FOOTWEAR FOCUS
The Roclite™
“How incompetent, they’ve sent an empty box, they’ve forgotten to pack the Roclite™ 288 GTX® boots”. I was looking forward to off road testing a pair of running boots from this – for want of a better word -innov8ive company. But, the joke was on me. The boots are probably the lightest I have ever
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had. But this was just the first of the several surprises the boots had in store. The second was how “cool” they looked. “Cool” is not a word I usually use, other than to describe the temperature. But these boots are definitely “cool” my nineteen-year-old son said so with out any prompting from me. He just picked them up and said, “These are cool”. Not many running shoes or walking boots run the risk of being fashion items – although they may be worn by non-runners to make some sort of fashion or status point. But the Roclites don’t, at first glance, look like a running boots. They have a fine, grey mesh Gore-Tex upper that could be something like sharkskin. I would be quite happy to wear them with a pair of jeans to go out socialising if I had not mucked them up and muddied them in the off-road test. Far be it for me to tell a successful running shoe company how to run their business, but I think Inov8 could find a new vocation designing fashion shoes. I have described the boots as light and fashionable. Well surely that means
they are a bit “lightweight” in the running department? When they came face to face with the granite rock face on a Dartmoor run I did not have high hopes for their toughness. Well, no. Yet another surprise. But then again, perhaps the name describes the shoe – Roclite. I decided to run in the notorious Leigh Valley. People who ride to hounds
on Dartmoor avoid the meet that will take them down the Leigh Valley. The headwaters of the river Leigh are on Haytor, much of which used to be a granite quarry – just as an aside there is the most amazing tram track with the rails carved out of granite that was used to carry the granite away from the quarry. To the north of Haytor the ground is a cascade of rocks and mire. Just the country for a horse to lose a shoe or four as their hooves jam between the
20 • FOOTWEAR TODAY
• MAY 2010
288 GTX®
boot The Incredible Lightness of Being
etween A Roc and a Hard Place, Henry Harington tests some lightweight running boots that proved heavyweights in the performance and looks departments
It was slightly disturbing opening the package from Inov8. I thought,
closely packed rocks. Imagine what they can do to a pair of running shoes. Inov8 describe the Roclite as having, high levels of comfort and
performance with a waterproof membrane”, and being: “Ideal for trail, ultra light walking and mountain running with ankle protection”. I had actually requested Footwear Today’s Editor to find me a pair of running shoes that would provide ankle protection. Running places like the Leigh Valley is guaranteed to put ankles at risk of twisting or strain – if the rocks can pull shoes off a well shod horse, they can do much worse to unprotected ankles on a human. Ankle protection can be a mixed blessing however, as it can on the one hand provide a semi-rigid brace, but be too rigid to give the flexibility of a fell, hill or train boot. The Roclite moulds closely to the foot and ankle – inov8 describe the TPU Lacing Support – without explaining TPU but they explain that, “Lacing attached polymer upper supports, cradles the foot more evenly”, a claim I cannot contradict. Anyone who has read my previous walking
boot and running shoe reviews will know that grip is important to me. I think I should create a “grip index” that allows a comparison between the “gripability” of all the shoes and boots I test.
Inov8 have come up with their “exclusive sticky rubber compound” (Sounds a bit like the secret ingredient in a face cream or washing powder). They say it has been specially developed using climbing rubber technology to optimize grip in wet conditions. What they add is that the trade off is the sole wears down quicker. I take
that explanation to mean that you will be “using up” the boot’s tread in the same way as a car tyre wears out. That is logical, sensible and honest (how many companies tell you their product wears out faster). When I get around to designing the “gripability index”, the Roclite will be up there. Finally, we recently heard the sad news that Camilla, the Duchess of
Cornwall, broke a leg with a “twisted fracture” while hill walking. If I may be so bold, my I suggest to Her Royal Highness that when she recovers and resumes striding over the hills that she seeks the ankle protection of the Inov8 Roclite.
Details: The trade price is £53.25 and RRP is £100. Contact:
sales@inov-8.com Tel.01388 744900
www.inov-8.com
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