of Mam tor. 
I thought about going that way as well but being on a recce, I figure that following the plan was the best idea, so off contouring around the hill on the Bridleway and down the hill to Hollins cross. All good fun, but again, partially on flagstones, not my favourite thing to have underfoot. 


From Hollins Cross I went along the ridge, and on my way up to Lose hill I thought I'd have the rest of the Torq bar. Used to being able to eat and run at the same time I started to tuck in. And succeeded in nearly choking myself to death. The amount of chewing you need to do to make the food into manageable pieces to swallow, even from a bite sized piece is unbelievable. By the time I finally managed to finish it I was so out of breath from trying to eat the damn thing I was nearly stopped. Not the greatest advert for an energy food. I wonder what numbers 2,3 and 4 are going to be like? Probably the same. It was just too chewy for its own good, and I certainly didn't feel any better than had I had a Geobar.


Up and over Lose hill, had a couple of route finding issues coming off the hill as I wanted to end up in Hope. Having gone up the hill a number of times, I can do that, but coming down in the mist was a little more amusing. I think I shall do a few more runs around there to make sure I know quite what I'm doing. 

I ended up in Hope pretty much bang on 2 hours after I left Hayfield. A tad muddy, a little tired, but with my need for exercise a bit sated. 
Today is a rest, recuperation and washing day. 


Sorry about the lack of pictures, I didn't have a camera, and to be honest, it was a bit nasty up there and I didn't have time to take any. As a consolation, I do have a garmin track for it. I've taken to putting it in the back of the rucksac and hoping it does its thing, as wearing it on the wrist is a complete waste of time. (see my recent garmin blog). Here is the track

Gear thoughts for winter

So I'm arriving at a dilemma.
We're coming into autumn, and then into winter, living in the Peak district and running a lot is going to be quite amusing. I have plenty of walking kit and warm stuff for slow moving activities, and a good lot of kit for mountainous activities.
Not a whole lot of gear for the fast paced running that I'm planning on doing. As long as the weather stays nice, it will be fine. However, as soon as it gets nasty and claggy, things could well get interesting. I'm certainly not going to sit at home sipping cups of tea just because it happens to be a bit wet outside.

However. Neither do I particularly want Hypothermia.
At present my base layers are fine, I have no issue with them, except that they may even be too warm. A couple of long sleeved t-shirts might come in handy.

Waterproof top- needs to be incredibly breathable, and water proof.
Pertex works to a point, and my Montane velo H2O jacket has been brilliant for the past couple of years. The delamination is really starting to spread across the jacket. Its good to a point, but it just isn't breathable in the slightest. I want something a little more heavy duty and much much more breathable.
I appear to have a couple of choices.

OMM Cypher smock. Which seems pretty good. eVent fabric, breathes really well, very weatherproof, not a "rustley" fabric, close cut, very lightweight and generally an excellent choice.
I did see a relatively recent review of it which seemed to indicate that it melted when worn with a rucksac, in much the same way as my Montane featherlite.
Hmmm. I don't particularly want a jacket that melts on me when I run, especially if I'm paying more than £100 for it.

Montane Spektr smock- again eVent fabric, a close cut and hyperlightweight mountain running jacket, with a design that means there are no zips. Rolls up small, seems to be pretty good, though its a bit of a leap to get a jacket with no zip as the ventilation which you might end up needing might not be so good. The hood doesn't have a peak, but its designed to be used with a hat. Interesting.
Hmmm

Rab demand pull on. Again, eVent, a smock, and well designed. Cheaper than the other two, but more designed for mountainous use rather than high paced running, or so I am led to believe. Still, it looks like quite a contender. The hood is apparently pretty good too.
They all pack away ridiculously small, all breathe very well, and all have a look in. Anyone have any strong thoughts for or against any, or have experience with them melting when used with rucksacks? That would be very annoying indeed.

Waterproof trousers- this is an interesting one- I was looking at the Montane featherlite pants, just as something to keep in the pack- but I actually want something that is going to be waterproof when I put it on, not just a windproof. I'm not looking for something that will get me through a kit check, I want something that is going to work for me on the hill.
The OMM Kamelika pants look pretty good- softshell, apparently very runnable in, waterproof and stretchy.
I'm pretty sure that Montane are releasing the Minumus pant early next year, or maybe even this year. I've heard excellent things about the Minimus Jacket, and Im pretty sure that the pants will be just as good. Not sure how nice they will be to run in, but we shall have to see.
Other than that I'm a bit stuck on the gear front. Really, I don't expect to be running in them, they'll be there for emergency only. Lynne has a pair of Paclite pants that would work up to a point, but they are a tad bulky for the current bum bag.
Maybe I need to re think the pants.

