A few months ago I wrote a short review on the great customer service I received from Inov-8 (see here). The customer service was required because the Roclites I had bought 6 months earlier had started to fall apart. The soles on both shoes were shedding tread and the lining of one shoe, where my heel sits had frayed alarmingly and was rubbing at my heel when I walked. I returned them to the shop and they were replaced within a few days. Great.
Unfortunately, the replacement pair have fared no better. The sole seems to be a bit more resilient, in fact that has not shed tread at all this time, so perhaps they’ve fixed that problem, but the heel liner is now worn on both shoes, in exactly the same place and causes me some discomfort on long walks. I doubt they will see out the summer months. I am, to say the least, a little disappointed in them.
I could probably take them back and have them replaced – but to be honest I don’t think I want another pair of Inov-8s, not even if they’re free. They promise so much and deliver frustratingly little. I know they are lightweight shoes and therefore, by nature, they are not going to be as robust as traditional boots or walking shoes, but this is ridiculous. I have worn through two pairs of £60 shoes in under 12 months. In fact, if you remove the winter months where I was wearing my leather boots, it’s actually much less than 12 months.
I won’t be buying any more Inov-8 shoes – I’m now looking elsewhere for lightweight shoes or mid-cut boots for next summer. I may have to dust off my Scarpa boots before the full winter walking arrives, as I don’t think I’ll be getting many more miles from the Roclites.
The question now is; Salomon? Merrell? TNF?
I will keep you posted
3 thoughts on “Inov-8 Roclites – Final Review”
Nice blog ! I’ve spent a long time in looking for a large calf winter shoes for my wife.Visit to see ugg boots for women
Robin, thanks for the suggestion, I’ve been looking for a pair of Fastpackers to try on, but no-one seems to have stock in the North West, so I’m sort of on hold with them at the moment. I will look into Montrail as an alternative. Cheers Stuart.
You should add Montrail to the list. All the Montrail running shoes I’ve had have been pleasingly robust. The only failure was their mid cut Stratos GTX boots. My Hardrocks have worn well and my latest Mountain Masochists feel even better. I also like Salomon. The Fastpacker Mid GTX are brilliant boots.