I'm currently wearing the Inov-8 Roclite. The wide toe box works well with my foot that was injured, and I like the lower heel profile. However, I'm finding the lack of cushion in the forefoot is causing me problems with my bad foot on the longer runs. Before the injury, I wore Mizunos, but (1) I had blister issues, which I haven't had since changing to the Inov-8s, and (2) the toe box is too narrow for my foot now.
Any recommendations re a shoe with the same wide toe box, more cushion in the forefoot, but not necessarily a thicker heel?
Leslie Living and Running Behind the Redwood Curtain -------------
Trail Runner Nation
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Bare Performance
Imminent Catastrophe
I really don't know who makes a shoe like that. Is there room in the shoe to put a half-insole under the forefoot? A lot of people seem to like Hokas, I've never tried them, but of course they have a thick heel too. You wear the Roclite 268--have you looked at the Roclite 309 or 315? Or something in the Terroc line (good luck finding them, though).
Just received a pair of Road-x Lite 155's. Wow, it's like I'm levitating.
"Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"
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"The most common question from potential entrants is 'I do not know if I can do this' to which I usually answer, 'that's the whole point'.--Paul Charteris, Tarawera Ultramarathon RD.
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GreyBeard
The PureGrit from Brooks is wide in the toe box and I think has nice cushioning. I was a NB101 fan but like the bit of forefoot cushion on the brooks shoe.
The Bondie B shoes have 4mm drop I think? I wore them all last year for races and have about 500 miles on them. They are surprisingly stable, decent toe box, and take a lot of impact away from legs. I haven't figured out yet if I will run in the PG for 100 miles or stick with Hokas. The difference in the abuse of my legs and feet was very noticeable between hokas and minimalist or road shoes. I run on both road and trails with Bondie B.
2020
I have some inserts that I'm going to cut the front part off of and see how that works this weekend. I'm worried about it sliding forward, though.
Hoosier - I'll look at those Bondies. I like the Inov-8s as they are very comfortable and I haven't had a single blister issue since I started wearing them, but I am finding that my legs and the bottoms of my feet feel like they're taking a real beating. They shouldn't be bothering me as much as they do after a 20-mile trail run, and my bad foot is definitely not liking it.
I have very little discretionary money right now as we're a single income household, so I need to look at affordability, as well. Wish I could find someplace that would let you run up some miles on the shoes and send 'em back if they don't work out.
Marathon Maniac #957
Wish I could find someplace that would let you run up some miles on the shoes and send 'em back if they don't work out.
Leslie - I use Brooks Cascadia for trail ultras. In fact, the only time I've ever worn them (since I do almost all of my running on roads), is for the 4 50ks I've run since I got them, but I didn't even get a blister on those ultras. Wide toe box, very comfortable.
Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, "Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapenos."
Many local places let you return shoes. I ran in a pair and returned after 2 runs. I stayed on pavement and cleaned them off. I've seen some used lightly Bondies on the interweb, too. Maybe you can make a lower offer: http://www.geartrade.com/item/229691
I have a pair of lightly used Mafates size 9.5 I can send... the toe box is too wide for me in those. But would give you an idea of the feel.
I can't compare to the Inov-8s since I haven't worn them, but I wear Montrail Masochists a lot and find they have a fairly wide toe box and some cushioning, but are still fairly light. They have been more comfortable and given me less blisters than other shoes I've tried (Brooks, Vasque, NB).
~Sara It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great. ~ Jimmy Dugan
Kalsarikännit
I got my Bondi's for $60 on geartrade. I had a good experience with them.
I want to do it because I want to do it. -Amelia Earhart
Bacon Party!
If you'd like a chance to try shoes relatively risk-free, Road Runner Sports will let you run in them for up to 60 days. The only catch is that they must be returned for an exchange only (no refund). I'm not a fan of the merchant, but have actually used the 60-day thing without issue.
As for a shoe recommendation, I got nothing to compare with the Rocklite. (Although I do use the FLite 195.)
I'm a fan of the last New Balance is using for their Minimus line. And they've just released an updated version of their light (non-Minimus) trail shoe - the WT110 (or MT110 for men) - using the same last... Nice wide toe box.
I absolutely love their Minimus Trail WT20 (but NOT the WT10) for moderately rocky terrain; am thinking of trying the WT110 for harsher stuff (or other times when I might like a bit of luxury underfoot).
Liz
pace sera, sera
A 9.5 in men's?
All these other shoes are great suggestions and much appreciated. I'll have to do some perusing on the 'net.
Interestingly, I did 22 yesterday and my foot didn't swell as bad as last week. Not sure why, but it didn't.
Buzzie - I think the minimal-ism (right word) of the shoe is what's causing me problems. Since I tore the ligament in my foot last March, it swells easily. Not like, "Holy crap! You're foot's swollen!" but swells nonetheless, and it's more pronounced on the bottom of the foot. Weird. Anyway, I've been wondering if a little more cushion in the front part of the shoe would help, but don't want to lose the wideness of the Inov.
Good grief - decisions, decisions!
Maybe your foot, once fully recovered, will be fine with the Inov-8's and this is just a part of your rehab. You probably still have some residual inflammation from your injury that's causing the problem.
I just ran 28 miles in a brand-new pair of Inov-8's, the x-talon 212, which were not broken in. This was after 31 miles in the F-lite 230. I never would have done that in any other brand of shoes.