Bumbag, 2 litre Inov8 one seems to be going well, but I really miss the water when Im out for a longer run. The 3 litre one might work quite well as it has a waterbottle integral to the design. More gear space, more water. Could be good.
The OMM 4litre bumbag is also tempting, but maybe I should just stick with the 5litre osprey talon that I reviewed here. (apart from the minor fact that it is also Lynnes...)

I run in shorts all the time, and in winter adventure races in the past have used CWX tights. Those, and salomon x-trail tights, which are 3/4 length ones. Both pairs I have are old and another winter is, I suspect, going to see the end of them. I've tried a pair of Montane Mountain Fury tights and they just don't fit in the slightest. I seem to be the wrong proportions for them to stay up as I run, they just fall down, which is really annoying as they seem to be pretty well made.
I might have to look into 2CXU, which seem to be the triathletes brand of choice. As long as they stay up, I don't really care.
(Might need to get some new shorts too. White for preference, and just above knee length!)

Shoes, shoes, shoes, shoes. X-talons? might be a bit cold, but very light and awesomely sticky. Mudclaw 333? Crazy good grip, though I have heard stories of studs coming off- not sure if that particular problem has been fixed yet. O-rocs- originally an orienteering shoe, but has retractable steel studs, might be good on ice... though according to Baba, not so great at contouring.
Anyone know if Inov8 have fixed the mudclaw problem? Montrail no longer do the highlander, and the sportiva ones look pretty tame.
The only other one that I might think about is the new Salomon fellcross, but at £120, thats quite an outlay. If Im shrewd I might even get 2 pairs of old season inov8s for that, which would mean dry shoes on each outing...

Ah, gear decisions. I tell you what, I'm glad Im not a serious mountainbiker or I'd be paralysed by the sheer amount of possible kit I could buy, let alone by the amount of kit in the house, I'd never leave the house for fear I've taken the wrong tyre/ wheels/ bike/ etc. At least with running I just pick up my gear and go.

So. Anyone have any thoughts on the gear? Any experiences? Or better suggestions or ideas? Even better, anyone got some they can lend me, I promise not to break it, just try it and see if I like it...

Shoe Choice

Always a fun one.
Inov8 alone now has somewhere around 38.. no, sorry, now 39 different shoes to choose from in terms of grip, shape, weight, look and price. Its almost a good thing that I only have 2 pairs of fellrunning shoes to choose from when it comes to races or else I might end up just sitting there contemplating which shoes to wear long after everyone else has run off into the distance.

The Chunal race was a case in point. It had been dry for the most part leading up to the day, and the ground was rock solid. No amount of big lugged grip was going to help dig into the soil in this race. It was going to be more about cushioning the feet and making sure that I didn't bruise the bottom of my heel on hard surfaces by wearing something with a crazy amount of grippiness on hard unforgiving dirtpack and track (like in Bamford).

Therefore the only choice was to go for the Roclite. Grippy and robust, with enough of a heel counter to enable me to fling myself down hills regardless of whether they are ankle deep in bog, or tarmac hard dirtpack. I found with the Baregrips, that no matter how much I try, when heading downhill, I heel strike no matter what. The rest of the run I have no issue with them at all, but downhill I find myself holding back because of the inevitable pain that I'll feel through the heel.
I'm evidently either not running downhill properly in Barefoot shoes, too scared to lean foward, or don't move my feet fast enough. Whichever one it is, I know that unless the ground is squidgy or bouncy, I'm going to run slower downhill in the Baregrips.


Interestingly, the vast majority of people at recent races that I have run at are wearing Inov8 x-talons 212s. It would seem that they have the requisite grip and enough differential for painfree downhill running. They have a pretty thin sole unit, so like the Baregrip they may well be quite painful on sharp rocky sections, but they do have a large following. I have the f-lite 220s which are much the same shoe, but with a road sole- I use them for work, and I can feel pretty much everything that is underfoot. Yes, it gives me good proprioception, but I get the feeling that it might take a bit of getting used to and a few bruised feet to get used to them in an offroad situation.
I have seen a few more people wearing the red x-talon 190s recently as well- they have less cushioning than the 212's and I suspect are a little more like the Baregrips- though they retain 3mm differential from heel to toe as opposed to 0mm in the Baregrips case. (I think I'm right in saying this, please correct me if I'm not)

There was a racer out there who was running in the 190s who had one shoe slightly different to the other, it seems like there may be a new type of 190 or a new design of sole unit being tested out there. No idea whether it is more grippy/ more durable/ less differential, but there is something (ahem) afoot.

