Inov-8 Trailtalon 290 Review v2

In the Summer, I went for a trip to Lake Windermere, so had to pop into the Inov-8 store “to have a look around” and obviously had to buy a pair of shoes. So now it’s time for an Inov-8 Trailtalon 290 review. I got the v2 model.

Who’s it for?

The Inov-8 Trailtalon 290 is a trail running shoe for people that like a generous toe box and want to run on a huge variety of terrain, even including bits of road on a trail run.

It’s not a deep mud shoe, but will tackle shallow mud.

Inov-8 say it’s responsive and cushioned, but it leans towards the responsive side and I enjoyed it more on faster runs up to 90 minutes, rather than long runs.

How’s it made?

The Inov-8 Trailtalon 290 reviewed here has a grippy outsole on a layer of EVA, with a breathable, engineered-mesh upper.

The outsole has a centre channel of multi-directional lugs for flat traction, with curved, claw-like lugs around the edge for grabbing hold of terrain on cambered surfaces. The lugs are 4mm.

The forefoot area of the outsole has Inov-8’s Metaflex channel, where the rubber is slightly thinner, allowing the shoe to flex more easily so that the toes can do their job more easily. It can be seen in the image above as a recessed dip under the balls of the foot.

The midsole is EVA and has a slight raise under the arch, something I’m not normally too keen on, but trying it on in the shop, I didn’t notice it at all. If you have flat feet, you might want to consider if this is your preference.

The heel has no rigid heel counter (thankfully), other than that provided by the reinforcement panels to keep its shape. The area around the ankle has a little padding, but isn’t overly puffy or minimal.

The laces are attached to a plastic cage that wraps around the midfoot – I’ve used similar before and in this case it’s not intrusive. Sometimes these cages are too rigid to be enjoyable, but this one is very flexible.

The tongue is pretty padded.

The upper is highly breathable, so in hotter weather, it was great. I’ve still used them down to 3°C for 90 minutes and it did take ten minutes for my feet to warm up. Any colder than that and you should look elsewhere.

Size and Weight

I went for a size UK11.5 which weighed 369g, so not the lightest trail shoe. It’s pretty much my normal size apart from adidas which I go to UK12.

The Inov-8 Trailtalon 290 reviewed here has an 8mm heel to toe drop, so it’s fun on the uphills, taking the pressure off the calf a bit and likes a quick cadence on the way down hills to get it flat against the ground.

On the Run

I was a big fan of the Trailtalon 250 a while back, using it for racing and training. I was looking for something similar but with more cushion, so thought the 290 would fit the bill. The number refers to the standard weight, so you’d think the 290 would have more cushion. In reality, it doesn’t have anything extra and is quite an equivalent shoe.

If anything, the cushion doesn’t seem quite as soft and perhaps the extra weight comes from the lace cage and extra protection. Certainly it seems to be holding up better in terms of longevity than the old 250s which only lasted a couple of hundred miles before the upper started going. These 290s seem much more sturdy.

On almost all surfaces, the grip on the Trailtalon 290 is inspiring, given that you can run on the roads in them – I have five minutes of roads before I get to the trails.

Yes, it can’t handle the deep mud, but it’s not designed for that. In shallow mud and wet grass, it’s pretty good, with the side lugs digging in well. Sticky mud does clog the centre lugs a bit as you’d expect. On wet, smooth chalk it doesn’t dig in quite as well a shoe with sharper lugs, but fine in an easy training run.

In drier conditions, it’s composed everywhere, making quick progress over tricky terrain a lot of fun. I didn’t notice the weight of these at any point.

The cushion didn’t really give me the potential ultra shoe that I was looking for, so I’ll be keeping it for shorter racing / training. I can see a couple of hours of racing being my limit. Perhaps I’ll try a Roclite next.

There’s a lot of ground feel, which again makes it a lot of fun. The forefoot feels planted everywhere, with sharp corners and cambers being a joy.

If you are looking for a fast, fun trail shoe that does most surfaces, you should consider the Inov8 Trailtalon 290 reviewed here. Expect responsiveness rather than mega cushion and you’ll be fine.