Reader Reviews

Rating: 3 / 5

STATS:
Age 57
Weight 176
Height 6'3"
Very fit with more than 25 years experience backpacking.

Initial Comments:
I am hoping Carol Crooker can add some comments on this shoe, as well. I bought these Turrocs a week ago and wore them around the yard and took several turns around the neighborhood with my wife before using them on the trail this past weekend. My first impressions were that this was an extraordinarily comfortable shoe. More like the fit of a slipper than any hiking shoe or boot I have ever worn. The lacing seemed very straight forward and one which competently cinched the shoe to my foot. They felt very supportive and left plenty of room for my toes to wiggle. The sizing is spot on in my opinion. I found that the fore foot flex zone which Inov 8 calls a "meta flex" zone really allows my fore foot to flex very natuarally right at the metatasul and first joint of my foot. I felt their claim that this allows for a more natural push off with the fore foot was at least plausible. I left the OEM insoles in place for my first few forays in the neighborhood. These insoles are nothing special that I can see or feel so I replaced them for my backpacking weekend with a set of Shock Doctors that I have found provide excellent support in my Montrail XCR Comps.

Trail Test;
So now on to the real test. I had planned a 2 night hike in the San Gabriels near Mt Wilson. I had a planned 1st day of 8 miles mostly downhill with a lot of stream crossings, boulder hopping, and rocky trail walking. Then an 8 mile uphill return plus another 8 miles downhill the next day. Temps in the high 80's to 90. Very dry trail conditions.

Maybe it's just me, but I found it very difficult to find a lacing adjustment that made these shoes feel right on the trail. Either I felt as if I was sliding around in them or I had them tightened down so much that my feet felt squeezed. In fact the most uncomfortable aspect of wearing them was the way in which the point at which I would tie them into a bow would dig into the tendons on the front of my foot. Flexing my foot became an act of pain because of how tight I had to tie these last lacing holes. I had rather heavy brusing on my ankle tendons at this point at the end of the first day. Another problem I found was that the extremely flexible "meta-flex" in the fore foot over stretched my arch. At the end of the day I found my feet really aching and sore. This with a skin out weight of 20 lbs.

I got one foot completely wet about 2 hours from camp on the first day and despite almost zero humidity and temps in low 90's, the shoe was still damp when I got into camp. It took another 2 hours to completely dry out. I was not uncomfortable walking in the shoe because it dried out well enough within about 30 minutes that I never noticed that it was still damp.

And despite the dusty trail conditions, these shoes kept my feet clean with no discernable dirt or grit entering the well ventilated mesh of the shoe's upper. They kept my feet reasonable cool because of the mesh construction. The soles are well designed to grip almost any surface both uphill and downhill. The plastic shank prevented rock bruising under my arch and the toe bumper was adequate to prevent toe stubbing. Smearing the side of a rock as I crossed a stream, I felt as if I had on a pair of sticky rubber climbing shoes and not trail shoes. Unfortunately, to achieve this effect I had to tighten the lacing until my feet felt uncomfortably squeezed as discussed above. The tread easily shed any debris encountered and never needed cleaning as I hiked.

Overall Impressions:
A fine walking shoe that is more at home on the street than on the trail unless one can achieve a satisfactory lacing which is something I never did. A very difficult to lace shoe on the trail with the choices being too loose to prevent the foot from sliding around inside or too tight for comfort causing tendon brusing. Almost too much flex in the fore foot which over stretched my arch.

*A very handsome design and appearance.

*A very well designed tanaciously grippy sole.

Extremely well ventilated upper but not very fast drying. (Although this did not affect the ability to continue hiking without concern for wettness related feet problems)

Rating: 5 / 5

I've had a pair of the INOV 8 Terroc 330 for about a year. They do a great job for me for light/fast hiking. Although I like their Roclite 285's for my trail running. I have never had a problem with the lacing. Here is a hint for you. If they are too loose in the heel area try this... heat up the heel well over a tee pot and then you can reshape the plastic support for a better fit. It will retain the new shape when cooled.

http://www.revelsports.com/inov-8.asp

Edited by perrydau on 06/22/2006 07:43:35 MDT.

Rating: 4 / 5

I love the way the Terrocs conform to my feet without needing to be tied too tightly. So - our feet are different or your Terrocs came laced differently than mine. Mine came with a heel locking lacing system. The lace goes through the hole nearest the ankle then back to the 2nd nearest hole. A loop of lace is left between the two holes and the opposite lace is fed through this loop for tightening.
You mentioned arch fatigue - yeah, you have to build up your arch strength or go to an inov-8 shoe with faschia bands. I've only tried the f-lite 300. Less arch fatigue but a tighter toe box. The f-lite 300s are running a half size small, but I'm going to try a full size larger than normal to see if I'll have more toe room without the shoes being too long.

Edited by cmcrooker on 06/27/2006 23:55:46 MDT.

Rating: 4 / 5

I tamp (you guys call it hiking) in NZ - conditions are pretty ruggard - all the outdoor people here wear heavy boots. About two years ago I went light weight. The boots were the last item to get my head around. I finally got the terrocs (for the third season I use Salomon Pros). The Terrocs are great for 2 season tramping here, BUT I found they rubbed a lot on the top outside of my ankle, plus the inside heal linning broke down quickly. Only used on two trips (nearly crippled me). The local maufacturer replace quickly (10 points here). I am reluctant to give in but use my Montrail Vitesse now and the Inov8's for short day trips and w/e knock-arounds

Edited by rlmckay on 11/26/2006 00:53:50 MST.

