UKH

Has anyone had problems with the quality of inov8 shoes? I picked up my roclites thre other day and found the upper was coming away from the sole after very little use.I cursed and decided to get some flexible super glue to attempt a repair. This morning I picked up my trusty mudclaws ( 300ish miles) and found the same thing has happened so I put on my ancient mudclaws (1000plus miles) they are in fine condition apart from wear on the sole after 2 years{ish). Has the quality dropped before I blow more money or suggestion of what to replace them with. I have worn inov8 for 10 plus years with no problem apart from general wear and tear which I don't consider this to be!

In reply to Removed User:

Don't know. All my friends seem to be going for the Salomon speedcross. However one has sent a pair back and another one has fixed his with glue. When I asked if it was a manufacturing fault they claimed it wasn't and the shoes were awesome.

I'm wondering if there's not a lot of bias going on with shoes that were once good and are now possibly being made cheaply in China.

I've just bought some Sauconny Xodus after my Periguins have died - but I've no idea how many miles I'd done in them.

Funny things trail shoes. I don't rinse mine after use. Maybe I should.

In reply to Removed User:

I find that they will last ages until I do something silly like do a rugby training session in them and then all the odd steps and the down and ups etc seems to separate the uppers from the sole.
However, my current ultra trail 270s are looking like new despite some horrible days out on rocks and mud.

In reply to Removed User:

I've been having similar problems. Years ago Mudclaws seemed indestructible. In the last couple of years though I've had the lace eyelet reinforcing peel away and the upper come away from the sole. A shame.

In reply to Removed User:
I've always had problems with rock lites (sp) and flyrocs going at the side where the toe knuckle is. All pairs have worn the same but I do get a few years use out of them.

Got some mudclaws a few yrs back and had to return them as the lace holder delaminated from the shoe after one trail marathon .

Inov8's don't seem to last that long imo. So I don't set the expectation too high.

In reply to Removed User:

Orienteering is my main sport, and exactly this discussion is going on amongst us right now.

My old yellow 300s were indestructible, but now.....! the 265s are falling apart.

I sense they've outsourced overseas, their manufacturing, to the cheapest bidder, and this is the way of the world. we can vote with our feet (sic) or tell them - I like racing in their shoes & this seems a great pity.

In reply to Removed User:

Yes. They don't make them like they used to!

Mine always fail on either side of the toe box where it creases.

Shame. They're great shoes, but they've sacrificed on build quality these past couple of years.

In reply to plyometrics:



I don't think that's unique to Inov8, Salomons drop to bits as well, (especially the speed laces that cheesewire through the uppers). Same as pretty much any boot or shoe from any manufacturer; thinner uppers, less hardwearing soles, all disguised as improved and lighter materials.

In reply to Removed User:

Think they have always been shit as far as durability is concerned, typically heel breaks down in no time. I have several pairs left over for a schelping about in but I'm not paying £80-100 on a pair of pretty,but crap shoes that typically last two months before starting to fall apart.

D

In reply to Removed User:

Get Walshes.

In reply to Removed User:

Found the RockLite 295s to be crap. The rand came away from the upper after about two months of running and using them as approach shoes. Wiggle replaced them for free, but the replacement developed the same problem after a few months more, so sent those back too.

Ended up with Walsh Extremes, which seem solid so far, and were cheaper!

In reply to Removed User:

Apropos of fixing shoes, try Shoe Goo http://www.amazon.co.uk/Original-Shoe-Goo-CLEAR-110ml/dp/B000BQR55G its tricky stuff to work with, but works well.

Rob

In reply to Removed User:

Thread much appreciate - I was just going to order from Wiggle lastnight!

My last pair from Inov8 (roclite) lasted well (4yrs) - and were made in China. But they're all made in China these days anyway - except Walsh ?

In reply to Removed User:
They vary from reasonable to abysmal! Send them back. I think Inov8 are well aware their shoes delaminate. It's really not acceptable.
The shoes seem to fare particularly badly in heather.

In reply to Removed User:

What I would like to see is some manafacturer stick their neck out and propose 'known lifetime' or longer guarantee; others might then follow suit. With footwear I have far too much experience of glue or stitches failing, long before sole- abrasion wear is terminal. Other points of wear are mal-chosen uppers (low abrasion resistance) and/or cracking.

Since such footwear is commonly neither repairable nor recyclable (?) someone somewhere has to figure what this means in landfill requirements in the 'developed' world.

Anyway a shame if Inov8 have lost their QC on what has been a good product range

In reply to Removed User:
My experience is completely the opposite. I've used Inov8s for 12 years (mostly Mudclaws). Initially I'd be lucky if they lasted more than a year or so before the uppers split (on the outside neat the little toe). I stuck with them though because they're the only shoes I've found that don;t give me achilles problems. But recently they've lasted much better, on my last-but-one pair the uppers lasted so long that I was considering getting them resoled.

Having said that, my current pair is 2 years old and they're still not wearing out, so perhaps their quality has deteriorated since then.

In reply to Removed User: l use a pair of adidas swoop for orienteering and they have lasted OK. Unfortunately they don't do them anymore and I was thinking of getting inov8 in future. This thread has now got me wondering, what should I replace the swoops with?

In reply to Michael Hood:

Just chanced on an old edition of Trail Running mag, in which (Sep 2015) they reviewed 6/7 shoes. The Inov8 model was named Best in Test while the faithful Walsh was badged Best Value and Best Ethics. I quit Walsh more than a decade ago in favour of Inov8 - for reason of thicker midsole padding (I thought); but I reckon I'll give them another ago.

NB. The review made no attempt to asess durability.

In reply to Removed User: interesting thread. Had the sole on my Flyroc 310s delimitate. Was disappointed cos it's clearly a production problem. This was confirmed by my client, who is a major distributor of sole units (I happen to live 5km away from the Scarpa headquarters, in an area of Italy famed for its sports footwear production)
I even went as far as trying to send a video of the problem to Inov8 but the upload failed & I gave up. However, I still have the shoes and the video, so if anybody from Inov8 reads this and would like to see the problem, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

In reply to Removed User:

I am on my third pair of 295's. I don't run, but use them for backpacking, scrambling and general wandering about at home. The first two pairs lasted well: more than 1 year with almost daily use. However, the current pair developed a split in the upper roughly where my little toe is. This happened after only a few weeks use.