Customer Reviews inov-8 F-Lite™ 230

Great shoe. I love Inov-8. I also have the road-x 155. This shoe fits a lot more snug around the forefoot midfoot and through the toe box than the road-x. Even though the width is the same it feels a bit less wide than the road-x. Tread seems to be wearing relatively quickly, but that is anticipated. Great colors, I always get compliments on both Inov-8's and my Vibrams. Minimalist all the way, even down to my toms that I wear for casual. If you are a complete minimalist then I would recommend the 195's instead, because you can definitely feel the 6mm differential on these vs a 3mm on the road-x's and a flat bottomed Vibram/Toms. However if you are just getting into minimalist shoes, I would recommend a 3 arrow cushion which is a 9mm differential. That is still tons less than your average running shoe which is closer to 20mm differential. Sizing is a bit difficult. I wear a 8.5 maybe 9 normally and I wear a 8 in these. Definitely order half size smaller, possibly a full size.

I have more than one pair of the Inov-8's and love them, but with these lovely new colors it's really a bummer that they have added this grey tone on the toe: it makes the shoe look cheap and cheesy. I'm returning it for another color that is solid.

Awesome shoes! My only problem I had was climbing ropes I burned the rubber out of the bottom of the shoe so be careful. Otherwise awesome shoe. I ran 6 miles no problem and lifted no problem.

These shoes are very good for CrossFit. The toe seems a little long on my size 13s (US) but were clearly too small on the 12.5, so there's a bit of a jump there. However, do not use these for rope climbs. I did 6 rope climbs today with minimal sliding and time spent on the rope and nearly destroyed the entire outsole of my right shoe on the outside of the arch. Thankfully it only tore it up half-way through, but any more and the shoe would have been garbage. Maybe you can wrap athletic tape around the shoes on rope climb days, but I'd highly recommend wearing something else when doing rope climbs.

Love the product will buy a new pair shortly. My only really beef with the shoes is they seem to fall apart sooner than I would like. I've only had mine for 6 months and the fabric is tearing right where the toe box begins. It kind of upsets me, I have Nike Free's and they seem to be a better build. however they are not as comfortable, not even close. so the build of the shoe is suspect, everything else is great. just be prepared to need another pair in 5-7 months.

Shoe is comfortable, light and airy. Only issue is the width is a little too large, leaving my toes to much wiggle room, which then sometimes leads to cramps in my foot. I like having a better sense of balance by being flush to the ground when working out with weights in these shoes. Not crazy about how bright the blue is in the shoe, would have preferred this in all black, black w/ gray or black and white.

Awesome shoes, very Light, fit well, great for running. However, if you plan to do Crossfit with them, make sure you dont use them on Rope Climbing day, after 10 rope climbs the sole was all worn out. Anyway Other than that, just great for all the other exercises

The shoe is okay. I guess that a great shoe is one you never think about or notice once it is on your foot. This one, however, will not stay tied. The strings are made of a slippery material that allows them to frequently come untied during exercise. The tongue will also slide to the outside of the shoe.

Great shoe for working out, I suppose. This is not a running shoe. It looks good and it feels very comfortable. Extremely light! I cannot emphasize this enough. Very, very light. Durable too. I ended up returning it since it does not really feel my needs/objectives.

I have a wide toe box and these shoes were too narrow in the toe box and pinched my baby toe. Otherwise, they felt amazing. I was sad to return them. So wanted them to work out.

I unfortunately apparently cannot wear this particular shoe. I loved the slim look, the weightlessness of them, but they were so narrow, I could not get my foot into them without tugging and pulling. I called customer service because I was shocked that my size (9) didn't fit - I wanted to make sure I had ordered the right US W size. I had. So we went by trial and error and a size 10 W was sent. Although the shoe was longer, I had the same issue with even getting my foot into the shoe. I saw all of the positive reviews so I didn't hesitate to order these, as they were absolutely what I was looking for but sadly I am going to shipping both pairs back tomorrow. I had great customer service though and the second pair arrived 24 hours later. I am very disappointed they didn't fit. They just seem overly narrow - and I don't have a wide foot.

This is not a shoe for a person with fallen arches; very narrow. Thought I would give them a try after all the positive reviews but they fell short of my expectations.

Love the shoe. But very disappointed that after less than 6 month's light (treadmill walking) use, they've developed rips between the sole and the upper. The glue is giving out.

I am looking for a minimalist trail - these these were comfortable and light but I need a little more cushion and sturdiness (less bending) under the ball of my foot which these did not provide.

These looked and felt like a cheaply made version of the 240. Toe box was comfy though. Unless these are still on sale, buy the 240s.

Had to return these. I wear a 14 in Nikes so I got a 13 in these due to reading that they run large. The 13 was just long enough but was way too narrow. The outsides of my feet were spilling over the soles making them very uncomfortable. No matter how much I loosened the laces. Might have tried a 14 but had the feeling they would have been too long. As with most shoes, no 13 1/2 is available. Still, might have been too narrow. If you have even moderately wide feet, these shoes may not work for you.

I've been using this shoe for cross training for about a month and I'm still not sure how well I like them. They look good. One of the little shoe string tabs on the tongue broke in the first week. Based on reviews, I ordered a half size down and they seem to be long enough but they feel a little tight. Kind of wish I would have just ordered my regular size. I'm not disappointed, but so far I'm not convinced that I need to run out and by another pair.

I wear a size 8. I ordered a size 8 Women 6 1/2 Men as these shoes are unisex. The shoes were a good full size too big for me. I would recommend ordering at least a half size down. Couple things I did enjoy about the shoes were the breathability of the shoe and the grip on your running/exersizing surface.

While I like the look of the shoe, the pair I received seemed like a 'second' - glue was visible along the seams, and a narrow strip of extra material had not been snipped off near the top lace holes. The shoe has a thin bed with little (any?) cushion.

Great fit, width, style options, and minimalist nature. However, there are two flaws in the comfort department that put this particular Inov-8 model out of the game for me: (1) The tongue is shaped such that it easily rides down on sides of my ankles, and thanks to almost no padding, this is not a comfortable but irritating sensation; (2) Unlike most shoes, including other Inov-8 models, the back of the shoe that meets the ankle is not a "nook" type cutout but rather a piece that sticks straight up. Again, this is not comfortable. A good example of an Inov-8 that is without these issues would be the Terrafly line, specifically the 303 and others. Beyond that, fantastic shoe, fit, and options. Inov-8 has a lot of winners around!

This shoe is not as made of the quality material I expected, it does fit big so definitely order full size smaller! Not sure I would buy it again, the flat sole is maybe worth looking at it again...not sure!

This shoe looks very "cool." Everyone on my cross-country team loved it. However, I discovered that buying on looks is not a good idea. Every time I tried to run in it, my ankle hurt. I ended up buying an Asics and my feet feel fine.

Bought these for Crossfit after wearing out my Nike Frees. I usually wear a 7.5 or an 8, so I ordered a UK 5. There was too much room in the toebox, but the shoe itself felt narrow. I liked the thinness of the sole, but it felt like my ankles were caving in...weird! They will be going back, unfortunately.

Inov's Terroc 330 is an outstanding product but unfortunately this model is no longer available. The F-lite 230 was well reviewed and a suitable replacement. I normally wear 9M but based upon the reviews I ordered 8.5M and 9M just to insure fitting. Both were very tight. Comparing my old 330 vs the 230, I noticed the 230 were 3/16" narrower at the midsole/footbed area. Why Inov would make shoes narrower is a mystery. Sent both back. And Inov's are a consideration anymore. Too bad as I liked the style and light weight.