Whatever it is, I probably need to get my hands on a pair of X-talons at some point to try them out and see how they compare in terms of grip and comfort to what I already have. I've thought about looking at the La Sportiva range, but from what I've heard from speaking with other runners is that they just don't grip well at all in any conditions. I certainly can't justify forking out £70 for a pair of shoes that don't grip just so that I can say yup- they don't work as well as you would want them to.

There is of course the new Salomon Fellcross coming out, at £120 its quite a mark up. Yes, there has been a lot of research into this shoe, and yes I'm sure that it is amazing and whoever uses it will rave about it. But thats 2 pairs of other shoes. It will be the sponsered athletes that wear them, and those that can afford them. I'd just be afraid of destroying them in a single race... I'll keep a close eye out for them at races, and do my damndest to beat them in order to prove to myself that its not to do with what you wear on your feet, but how you run in them.

That being said, if Salomon want to send me a pair to try, I'll gladly let them know if they help me run faster...!
Please note that this is very much focussed on the Peak district racing scene... I know that the Lakes, and indeed Wales are much rockier and can be much harder on the feet and shoes. Next year, I hope to have enought petrol money to be breaking my shoes out there as well.

Inov8 Race Elite 2 (bumbag)

I've never been a fan of bumbags for running with. It just always seemed so... I don't know, 80's. To be fair, whenever I was running, I was either close enough to home not to need anything, or far enough away to warrant an 8-10 litre bag with hydration bladder and all that kind of stuff in it..

Early on in the Kinder Trog, not suffering yet

Since moving to the Peak district, things have changed a little and my little runs are a bit further afield from the house, but not so far that I need to be weighed down with a rucksac. Also, there are a number of races which have a minimum gear requirement, and being able to do that with only 2 litres of storage space is really quite useful.

stuffed bumbag, you can just see the mesh pocket on top

So I looked at the 2 litre and the 3 litre bags, and eventually settled on the 2. Reason being, the 3 litre one carries a bottle of water, and I thought that if I'm going to be out long enough to need water, I'd probably be taking a camelbak or associated bladder thing. This bumbag was going to need to carry the bare essentials. A mini waterproof top, maybe trousers, a cut down map, compass, headtorch, whistle and some emergency food, maybe a space blanket. (and of course the obligatory business cards which I'm not allowed to leave the house without).
We figured that the 3 litre would fit all that stuff, and more in- but the idea was to keep it minimal. The more space I have, the more likely I am to cram more stuff into it, and it will become heavier and I'll be slower. So the 2 litre was bought as a trial.

stuff, de-stuffed. As it were.

Its first outing was on an evening run with the Harriers. Just a waterproof, a map, a head torch and a pair of gloves.
I won't say it wasn't noticable around my waist. If you have never run with a bag around your waist, you're always going to notice it the first few times you carry it, especially if its heavy. To be honest though, it wasn't constricting to breathing, and it carried everything I needed. By the end of the evening I had used everything except the map and the head torch, so I was very happy to have it. A rucksack would have been massive overkill. It was a slightly fast 2 hour run, and although I was a bit thirsty when we got back, I wasn't dying from dehydration.
That seems to have been the case for all the club runs that I have done with it. I was so happy with it, and so was Lynne that we ended up getting another one exactly the same.

Jumping a stile at Crowden. Sunglasses safely stowed.

The times when it has come up short has been on races. I tend to go faster, and harder when racing, (as you do), and there is precious little time to faff around trying to get into a bag thats anywhere about your person. I found that on Crowden horseshoe I was very glad to have it as my sunnies were getting in the way. It was great to have a place to stash them- the stretch fabric pocket on the top is brilliant, however I had to slow down significantly to get into the bag for other bits.
On the Kinder Trog I had a small bottle of water in there as well- as in tiny- but the bag was stuffed full of various bits and pieces that I needed for the race. Because of this, I wasn't able to dig around in the bag for the water when I really needed it for fear of throwing all my gear on the floor and losing precious seconds having to turn around and pick it all back up again. So I ran the whole race with no water and in the final quarter really paid the price.

Having looked at that, and some of the longer races, I think that the elite 3 is a better choice for racing, partially because it enables you to carry a waterbottle, but also because it allows a little more space for your gear. You are less likely to spill everything you have brought onto the hill, over the hill as you rifle through to get some essential bit of kit. (to be fair, all you should need on a race is water and food, and maybe a waterproof and a hat unless something goes wrong), but with the Elite 2, there is no option but to store water in with the rest of the stuff. Not a problem if you are out for a jaunt over the moors, or rock jumping with nothing on your mind but having fun, but in a racing situation where every second counts, and if you have to stop it means an extra burn to catch the guys you were already chasing, maybe the 3 would be a better choice.
I need to try one out to be sure....