Rating: 4 / 5

In prepping for a trek in Alaska last June, I spent the entire spring "training" and hiking 20-30 mile days. These were one of the shoes I wore the most. I love the comfort, profile, stability, feel, and could get about 300 trail miles out of them. Add cross country to the mix and the mesh would get holes in it, and I popped off a few lugs in the process. Minor quibbles for what amounts to an excellent trail - but not off trail - ultralight shoe.

Rating: 2 / 5

As soon as I put on the Terroc 330's, purchased online at REI, I knew I'd end up returning them. As some reviewers have mentioned happening to them as well, the side of the shoe, on my right foot only, rubbed against the bottom of my ankle bone, as if the shoe was cut too high. But because of one review where someone had the same problem and said that it went away on trail, I decided to keep the shoes and wear them out.

On my first hike of six steep miles on trail I experienced initial irritation leading to debilitating stinging pains as the shoe struck my ankle bone at each painful step. I tried to massage the top of the shoe in an attempt to soften or bend the side down, to no effect. The next day my ankle bone is sensitive even in my old shoes, which never caused me any problems, and I'll have to switch to sandals until it heals.

Even if you try these on in the store and don't feel any irritation I noticed the soles of the shoes, while sticky and grippy, also collect mud and small rocks. Otherwise I thought they were fine, lightweight shoes, but only for my left foot.

In addition, I wrote to Inov-8 for some solution to the pain I experienced, and perhaps it was because my answer was obvious: return to the store I bought them, but I still think it very poor customer service that I never heard back from them.

Edited by sf on 05/12/2007 10:53:27 MDT.

Rating: 3 / 5

I love the way this shoe initially feels on the feet. I have about 150 miles in them in Utah Desert and CO mountain trails. The flexible soles and minimal padding are very agreeable to me. It is nice to actually feel the trail under your feet. The traction is outstanding. Some of the lugs are starting to break off but this is to be expected when traversing rough terrain. They dry quickly and don't accumulate too much dirt through the mesh. So far the mesh has held up well without any significant wear.

But I do have one major complaint that others have already mentioned is ankle pain. I can wear these on a 20 mile hike without any pain. The next day I put the shoes on and I have significant pain where the shoe contacts the bottom of my left ankle in uneven terrain. It does go away eventually but when it is there the pain is real and it significantly detracts from the hiking experience. My right foot never experiences any discomfort. Hopefully Inov-8 will correct the problem in future models.

Edited by justducky456 on 06/03/2007 07:28:59 MDT.

Rating: 5 / 5

I decided to wear my Terrocs rather than my Roclites for my recent Long Trail thru hike. It turned out to be an excellent choice. With virtually no break in I experienced absolutely no blisters in 280 miles of rugged hiking. The traction was good, and the shoes held up for the entire distance... just. Lugs were beginning to pop off during the last 40 or 50 miles, but I fully expected that since the lisfespan is only 300 miles.
I particularly like the comfort of the wide toe box. Make sure you buy these at least a full half size larger than your normal shoes.

Rating: 4 / 5

Very comfortable, very light, a pleasure to hike in right out of the box. I liked the wide, stable-feeling fit of the forefoot, great heel fit, & the flat (as opposed to high), grippy sole never felt like rolling.

They are excellent 'wet' shoes: they pick up little water, drain quickly, and are still comfortable when wet.

The relatively coarse mesh does allow fine sand particles in though, eg fine black volcanic sand.

Durability is a weak point: I was only able to get about 350km (~220 miles) out of them. On their final 4 day trip large holes opened up in the mesh and one lace hook on each shoe broke. However they did have to put up with some rugged & consistently soggy bush walking.

I had no issues with the high ankle collar rubbing right up until the second to last day, when inexplicably the outer point of my right ankle started being pressured from the ankle collar. Maybe the footbed had finally compressed enough to expose the problem, or the torn mesh/missing lace hook had changed the fit? It's not just an irritation: the point of my ankle (Lateral malleolus?) was visibly bruised by the end of the day & remained painful for several days, in *any* shoe.

Rating: 5 / 5

Got them because they were about the lightest choice for a mesh shoe with overall positive feedback from the BPL forums. I bought 1/2 size larger and lucked out because they fit well. My feet match up with the shoe's design.

They started squeaking. A possibility is that last Fall after I soaked them while getting water, I then walked on a dusty trail. They dried out very quickly. They still fit and perform well even with the squeak. (Note: I've checked and it is not my old joints making the noise.)

I'm going to wear them out this Spring and will probably try another Inov8 product because I liked the 330 shoes so much. Could not give them less than a 5 based on the other shoes I've tried. Nothing has been close.

Rating: 5 / 5

After reading loads about them and the fact that they were on sale I bought a pair of 330's.
What a revelation, just remember to steam the ankle to get a great fit and let your feet get used to the extra flexibility they have.
Just walked a part of the Cape Wrath trail in the north west of Scotland, around 14 miles each way in 2 days, doesn't sound fast, well I gave myself 3 days todo it, I FLEW. They were grippy when needed and were good to walk through rivers and marsh areas.
When I wear them out I'll definitively buy another pair.