Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
General => Gear Questions, Information, Reviews and Competitions => Topic started by: LandyLiam on September 25, 2014
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Time to upgrade the fell trainers to something more substantial as I want to start doing longer distances (currently using a cheap pair from karrimor which are ok for a few miles on the Hill & Dale runs). So i'm looking for Inov8 Mudclaws or Salomon Fellraisers/Speedcross. I'm a bit of a Salomon fan as I love the comfort of their boots but the Inov8s seem to be cheaper. Any ideas on what to go for? or a good place to get them cheap?
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I have the Innov8 Mudclaws and the Salomon Speedcross. Depends on what you mean by "Fell" for which one I'd rate better. If it's for going along established trails I'd go with the Speedcross for better comfort and cushioning. If it's Mountain Marathon territory knee deep in heather and running at a 45 degree angle go for the Innov8. It's the nature of the beast really that no shoe will do everything great.
For a good wee tip get a pair of sealskin socks (the thin running ones) they'll cushion and waterproof (to a degree) your socks for fell running. They make an awesome addition to the Mudclaw or the Speedcross.
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I have a set of the Salomon Fellraisers and while I will say that if you encounter any mud they are amazing, you need to carefully think about the rest of their use. They have massive lugs on the sole with give you grip unlike anything I have ever felt before, and the way the chevrons are placed means if it is a mud slope up or down you can run it at full pelt fearlessly. But they work as a detriment when you hit the hard stuff, on forest type trails then anything more than about a mile of running has your feet feeling like you pissed off the acupuncture lady. Oh and forget concrete or big rocks, it you hit a boulder at pace and it happens to be just slightly damp you better be part goat or your going down.
They are a great shoe if you use them for the right terrain, they have zero water resistance but that is actually a good thing as flying through a river one minute means almost dry feet 10 minutes later, and non of that nasty squishy feeling while they dry. The built quality is superb and they give your foot an armoured feel when piling through tough ground. As with all Salomon gear they have very little heel drop which is always a plus for me, and they give what feels like just enough cushion to take the edge off yet still let you feel the ground below.
I ended up getting a set of New Balance 110's as a hard trail shoe as the Fellraisers are too hard on that ground, just be sure to actually try them on somewhere first as Salomon seem to fit small. If you spend time hunting though you can get them for around £55 delivered online.
Forgot to mention the lacing on the Salomon is the speed lace system they use, some folks don't like them and they do take a little getting used to, but you should look into getting at least a couple of replacement pairs instantly rather than be left without a shoe for a week when they do break.
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Have tried a few on now, the Inov8 Mudclaw 330s do have MASSIVE grip, but didn't feel right walking about the shop, so maybe for mud only. The Mudclaw 265s felt much better though, almost perfect, but not quite. Then tested the Salomon Speedcross, lovely shoe, very comfy, I think this will be the one. Only black was available in my size but I fancied a snazier colour so will buy them online. Now here's a wierd thing, they are £100 in the shop (and I can get some discount off that) but there are a few ebay sellers doing them for about £25 including postage! is it too good to be true ???
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Have tried a few on now, the Inov8 Mudclaw 330s do have MASSIVE grip, but didn't feel right walking about the shop, so maybe for mud only. The Mudclaw 265s felt much better though, almost perfect, but not quite. Then tested the Salomon Speedcross, lovely shoe, very comfy, I think this will be the one. Only black was available in my size but I fancied a snazier colour so will buy them online. Now here's a wierd thing, they are £100 in the shop (and I can get some discount off that) but there are a few ebay sellers doing them for about £25 including postage! is it too good to be true ???
Sounds a lot like the ones who do vibram five fingers, most of it is china copy stuff and you may well not even get it for a month or so. Avoid it like the plague, if speedcross 3's are going for £100 now then you probably won't get them for less than around £75 after shopping around.
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I use the karrimor ,so far well impressed with them.used them on the road,rock, sand and track .Must have 30 miles up on them.when reviewing them it was mentioned to buy a size up which i did and it was a good call.Havent done the bogs in them.that will be the true test