But for the time being, my thoughts are these...
Elite 2, with a big pocket, an internal mesh pocket with key clip and a mesh pocket on top- fantastic for short days out, carrying minimum of gear. Emergency bits only on a longer run, (or a bag full of sweets for the kids). (Its also barely noticable if you just stick your mobile and keys in the internal pocket and wear it under your t-shirt- it would have been perfect for running in London)

Calmer times at Hope, walking with the family

For longer races where you need a bit of water and ease of access on the move, maybe an Elite 3 would be a better choice.

Quick run

On Tuesday I decided that I needed to go for a quick run to make sure that my legs still worked. Having not run since a couple of weeks ago, and having last week off because of the osteo (I asked if I could run that evening or that week and he replied I could if I was an idiot).
So I refrained.

Lynne went off around Shire Hill and I thought I'd have a quick run up to Shelf Benches and back, nothing strenuous, just a bit of a run really.
We started off together and ran up through the trees on the road side of Shirehill, then over into Mossy Lea where we split and I went up while she went down. I kept a decent speed on up the hill. Having watched the BBC programme on the Jura Fell Race, and a seeing a clip of one of the current Ultra Champions from the US, it struck me just how easy they make going uphill appear. None of this struggling stuff, just good, economic motion and power in spades.
So I thought I'd try to emulate it a bit, and got up to Shelf Benches relatively well, enjoying the weather and the location.
I was wearing a helly top and some CW-X tights... the helly came off pretty quickly after the ascent began, and stayed off for the remainder of the run. The tights are quite old and have a couple of holes in them, so it wasn't too bad wearing them, but it did get a little warm, it has to be said.

I felt good on Shelf Benches, so decided to carry on going up and over onto Shelf moor, but not straning myself, walking where necessary, and not running the whole way up. I didn't want to wear myself out for the race tomorrow. Going up the hill onto the moor I stopped to look at the view going back down the hill, across to Kinder, and down into Glossop several times.
I'm SO glad that I no longer live in London. It was one of those moments where you are just happy with your lot in life.
Delightful.
I wandered my way up, and then turned North West(ish) across the moor/bog to the top of Yellowslacks in order to get round to Dog Rock (the down-up approach was not a consideration today, but will be used as a training route in the not so distant future!) It was going across the moor that I found out that not everything that looks like a trod is in fact a trod. Some of them are lines in the soil where streams have eroded through the peat and are slightly covered over knee deep linear traps for the unwary. I only went over once, but that was enough to make me pretty careful about where I was putting my feet.
Across the trackless moor, down and across the stream, up the other side and a hard left down the track to Dog Rock. Bouncy peat now the order of the day, the terrain would have suited the Baregrips much more than the Roclites that I was wearing, but not to worry.

I took the descent fairly conservatively, letting my feet do the route taking, not wanting to twist an ankle (well, not that that I want to twist an ankle anyway...) I felt my ankles giving way a couple of times on dodgy ground, but my body, under self-control always seems to self right itself and I just carry on running with no issue. Its odd when I think about the amount of people that seem to twist their ankles on almost a daily basis on a seemingly innocuous flat piece of ground, and here I am running across what could only be described as very patchy and broken ground with added heather, and I can feel the ankle beginning to turn, there is enough time to get some power out of the stride before the foot is taken out of the equation and the chance of injury seems to go. Maybe its down to speed of reation of the peroneal muscles to potential twisting territory, I'll read up on that.

Down Yellowslacks, down lightside, and I see the first people since I split off from Lynne. Down the hill, and onto the path. A quiet jog to the bridge and I walk up the hill to Shire hill, and run down the other side.
I don't THINK I've overdone it, my legs are feeling pretty good, but I have been out for an hour, and I did q bit of a significant hill.
Ah well, we'll see what happens tomorrow.
The route and stats can be seen here

Inov8 268 destroyed

Its been a while since this happened, but as I've run a couple of races in my new ones, I figured I should post a couple of thoughts on the shoes that I have used for the vast majority of my offroad running in the past year or so, Inov8 roclite 268.
Yes, I know its a girls shoe, but they fit me better than the guys ones, and when they're covered in mud, you barely notice the fact they are blue and grey. They are more... bog coloured.

I have no idea how many miles I ran in them, I don't tend to keep count of distance over long periods of time. However, they have definitely done 2 12 hour and a 24 hour adventure race, a good number of "hill" sessions in Greenwich park, 6 actual races, and a decent amount of training runs in the Peak district.

