Shoe review: Inov-8 F-lite 250
For Runnersdaily, this is a fairly recent shoe to be reviewing. Who knows, one day we’ll be reviewing shoes before they’re released…
Inov-8 describe their philosophy as building a shoe around the mechanics of the foot, which might be just so much glib shoe-company marketing bullshit if it didn’t actually seem to be the reality. I have long raved about their base model, the Mudroc 290, for exactly those reasons, a quick try of a Terroc model a while ago confirmed the impression, and now I’ve been striding out in a pair of these minimalist - even for Inov-8! - F-lites, I can say that Inov-8 must have made some kind of pact with the devil, so spookily accommodating is the shoe to the human foot.
Inov-8 shoe names include the weight in grams, so the F-lite 250 ought to weigh 250 grams (in a UK 8), which is indeed light (there is an F-lite 230, too). Having just removed my own pair from the kitchen scales, I am somewhat surprised to announce that my UK 9s weigh less than 250g. Less than the advertised weight, who’d have thought it. Another blow against big shoe-company marketing, in which advertised weights and actual weights often show a discrepancy the other way, and another gold star for Inov-8.
Technology doesn’t take too much of back seat in the F-lite 250, though, since it features an interesting ‘fascia band’: it’s a tough but flexy reinforcement to the outsole, mimicking the function of the plantar fascia (they say) to reduce fatigue and increase propulsion efficiency.
And what is key there, is the fact that this reinforcement works along the longitudinal plane, leaving the shoe refreshingly free from lateral interference. To me a shoe is all about ride quality, how unobtrusive the shoe manages to be at different paces, and hence issues like weight or perceived firmness are meaningless when set alongside the issues of feel and function.
Inov-8 really excel at fit, and they really excel at ride quality, and the F-lite 250 is therefore an excellent shoe. This is the first shoe that I have worn since adidas’s superb Neftenga racer that is its equal. The Neftenga was a softer shoe, a reflection of its road orientation, and the F-lite 250 is certainly firmer, for running on hard pack trails, but the low profile, the full longitudinal flexion and the subsequent smoothness of ride are right there. And I think the fit is better.
This is not a fell shoe or a cross-country racer, because it will not help you go faster when the ground turns to custard. It is aimed at hard surfaces, and the grip is recessed rather than aggressively studded as on other Inov-8 models. The sole is certainly grippy, though, and I noticed that it was very surefooted on potentially skiddy surfaces.
The mesh upper is breathable rather then water-repellent, another sign that the F-lite 250 would be ideal for dry mountain or trail races; the graphics are overfussy for my taste, but include the now typical exoskeletal strengthening that allows the rest of the upper to be super-light.
I would recommend this shoe to anyone. Either you’ll love it straight out of the box, as I did, and get on with a brisk outing over dry trails, or it will show you how a firmer, lower, less interfering shoe is actually better for you in the long term. A masterpiece.
Happy trail running!