Inov-8 X-Talon 212
Ok enough waiting here’s my full report on the X-Talon 212. These shoes are awesome! They are light light light, and aggressive! Lucky for me I’ve been able to get a good feel for how these shoes work in the nastiest terrain that Clinton Lake can throw at me.
The last few months have been snowy, muddy, icy, snowy again then muddy again. This is when the X-Talons show their strengths. When in snow, the shoes grip, and claw up inclines, and hold steady when going down declines. After the snow melts the mud rears it’s ugly face, and that just makes the X-Talons more ferocious! When cruising through the trees with lots of twists and turns every foot strike hits the ground with a solid confident hold, ready to propel me faster through the forest.
I wish I were a writer by profession so I could properly explain how awesome these shoes are.
When it’s icy, just pop a couple screws in the lugs (gotta be careful with this part cause the rubber is a bit softer on these shoes than the roclites and the lugs will twist around when being screwed). I only run with two screws in the forefoot, and that’s plenty to keep me from slipping around. Being a midfoot striker I typically land on my screws first, they dig into the ice, and by the time I’m pushing off again the screws are still holding tight in the ice.
The bad – these shoes are not the most comfortable when the grounds dry and solid. These shoes need to be run in the nastiest of the nasty. They crave it! When the ground is dry, I’d prefer to run in a pair of roclites or my NB MR790’s. The solid flat ground really lets you feel how soft the lugs are on the X-Talons, and I feel myself a little wobbly each time I strike the ground and compress the lugs.
Final thought – If you’re in an area with constantly nasty terrain, I highly recommend the X-Talons. They are a shoe that you will feel comfortable in racing through mud, ice, snow, slush, what ever nature decides to throw at you!
Nice review! I do like these kicks a lot! They do quite well in the slop AND that secure upper really holds my foot in place and keeps the grit out.
Yeah, I really feel secure when pushing hard through uneven slop. The shoe will hold, and I won’t slip inside the shoe.
Do you recommend them for a minimal/barefoot runner to carry as backup for the days when trail conditions are extremely bad? I’ve been running with VFF Treks for a bit now, and they are awesome for trails, but today the muck was bad bad.
They sound like good backups for the backup shoes
Josh,
I wouldn’t call myself a barefoot runner, and I don’t run in VFFs, that’s another story, but I have run in huarches, which are as close to VFFs as I can get. I probably won’t run an ultra in em, but for shorter races sure thing.
Now, to your question, the xtalons are amazing. No lies. And I would love to recomend them to you as a back up, and while they would most likely work for you as a back up, you have to remember that they are in fact shoes. They will feel different and run different. That being said, inov-8 is the closest shoe to a barefoot style run I’ve ever worn. And I love the brand. They are amazing shoes. There is minimal cushion, and 0 support. So in that facet they are great for people with a natural gait and a “barefoot” running style.
For you, I would more likely recomend getting the xtalon 190s if and when they come out. Lighter, thinner, less material, much closer to a nonshoe. The 190, represents the shoes weight in grams, and 190 is as light as they come!!
Long story short, if you’re impatiant like me, get the 212’s. If you can wait a little bit get the 190’s.
But remember any shoe you wear will be just that, a shoe.
good luck!!