Over the year they have proved to be an excellent choice for the occasional raid onto tarmac, with enough padding that the lugs aren't forced into your feet, very good on shorter, muddier races, comfortable on ridiculously long days out over peat, bog, road and moor and versatile enough to adventure race in without needing to change once. They drain pretty well, lock around my feet well, and the uppers didn't start deteriorating until the last run I did with them, well over a year after buying them. 

They were still fine when I got to Glossop about 4 months ago. Still grippy, I was confident on ascents and descents, off cambers weren't an issue, and I could tear it up on whatever ground I came across.
However, on Kinder Trog I found myself losing grip, falling over (7 times at least) even on fairly tame ground. At that time I thought it was because I was knackered. A long race, ok, not over particularly dodgy terrain, but it felt long, I wasn't hydrated or eating enough- it could well be down to human error. However, I couldn't quite shake that nagging feeling that the shoes I was wearing weren't quite giving me the grip and confidence that I once had.

I ignored it for the time, but next time I went out with the Harriers, Jules, Mark and I went out over to Chew res'r, the terrain was totally different to that on Kinder, boggy moorland, splashing through stuff and generally beautiful.
But.
I was slipping all over the place. This isn't me losing my mojo, its got to be to do with the shoes. A quick conversation with Jules confirmed this. Neither of us is particularly keen on replacing shoes every few months, but when things are going downhill because of the wear on the bottom of the shoe, that can't be a good thing. Imagine getting injured because your kit needs replacing. Bummer.

However, I didn't get around to ordering a new pair before the 15 trigs which is where I ended up properly breaking them.
It was about 18miles into the 55miler, just coming up to Bamford Edge, bashing through heather and bracken. As we got to the top of the climb and onto the Edge to the Trig point, I looked down and noticed that one section where the laces attach to the shoe no longer attached. Damn. Ah well, I've seen worse.
I tightened them up and we carried on.
To be fair, the shoes performed admirably despit being slightly jury rigged and having next to no actual grip on the bottom. Yes, I have seen shoes with less knobbles on the bottom- but the roclites felt particularly slippery.

(as a side note here in terms of grippy and slippy shoes, I adventure raced for about 3 years in a pair of Salomon XA pros, which don't appear to have much grip on the bottom in the first place. They were surprisingly grippy on everything I came across. Even after 3 years, and with basically bare rubber with no knobbly bits on the underside, I was still running around in them quite happily, only really slipping on horrendous muddy, boggy banks. I have to say I was quite impressed)

So anyway, as they say, pictures speak louder than words, so I'll just show you how then ended up. A year or so down the line from being bought. All things considered, thats not too bad for a pair of shoes, especially as my Baregrips appear to be getting holes in them despite being on my feet only about 10 times, but more about that in a later blog.

The offending lace tie that bust on me, going through some heather. The shoe still held onto my foot for the rest of the 55 miles though, and to no ill effect in terms of rubbing or blistering.

The material only JUST going at the toe, despite being worn quite a lot. My Baregrips are going there already and I've barely even worn the things- I think in the future all inov8s I buy will be around the 300gram mark.

The "grip" on the base of the shoes. Yes, there are lugs on there, but have a look at the next couple of photos.

Brand new 268s on the left, Girlfriends in the middle (been used a bit) and the broken ones on the right. You can see the break down of the rubber on the "fascia band" strips on the far right. There are a couple more photos below showing the detail on the grips.

The Broked ones. Rounded lugs, chipped rubber, general ice skates.

Brand new grippy ones. I had no idea I was missing that much grip. Explains quite a lot. Mind you, if you can run well in inov8s that are old and slippy, imagine what you can do in brand new grippy ones.

Again, brand new on the left, broked on the right and mid way through in the middle. The brand new ones have lugs that are a bit deeper, but I think it might be the lack of sharpness around each of the lugs which really cause the massive lack of traction. I might try cutting the lugs of the old ones to make them "sharper" and see if it makes any difference. You never know.

So they served me well. I bought the same shoes to replace them, because they fit well in that size. I can feel my big toe just against the end as I head down hills, but my feet are held in them really quite well- where as the shoes like the Mudrocs and baregrips just seem to be a little too... long really. I can still run in them, but these roclites have just enough padding to make road running bearable, and enough grip to launch me down hill after people who can climb faster than me, with enough confidence to know I won't fall over.
Until a years time when the grip goes again.

