What’s on your feet? Inov-8 195

This Christmas I was lucky enough to get some new running shoes. Maybe luck didn’t have that much to do with it, so much as my communication skills to my wife Stacy. Back in August I bought a pair of the Vibram Five Fingers, and while I initially enjoyed them, I couldn’t get past the foot pain I would get from running in them. I think I might give them another chance this spring if I start running again, but my knees have been very thankful that I stopped running a weekly 5K. Maybe monthly is a better frequency.

Anyways, here is what my new Inov-8 195s look like from above. Technically, the full name of the shoes is the F-Lite 195, but most people just refer to Inov-8′s by their number. The 195s are known for being light, and flat. I think I have worn them to every single workout I’ve done since Christmas. I know lots of people that like to rotate their shoes, but I just don’t ever want to wear anything else.

The shoes are incredibly comfortable and lightweight. The most I have run in them at once is a mile, so I can’t really speak to them from an endurance running perspective, but my knees and shins have really been feeling great over the past few months.

I guess it makes sense that given how thin the soles are and the rest of the material that the shoes are made of that these shoes are so incredibly lightweight, but I really want to drive the point home. Your feet feel like you are wearing a running shoe, but your body feels like you are barefoot. I noticed the biggest benefit from this while doing box jumps. The shoes allow me the comfort to keep jumping repeatedly, but are so light that I feel unburdened and can get more reps in faster.

I do have a slight complaint, and it is very slight because superficial looks of my workout shoes is not something that keeps me up at night. The red soles are painted on and the paint has already begin to flake off after just a few weeks. You can see what I am talking about in the picture to the right. It’s not the end of the world by any means, just a little disappointing.

Overall there really isn’t that much else to say about these shoes other than how much I love them. If you are looking for a flat, lightweight shoe to run in then these are the ones you are looking for.

I’ll include one more photo of the shoes waiting to go for a run on my chair. They are good looking shoes, although I noticed in the photo that I seem to have an problem lacing them properly.