Inov8 durability

With my favorites, the Terroc 330's I see considerable wear by 300 miles, but can stretch their use to close to 500 miles. I should mention that this is on rocky and quite tough trails.

I'm sneaking a peek at this thread, because I've also been considering some inov-8's. I have to say, I'm flabbergasted at a lifespan of under 500 miles. Are they really that short-lived? When I was running cross country, also very high-wear use, I'm sure I put well over 1,000 miles on my New Balances. I don't know how many I've put on my trail shoes since retiring them from their former life as (you guessed it) running shoes.

Is this mileage typical? Those seem like some awfully soft-soled shoes.

I am on my 2nd pair after putting about 200 miles on mine.

The center "tread" going down the middle is made of a softer material vs. the outer lugs.

Mine center line tread completely worn down flat.

The surrounding lugs are completely fine.

To be fair, I did a lot of mileage on rocky trails….Yosemite and the High Sierra Trail to Mt. Whitney, which did a lot to wear down that center line.

The upper fabric protion of the shoe has done very well.

I am on my 2nd pair, which tells you that despite my short tread life, I still like the shoes.

I was interested in the 305's, which may have a more durable sole, but I have read that the toe box is narrower and I have wide feet.

Great shoes, but I wish the compound that they use for the sole that gives traction was more durable.

I have not thrown out my 1st pair….I use them for walking about town and short distance walking, but they don't offer the support needed for backpacking.

Hope that helps.

P.S. My packweight last year was typically at 32 lbs to 36 lbs. My 1st year of trying to go lite. I weigh 140 lbs.

-Tony

My Roclite 285 have about 200mi (all trail) and are in great shape. These things are super sticky and grip great, even on wet rocks. I fully expected them to wear out quickly, but look and wear great so far. Great ventilation, and dry quickly too.
I just can't say enough about how happy I have been with these.

I think I am on my 12th pair of inov-8 flyrocs. I have gotten an average of 500 miles out of them before they have mostly had it. I have wore then around town beyond 500 miles, but the joy is gone. Around 500 miles three things tend to happen. The fabric on the heel wears through, some of the lugs on the forefoot are worn to nothing, and the very slight cushion goes completely flat making the shoe feel somewhat lifeless.

My weight over the course of using the flyroc has been between 170-195lb, carrying between 14-35lbs. Typically I have been around 185lb trail running with 5lb or backpacking will around 20lbs.

I agree that I typically got 2x the mileage using the NB 801AT… but I love the performance of the flyroc so I live with the substandard durability.

–Mark

I was probably a bit dramatic when I said I was "flabbergasted" earlier, I think I just rarely have occasion use such a good word. I guess it makes sense that they would be less durable as is the case with most light gear, and I have been told by one of my buddies that I "over-wear" my shoes. I think I'll still splurge on a pair and just wear the heck out of 'em. :)

I intended to put 500 miles on my first pair of 310s but due to a re-supply mishap, ended up with 600 miles on them. The sole on one shoe cracked open (at the Metaflex plate) during the last 100 miles. I put 500 miles on the pair of 330s that I replaced the 310s with and they were still in good enough shape to wear around town afterward.

"The sole on one shoe cracked open (at the Metaflex plate) during the last 100 miles."

I had the same thing with a pair of Terrocs … during the first 30 miles. To be honest, my first pair of Terrocs did indeed end up with 500-600 miles. So I guess (hope) I was unlucky. I still had a pair of Roclite 315s which I did use untill very recently. I guess 500 miles for those too wouldn't be a bad guess.

James, you will not get 700 grams of durability from a 300 gram shoe; so temper your expectations. My 330s wore out after about 300 miles; I expect my 390s will also.
But I'm so pleased with them both I will replace them with the same model.
For winter/rugged use I still use my Merrell GTX; but for trails and daily use the inov8 are great.

The 390s are basically a waterproof bag on a footbed; they do not offer the arch support, lateral or longitudinal stability of a real boot. My foot slides around a lot. But for non-technical trails thats fine; Ill take the light weight and comfort.

Shoes usually wear out at the mid-sole 1st. How much milage depends on your individual bio-mechanics. If you are a severe pronator or supinator, 300 mile could be a lot from a light shoe.

Also the terrain has a lot to due with life of a shoe, as well as if you are running or hiking and how much weight you carry.