A good compromise between crazy light shoes that seem to die fast, and clunky unresponsive shoes that feel like lead weights.

out with the harriers

Quick burn with the Harriers last night as a try out and see if my legs were recovering as well as I thought. Only a few hours after the Burpee Breathing ladder, which began the frying of my legs, the charge up to Kinder Downfall certain killed them off.

Pace was set rather fast on the first part, I wasn't sure if it was my legs still being knackered, or if it was just a really fast pace. I'd like to think it was the former, but am a bit worried that it might be the latter! An overall pace of 8mins per km, which includes all the stops for catch ups etc, means that a decent pace was kept up for pretty much the entire circuit, which was good- although my legs felt heavy, I could still generally keep the pace up, which was encouraging. As I've had to consign my Roclites to the bin, the Baregrips came out with a vengeance. They were perfect for the long peaty descent, and were a dream even scrambling up the river to Kinder Downfall. I'm still getting used to the remarkable thinness of the soles on sharp rocky ground though...

Today is a day of rest- though I'm going over to Rockover for work (and a bit of climbing) later on, so thats my recovery for the day- Tomorrow is another recovery day, but focussing on unweighted movements, which should be fun.
In the meantime, the Garmin track for yesterday can be found here

Out with the Harriers

Went out for a run with a somewhat diminished group of Harriers on Tuesday for a midsummer run. Reasons for being diminished were probably 2 fold- firstly the Kinder Trog at the weekend was probably still in a number of legs- it certainly felt like it for me- but I didn't realise until half way up the first hill, and also on Wednesday was Round the Resers race, which is a midweek counter, so a lot of people wanted good times for that.

So only 6 of us turned up for the run, it turned out that we were going clockwise around the circuit, which meant that the start of the run was up a hill directly up to Tintwistle quarry. We started off, and about a minute and a half later I was in oxygen debt. I could feel the fatigue in my legs from the Trog at the weekend, and try as I might to tag along behind Julien and Mark- who were idly chatting as they went up the hill, I slowly got dropped, puffing and panting in their wake. It seems that Julien has Wolverine-like recovery abilities and Mark is pretty much the fastest Harrier around at the moment, Im not making excuses, Im just saying.
So we carried on up and over the bogs and round to one of the cloughs where the other 3 opted for the B route- which left me with Julien, Mark a load of bog, aching legs and a slight feeling of forboding about the next hour or so.

Off we headed out toward Featherbed moss, through the peat bogs up Hollins Clough and over to the trig point, several times being nearly tripped up by Brae- the ever present collie. Dry shoes, never an option, we pounded through the bog, and passed a Fir tree in a clough, pretty remote, which is pretty much begging to be decorated come Christmas. Over to the Reservoir at Chew. Then a turn east, I swear that Julien was taking the most circuitous and treacherous route through the groughs that he could possibly find- but I managed to keep in touch as we bog-trotted back.
My inov8s really feel like they are losing their grip- its a wierd feeling and I'm trying to work out if its in my head or if they actually are... they don't seem to be losing it if you look at them, but when I run, its like they are slowly getting slippier. Wierd.

As we came over to the wall on Laddow moss, we saw the familiar shapes of 3 other Harriers who had waited a little too long in the leisure centre (while the rest of us had congregated outside and left), and had decided that they would do the route in an anticlockwise direction. John had brought up some homemade fruit moonshine and a load of plastic shot glasses, and we found a nice sheltered grough to toast Midsummer.
A good touch.
At least I have something to look forward to at midwinter as well!

Then off we went down into Oakenclough brook and down to the bottom of the valley, then back down along a reservoir to the cars.
(where we had a minor issue with the car, a tyre that looked like it had been punctured and a dodgy jack, but it all came good in the end).

As a note to self, its a really bad idea to have Pasta AND a whole garlic and cheese bagette before heading out on a club run. Maybe one or the other, but both may have been a little silly...
Heres the link to the run. We didnt go in the reservoir, I think the map pic might be a tad out....

Dark Peaks Roving Calendar box

A day off today, and just an hour recovery training yesterday (on the turbo), but we still managed to get out for a short walk this morning.
After a while of debating with other Glossopdale members about the location of the Calendar box this month, a place had been reckoned upon, and it was just up to someone to go out and check it.

We'd been thinking about it for a while, and didn't have the time, but this morning was just begging to be had for time in the fresh air. I'd been looking at a photography book as well, so was keen to get out and practice bits and pieces on the moors.
It was always going to be a slow one, it being a rest day after all, and Lynne is nursing a tight ITB, and a kind of bad knee, so we wandered up onto the hill, up through bog and moor- just wearing inov8s today. I had my baregrips on as I'm trying to get my feet used to the fact that they are going to be running around the place in little more than a sock with studs on it- and they need to toughen up. Or at least, not complain so much when I land on sharp stones. So walking in them seems to be a good way to wake them up- and get a bit more propioception into my day.

