inov-8 PARKCLAW G 280 ‘ESCAPE THE GREY’ – Review

Coming home from work to find a shoebox style shape with the words inov-8 scattered over the box that sat perfectly on my kitchen side got me all super excited to glance at the new inov-8 Parkclaw G 280. On opening the shoebox I was pleased to see a dark blue coloured trainer that was still fashionable and modern but without the worry of being stained by endless miles of muddy trail runs. I was surprised to feel how light the trainer was considering the Graphene-enhanced rubber.

Whilst trying the trainers out around the house it was nice to have footwear with a wide toe box, as do have bunions and have to be wary of narrower designs as they cause serious blisters and pain. However, these trainers had plenty of room. I was keen to find out how comfortable this road-to-trail running shoe would be on the road as I have never tried a trainer made for both in my 15 years of running. Normally I buy a pair of trainers suited for each terrain as I find most road shoes pretty much fail on most of the trails around me or is that just an excuse to buy more trainers, I can’t quite remember but maybe just maybe this trainer might be the one pair of trainers I would own for future adventures.

I decided to do my first outing in these trainers on a 7-mile easy run with a mixture of hard trail and road. I wanted to do an easy run first so there was no pressure if things didn’t go to plan due to the shoes being uncomfortable and causing foot issues. Firstly, that didn’t happen, I was super pleased to find that the trainers felt just as springy as my road trainers and not at all clompy – which is what I was expecting. Secondly, the trainers didn’t restrict my foot movement like other off-road/trail trainers and I noticed the flexibility and ability to be nimble.

I never once suffered from blisters or hot spots.

On my second run, I decided to test this shoe solely on the road covering 12 miles with some speed work. I wanted to really test out the ‘bounce’ and ‘durability’ of this inov-8 product with the ‘boomerang footbed’ whilst running a hard session on the road. The first 8-9miles of the run felt comfortable, although I didn’t notice any extra spring back in comparison to my normal road trainers.

As this shoe is designed for both types of terrain they felt just as good as my road shoes. The final 3/4miles however things became uncomfortable underfoot with a feeling that I would compare to pins and needles. I felt slightly disappointed after the run as inov-8 stated that the trainers have a ‘greater cushioning’ due to the hundreds of beads in the footbed. Did they just need a little more time to break in? 

Even though I was hitting the road hard in a brand new pair of trainers, I never once suffered from blisters or hot spots. Something I would normally worry about on the first couple of runs in a new shoe.

Now for the trail test, 8 miles of Shropshire hills which are full of glorious trails across some fantastic hills with 360-degree views. After an uncomfortable end to my road run, I was intrigued to see how well they would live up to expectations off-road. 

Fortunately, they did not let me down!! The route I chose goes through farmer’s fields with rocks, holes and very uneven ground underfoot. I felt that my feet/ankles were well supported and protected with the ‘strong, flexible toe bumper’ from the hidden rocks and debris that are hard to avoid. I found the footwear comfortable for the duration of the run and they had a strong grip over the wet slippy mud so I did not worry about falling over.

Personally, these trainers do exactly what they are designed for but I would say these shoes are more focused on the trail than the road. They are fantastic footwear for off-road with ‘the world’s toughest grip’, the protective toe bumper and the comfort they provide on uneven ground. If the trainers were as impressive on-road as they were off-road I would pretty much wear these shoes for every run but for me, I would have to stick with road shoes if my route was mainly road.

To find out a little more about these trainers and what others thought click here

Product features as listed on the inov-8 website