I did trail shoe reviews for UltraRunning Magazine for 12 years and some shoes would last for lots of miles while others didn't.

I had one pair of Reebok trail shoes that were completely shot on one 65 mile day. Never bought another pair of that shoe :)

Ed

Not sure if I'll be saying anything that we don't already know, but . . .

I came from rock climbing before I got into backpacking, and in the ad-hoc and unscientific world of climbing shoes, generally everybody knows that the more stick you get out of a shoe, the sooner it will bust through. Sticky rubber just wears down a whole lot faster for the sake of its stickiness.

. . . right?

(I'm not at all educated about the science behind this either)

My experience with two pairs of Terrocs I've had is that the outsole is a whole lot stickier than other "regular" brands I've had, like New Balance cross-trainers and some other nondescript road-running shoes. I found them to be so sticky, in fact, that I was able to use them more than once for some pretty steep scrambling on granite–moves that might flirt with the classification of "approach."

That's pretty exceptional performance, and leads me to believe that the rubber compound Inov-8 uses bears more resemblance to sticky climbing rubber than most other outdoor shoes I've seen. Thus, it's no surprise to me that my Terrocs have worn down, well, fast.

Ive never had a pair of inov8 shoes, but was looking into getting some for summer backpacking recently. This talk about low durability has me a little frightened, however. I am not exactly in the position to be buying 80-100 dollar shoes that often. What is the next best thing?

Jon… I don't know how many miles you plan on hiking this summer, but for the average hiker a pair are probably going to last the entire period. I have two new pairs in my closet right now, and another well used pair for a couple of weekends. One new pair will be used on the LT and portions of the AT, for close to 500 miles. The other new pair will be for the CT and a couple of side trip climbs which will total right at 500.

What I'm trying to say is that the average working person will not have the time available to wear out multiple pairs of shoes in one summer. Why not have the lightest and best suited pair for the time one has… whether it be a week, a month, or whatever. I know my time on the trail is not replacable, and I don't want to go with shoes that will detract from the experience to save a couple of dollars.

…This talk about low durability has me a little frightened…

I got 600 and 500 miles out of two pairs of Inov8s as I stated above. I've worn a third pair for the past six months with only minimal wear shown (primarily in-town wear). I was extremely satisfied to get over 500 miles out of a pair of shoes that weigh under half as much as a pair of boots and some shoes.

Thank you all for the valuable input. As far as the weight/durability trade-off goes, I was thinking more of a for instance: "a 290g shoe is only good for 250 miles, but the 370/390's get 500+," then I'd go for the heavier shoes. I wouldn't go up to 700g, those days are over.

I'm just getting into long distance-light weight backpacking. Last summer I did about 100 mi of the PCT (sections K and L in NorCal) and about 60 more miles on weekend trips. Subsequently, I'm just learning about what to look for in a shoe. I wore Keen Targhee's for about 120 mi and although I like the roomy toe-box, The curvature of the last still had my 2nd and 3rd toes getting beat-up as my foot shifted laterally in respect to the shoe. For 40 mi, I used Sun Dragons, and am extremely happy with the way they work with my feet. However (why is there always a however?), they did wear more than I expected (as pointed out, this could be a problem in my expectations.) I plan on using them for a JMT thru-hike this summer, so I will see how they handle moderate milage. I think I read that Andrew Skurka was getting around 300 mi out of his. This is what started me off looking for a little more in the durability department, as I'm planning to do a thru-hike summer of 2010. Looking over your posts, the Sun Dragons do have GSR (grip stick rubber) and I have a mild pronation in my right foot, and I'm also right footed. My right shoe does wear quicker. I'm also thinking about the force I'm exerting on the shoes. Although my base pack weight is around 9-12 lbs, I was about 216-218lbs last summer. If f=ma, the Sun Dragons are experiencing my m and Skurka's a, no wonder they wear!

I also like the Golite shoes because they fit my foot well. Don't get too invested in them; Golite is discontinuing their line of footwear as of this Fall.

if you are looking for a long lasting shoe check out the Montail Vitesse. I have well over 300 miles on them and while the cushioning is gone, the structure of the shoe is still in great condition. If you are looking for somthing lighter, I have been running since last December in a pair of New Balance MT800 that weigh a tad under 10 oz's each and I have been super impressed with their comfort and durability. I have about 250 miles of road and trail on them and I expect them to last for another month or so.