We wandered over the way and came across some amazing boulders, I am certainly going back there with a bouldering mat in the coming months, a lot of random little problems, and big problems, on a quick drying hillside, in an area that is pretty solitary. Looks beautiful.
As we got up to the height we needed to be at, the weather closed in quite dramatically, so we found a nice group of boulders under which we settled down until the worst of it was past. From our vantage point we could see a number of other walkers who were not quite so fortunate to find shelter, or perhaps, who needed to keep to a schedule, and they had to wander on through the maelstrom.

As the worst of it went by- we could see curtains of rain making their way up to us, and then around and passed us, so on we wended, through bog and boulder and Lynne spotted a couple of grouse.
It wasn't just a couple of grouse, it was a family of them, 2 adults and 5 chicks- so we stopped and took a load of photos. They were so well camoflaged that all you need do was look away for a fraction of a second and all of a sudden there was just heather... until they moved again. Very impressed with the camoflage!

After taking innumerable photos, we carried on until the place where the Roving Calendar box was meant to be. At this point, we were pretty sure that we had figured out the clue, and were bang on the money, it simply had to be in this little gully. It just needed to be found. So we dropped into the gully, saw a cairn and started looking around below it, and there were a plethora of excellent places to hide what is essentially a box with a couple of bits of paper and some other stuff in it. After about 20 mins we were about to give up, wandering back up the gully- and I thought... hang on, what about directly under the cairn? Surely thats too easy.
Yes, it was that easy.
Directly under the cairn was the box, with a twix in it which we shared, and well needed it was too. It had taken much longer than we originally expected- mainly because of the stopping for photos and rain.

The walk off was much more direct, though it did include a bit of bog bashing, Lynnes knee was beginning to hurt, and it was getting later than we had planned- stuff to do in the afternoon donchaknow.
And so we have found the Roving Calendar box for the first time- could not have done it without the knowledge and background usefulness of other club members.... now, I have heard rumour of a hidden whisky case somewhere in them there hills....
Anyone care to give us a clue?!

Full review of Inov8 Baregrips

So, I've had the Baregrips for a while now, and been out in them in a fair few conditions and over some interesting terrain.
They are still bright green- which is awesome and the grip is still totally and utterly bomb proof.

The first thing you notice about the Baregrips (apart from the colour) is the lack of any kind of stiffness in the sole. This is due to the Zero arrow sole- which basically means your foot is as close to the ground as they can make it without actually being completely bare. Its like the lugs on the soles are attached to your skin, which is, as you can imagine, pretty amazing in terms of grip.
Putting them on and wandering about in them is an experience all in itself, and if you haven't tried inov8s before, and more importantly, if you haven't tried barefoot running before, the feeling is going to be a little wierd. You can feel the floor, you can feel the pebbles. All the contours of the ground come up to meet the feet.
I find the shoe to be a little long in the toe box- certainly more so than my roclites- and are a bit slimmer right the way down the foot than a number of the other inov8s that I own.

roclite 268, flite 220, baregrip and mudroc280. They all fit me in a slightly different way.

The proprioceptive feel of the shoes is unprecedented, and this continues as you go from a walk to a jog, to proper running on decent tracks.

As I open up the power and wander over the hills, the lugs dig in like claws. Not as closely spaced as the mudclaws- but just wide enough that as you climb up a muddy peaty surface, they provide excellent grip and then shed the clag before the next step. I haven't had any issues with slip-slidy grip due to excess clag on the sole yet- (I haven't run in any clay yet- but when I get back down to the Isle of Wight, I shall certainly be trying them out in some of the delightful "Blue Slipper" on the Eastern coast... that'll be a real test.

On another note to do with the grip- they don't seem to have lost any of the lugs or have had any kind of degradation to the bottom at all. Ok, so I haven't trashed them for a year yet, no-where near, but unlike the mudrocs which were beginning to degrade after only a couple of months, these bad boys are still crisp.

So... they grip like a gecko to a wall on all types of surface (I must add a slight disclaimer here, wet rock. I still haven't found ANYTHING that grips to wet gritstone), you can feel the ground under your feet as if you aren't wearing shoes, and are marvellous if you're into forefoot running.

