Inov-8 X-TALON 212, Men's Trail Running Shoes

Product Information

The only fault with these (and it might just be down to my foot shape) is that because they are fairly minimal shoes without much cushioning and have very knobbly soles, they can become painful when running on harder ground. There's one stud on the sole in particular which I land on right in the centre on the ball of my foot behind my second toe, if the ground is hard then this really becomes uncomfortable after about 8k. The 190 weighed just 190g and had a 3mm drop, bringing the foot closer to the ground for an even faster feel, while offering underfoot comfort courtesy of an injected EVA midsole. Seeing as this is largely a running blog, what better place to start than with a review of a pair of running shoes? Please be aware, if you’re looking for a technical review of the last and design, you’ve come to the wrong place. I like to tell stories.

Inov-8’s naming convention tells you a great deal about their shoes. The name is always the type of outsole followed by the weight. In accordance, this shoe features an X-Talon outsole and weighs in at a slight 212 grams. For you Americans, that’s less than 7.5 ounces for a US men’s size 9. Overall I love these shoes but I do have a few complaints. They don't dry very well as the water stays at the bottom of the shoe when wet. They don't have a lot of arch support and they can be a bit narrow so buy a larger shoe size if you don't have narrow feet. The fit is really nice. I did as suggested and steamed them before I first put them on so they'd fit my foot shape better. Very comfortable to run in on the right surfaces.

EU Delivery

The light weight, aggressive outsole, and snug fit of this shoe make it well suited to short-distance cross country racing or in sloppy conditions and the uppers breathed well. I haven’t tried them in a water-crossing yet, so I don’t know how well they drain, but I think they’ll perform well there also. In December 2019 we launched the first-ever X-TALON shoes to include our revolutionary Graphene-Grip outsoles. You can find out all the details here. The X-TALON G 235 is joined by the X-TALON G 210 (V2 version now available) as the new Graphene-Grip products in the range. If you already have a hiking boot, running shoe, or training shoe that fits you well, you could measure the length of the shoe’s insole and match this with the size guide. The new Inov-8 X-Talon 212 is an excellent shoe for certain conditions. I’ve used it over a grassy, fairly hard cross-country course and found it comfortable and very, very light. I’m looking forward to trying it in other conditions as the weather changes and (hopefully) brings more rain.

If I could rate these shoes higher than five stars I would. They fit perfectly. I was able to overcome all terrain. They clean up well also. I highly recommend these shoes. They seem to be really well made, and use good materials. They're usually pretty muddy, but I'm sure they'd be like new if I cleaned them. From time to time carriers may deliver earlier or later, or on non working days however this is cannot be guaranteed nor should it be expected.

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Shop for the X-Talon 200 if you have broader feet and/or have obstacle course and other challenges in mind.