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Inov-8 X-Talon 210

Inov-8 X-Talon 210 – A minimalist shoe with maximal grip

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So I recently read Born to Run (I know, I’m pretty behind the times) and like so many of you, I decided to give barefoot running a try.  I was already used to low drop shoes, so the transition was not as terrible as I thought it might be.

The problem I had is that I run Obstacle Course Races and in OCR you need a little more grip than the bottom of your foot, or even the Merrell Trail Glove has to offer. So I got a pair of Inov8 X-Talon 210, one of the most minimal OCR shoes available.

Minimal

If there was one word that describes this shoe, it would be minimal. There is not much to this shoe. With a midsole stack height of the only 9mm/6mm, it’s really like gluing some rubber cleats onto your bare feet. 

The foam that it does have on it is very cushiony and comfortable though. When I first started running in this shoe, I found that I was not as much of a forefoot striker as I had thought and each heel strike you really feel. 

It will help teach you to land not on your heel, though. The Shoe is also incredibly lightweight. To reduce weight, the arch of the foot only has a small amount of rubber in the very middle and foam on the outside, where a normal OCR shoe would be fully rubberized on the bottom. 

I thought this might compromise grip on rope climbs, but it has not in my experience.

Flexibility

This shoe is Ultra Flexible. The padding is super thin, which makes this shoe flex with your foot as if you were wearing a sock (a sock with cleats). 

I do think that the shoe might be a little too flexible and doesn’t give you any kind of pop or rebound due to the extreme flexibility. For this reason, I don’t think it is the fastest shoe.

Everything about the X-Talon 210 is super flexible, the upper material is loosely woven and lightly stretches with the foot while still keeping you locked in. One of my favorite parts is the heel cup, which is, you guessed it, flexible. 

Formed by overlays on the upper and with U-shaped cut out for your Achilles, making it very comfortable but still keeping you firmly in the shoe.

Sizing

The X-Talon 210 is fit very similar to other OCR shoes from Inov-8, which means they fit about a half size smaller than what you would normally wear for most other brands, so be sure to order a half size up. 

The width of the X-Talon 210 is what INOV-8 calls precision fit, which is a narrower fit meant to really lock down the foot for its racing shoes. INOV-8 has now come out with a number scale for their widths, and this falls in at a 2 on a 1-5 scale of narrow to wide. 

Despite this being a precision fit shoe, it feels wider than other INOV-8 precision fit shoes that I have, including the X-Talon 212 and Mudclaw 300. On those shoes, I feel my foot being lightly squeezed. 

On the 210 though, my toes feel like they have room to splay. Perhaps this is because of the flexible upper material compared the hard, protective toe bumper area on the 212 and Mudclaw. 

Drainage & traction

The ability to shed water in these is really amazing, after about 3 steps out of being submerged the shoes will have drained completely, leaving your foot with less weight to carry around. 

The traction is on par with any other X-Talon or Mudclaw models from Inov-8. I feel it is the best traction for mud and OCR available. 

At a race on a ski slope where it had rained the morning of the race, I felt comfortable charging down the hills and being able to plant my foot in the ground to make a turn with minimal slowdown.

Color

If you like bright, bold colors this shoe is a beauty, but if you want something more subdued, look elsewhere. Inov-8 only offers this shoe in one color for both men and women, and it is bright ass neon hunter orange. 

It does become a bit less in your face the more mud you put them through. They kind of become tiger striped. Raaaawr!

Obstacle Course Racing application

When I first got these, I thought they would just help me build strength towards barefoot running and be a short distance racer, but the more I wear them, the more I fall in love with them. 

I brought these with me to the Spartan Chicago Super as a backup pair, but the conditions were super wet and muddy, so I decided to give these bad boys a try at something a little longer. 

I’m very glad that I chose the X-Talon 210 over my Mudclaw 300 because of the drainage and lightweight materials in the 210. It was a sloppy course pretty much 8 miles of mud and boggy conditions, and through all of it, my feet stayed light. 

The outsole gripped the muddy ropes on rope climbs, and the shoe stayed snug on my foot in calf deep shoe-stealing mud.  I really think they are going to become my go-to OCR shoe for anything where the ground will not be hard or rocky.

Why you might like this shoe

If you are into barefoot running but also love running muddy trails, fell running or OCR these should suit you well.

Why you might not like this shoe

If you are a heel striker, you are not going to have fun in these shoes.  If you need arch support, these shoes lack any and will flex too much for you. If you run on hard or rocky ground, you will feel all of those rocks and going with a rock plated shoe or something with more cushion would be better.

Conclusion

I really like this shoe, more than I was expecting. I think the addition of a thin rock plate would make this a more well-rounded shoe, give it some pop and make it more wearable in dryer conditions. 

But it is exactly what it is advertised as a minimal racer made for very soft and wet conditions, and I think it might be my new favorite shoe.