Inov-8 Terraclaw 220 Review
Overall Rating: 5/5
My perfect trail shoe; at risk of sounding like an Inov-8 fanboy I have to say that they’ve done it again! When I was looking for a new pair of off-road shoes I had a number of considerations. Firstly I hadn’t ran for a while. It didn’t mean I’d forgotten how to do it but a period of sustained inactivity meant I was slightly above my normal fighting weight! Why is that important? Well, Inov-8 let you know about the weight of their shoes in the title of each shoe. The Terraclaw 220 therfore weighs a 220g in a standard size 8 fit. Obviously if you have bigger feet as I do then the weight is slightly more. The weight gives you an indication of the amount of cushioning in the shoe but for more detail you can visit the website (https://www.inov-8.com/) and find out the exact specifications. as shown below.
Now back to the matter in hand. My all time favourite shoe was the inov-8 X-Talon 190. No longer being produced at this weight by inov-8 this aggressive fell shoe was light and fast but you could feel everything! Good for the runner that enjoys the kinesthetic feedback and for me when I was two stone lighter; I loved it. Now I was acutely aware of the fact that I would benefit from a little more comfort with out sacrificing the weight of the shoe too much! The Terraclaw has a ‘one arrow’ midsole shock protection factor meaning it is not completely minimalist but is very much at the ‘high responsive’ end of the inov-8 range.
You can clearly feel the technology in the shoe too, as described on the inov-8 website “inov-8’s patented dynamic fascia band™ technology replicates the anatomical position of the plantar fascia ligament, and duplicates the function of the human foot’s ability to utilize the “windlass effect”. The inov-8 fascia band™ also replicates the benefits of the windlass effect of the human plantar fascia structure. Originating at the front of the heel’s outsole, the inov- 8 fascia band™ extends forward along the outsole and divides, just as the human fascia divides, into five bands that terminate anterior to the metatarsal heads. As body weight moves forward onto the metatarsal heads and the toes begin to extend, tension on the inov-8 fascia band™ increases. When the heel leaves the ground, the inov-8 fascia band™ resists elongation of the medial arch and carries the entire body weight of the runner converting the shoe into a rigid propulsive lever. The Dual-C sticky rubber outsole compound of hard and sticky rubbers grasp even slick rock while the multi-directional lug pattern compliments the foot’s natural movement and allows for debris release.”
The major appeal for me was around the versatility of the shoe. inov-8’s tagline for the Terraclaw 220 is “From single track to steep descents, the TERRACLAWTM performs on the widest range of trails imaginable” In my current running regime I’m mainly sticking to trails but there is a wide range of terrain on my route.
The transition from each surface is unnoticeable. You might think thats a given but having worn a number of different trainers over the years you could often tell a change in surface as the road shoes would be slippy on grass, the fell shoes were slippy on paving slabs and so on. Well with the Terraclaw 220 the I felt completely confident in my footing on each surface. This is certainly a result of the combination or hard and sticky rubber on the sole and it makes for a superb all round training shoe with all of the features I have come to love in inov-8 shoes from the toe bumpers to the sewn tongue and quality materials that play their part in gripping, wicking and any other ‘ing’ that an adventure loving runner needs!
So overall I’m smitten! This is a great multi-surface shoe, lightweight, versatile and bringing the quality I’ve come to expect from the brand with a stylish look and great price for the hours of happy running this shoe will bring you! Check out RunRepeat for the best prices and further reviews of this shoe.
