Customer Reviews inov-8 Road-X™ 233

My last pair of running shoes were inov-8s, which I loved, and used until they were worn out. I bought these and a pair of trail-based inov-8s to replace them. The trail ones are fine, but these... Well, most of the time they are great. And maybe this issue is just my pair or the shape of my foot or something. But for a while when I first used them, and every now and then since, the inner side towards the front half of the arch will rub up against the side of my foot there, and over the course of a medium (4+) mile run, the repeated friction has rubbed through the skin on more than one occasion. When I was first breaking these in, I didn't really think to test them on shorter runs first- a big mistake- my first jaunt was 6-8 miles or so and I had a bloody stain on the side of the shoe by the time I got back. I've only been doing shorter (4 or less) mile runs for the last few months, so that hasn't been as much as an issue- but sometimes I still get a little bit of wear on that spot. I think it's something to do with the plastic design on the exterior of the shoe making the fabric stiff, but I'm not sure. Anyway, if I get road shoes again, I'll be looking for a design without that aspect.

I have been wearing the Innov-8 Road X 233 for about four months and have put a lot of miles in. The shoes are comfortable and lightweight, broke in well, and never caused any blisters. They have one huge drawback, however: the lip on the toe box sticks out quite far and catches on just about anything. I had never fallen while running before, and since I have been wearing these I have fallen three times by catching the tip of the shoe on the sidewalk. The specs for the shoe mention the super sticky outsole that is similar to those used in rock climbing, so that might also contribute to the problem.