Seriously, heel strike in these shoes would not be a good thing- certainly not in the long run anyway. To be honest, I'm not so much of a forefoot striker that I would wear these on a longer run either. After about 6-7 miles I can really feel it in my bones and joints- I suspect this is generally because of the way in which I run. Any distance over that and I will certainly go back to wearing my Roclites- they provide just that bit more support throughout the foot for me when I get tired. The same goes for runs which take place over harder terrain- along the Pennine way, trail runs on hard pack, and general more solid terrain. I can cope with it for a time, but as I get tired, my form starts to waiver and then it gets painful- again, this is more to do with my form than the design of the shoes, were I a more efficient runner- I'm sure they would be fine. But I fatigue, and thats where injury will happen if I continue to pound on through a massive run in shoes like this.
As my feet get stronger, I suspect that I will be using Baregrips more, but for the moment, they have their place.

Something I have noticed, is that they take a longer time to dry out between runs than any of my other inov8s. This appears to be because of the material that is used on the tongue- it seems to be slightly more neoprene-y type material than my roclites or mudrocs. Despite stuffing them with newspaper, at normal room temperature, they take a remarkably long time to dry out.

The Zero Arrow sole

So.
As a first pair of fell running shoes- if you are just starting out- don't be seduced by the fact these are amazing. They are. But if you're not used to running in a shoe like this, I think its fair to say that you may end up injured- you'd be best off plumping for something a little less radical, learning the ropes and buying them at some point down the line. You'll have a lot more enjoyment, and a longer, healthier running life because of it.

If you're used to fellrunning, but are a heelstriker, these will certainly teach you how not to be one, but I'd use them with caution. It might be best to get a pair of X-talons or something intermediate before going to the total Zero shock sole. I know a few people using X-talons, and they comment that they can feel the stones under their feet- these seem even thinner.

If you are into chi running/pose running/forefoot running or whatever fad you wish to call it, and you want something that is going to grip on nigh on everything and feel like you literally aren't wearing anything on your feet. This is the shoe for you.
Depending on your needs, and your experience, this is either the best thing in the world, or the worst thing you could possibly buy.
Think about your needs, be honest about your experience and then go buy them. The price may make you gasp, but so will the performance.

Baregrip

I have taken delivery of a new pair of inov8 Bare grips today.
they are nice and snazzy, and are a very green colour.

When I say they came today I lie. They arrived yesterday, 5 mins before I was going to set out for a run with the Harriers, so I opted not to wear them then... 15km in a new pair of shoes, no matter how comfortable they felt, might not have been the best idea.

I went with the roclite 268s instead, and as ever, they did me well.
As and when I begin to use/destroy the baregrips, my thoughts shall be here.

First use is this evening... but on a football pitch- running around being 1st aid/physio - basically ensuring that I dont end up on my butt. They'd better be good!

Inov8 roclite 265

So these are meant to be womens shoes.
Ah well, they fit me.

The rather delightful grey and light blue-ness of them really doesnt detract from their usage, I have to say.
When I first put them on, in comparison to my previous mudrocs, they felt like they had a much better heel grip, much less blister-ablility all-round, though perhaps not quite as much grip.
Having used them a fair amount as a running shoe and as a biking shoe, I can happily talk about them with a bit of authority- well in terms of comparing them with the mudrocs.

First off, after a while running and biking the mudrocs, the centre grips on the shoes seem to have worn away quite significantly, they seem to have a much stickier, and hence less robust and longer lasting rubber. The Roclites appear to be lasting much better than the mudrocs.
Ive been out on them in all weathers, and have done a fair few fell races in them. Alright, they don't give quite as much grip, or inspire quite as much confidence on the crazy slick mud as the mudrocs, but I havent slipped yet.

The only place where they have let me down is on slick wet rock. My old shoes worked really well in bad situations like that. Crossing rivers and the like, I wouldnt have thought twice about jumping on a wet rock- the roclites- not a chance. As soon as I even think about it, I'm off and in the drink.

My original thoughts on using them as a cycling shoe (on flats) was a little dubious. Again, comparing to the mudrocs, which felt like they were glued to my V12s, these kept slipping off. I could scarcly believe that my feet weren't anchored to the pedals like in the good old green battleships...
Again, this is down to the slightly harder wearing, but not quite as sticky rubber- and to the fact I was on a different bike (same pedals though), and wasn't keeping my heels down. Since then I have used them on a number of ocassions, and my feet didnt slip off the pedals, but still didnt feel quite as rock steady.

However, all in all, over a long adventure race, if you dont want to have to change your shoes, these are a good pick. I wouldnt go back to the heel destroying mudrocs, these are comfortable, and run well, with a fair degree of cushioning to make long days running relatively non stressful on the feet.

I have a pair of Baregrips to try out as well, so when Ive been out in them a few times I shall write about them... but Im not just going to go out and race in them, no matter HOW comfortable they may be at first feel.