I remember having a pair of red slippers when I was a wee lad that were like a second skin. In fact I think I wore them so much that they actually grafted. So comfy are they in my memory that I can almost see me lazing back in a big red armchair, in the library, smoking a pipe with a self satisfied grin on my face. A picture of contentment. Except 14 year-olds should not be smoking pipes. Those…
It seems obligatory at the start of any positive shoe review to say something like “great shoe, but it won’t make you run faster”. For the X-Talon 190, this statement simply doesn’t apply, and for the trained runner, this shoe will support faster running. Offering stunning grip through an aggressive outsole and touted by Inov-8 as the world’s lightest cross-country and mountain racer, the X-Talon 190 has everything required to deliver great speed. To get the weight down to a…
Orange. The only thing that really bugged me about the Merrell Sonic Gloves is the colour. I’m not a ‘look at me’ kinda person, so when I have glowing orbs distractingly flashing in the lower reaches of my vision, I get annoyed. Not just because I feel like a clown, but because at the speed I run, it risks setting off some kind of fit, such is the strobe-effect. (That’s sarcasm in case you missed it. I’m not that fast.)…
The North Face began life as a hardcore mountaineering and outdoor manufacturer/retailer, but in recent years has focused more heavily on the lifestyle and streetwear market Even so, and despite in some quarters losing its hardcore mountaineering cred, TNF has in recent years bolstered its trail running credentials through sponsorship of both events and athletes, including the celebrity face of trail ultra-runners Dean Karnazes and New Zealander Lisa Tamati. After some less than stellar offerings like the gadgetey North Face…
Let’s start off with who these shoes are not for: they’re not for minimalists. Too much cushioning, too…squidgy…underfoot. And silver, I mean really. It’s so 1980s Tron. But back to the squidgyness. That’s a technical trail term for cushioning, people. These loafers are comfy. Walking around, damn comfy. On the trail they just make you float. Especially in the heel. Pounding down an incline – if you happen to be the kind of runner that lands on your heel running…
SALOMON SPEEDCROSS 3 When approached to test the new salomon speedcross 3 trail shoe straight out of the box, you might think one should baulk at the idea. I mean, what a way to ruin a great day on the trail: slip on a brand you have never worn and a model you had only heard was due later in the year, add to that a body recovering from hip and knee injuries and a recently badly-rolled ankle, and the…
Let’s face it – it sucks that Australian running stores are living in a perennial yesterday in terms of their trail shoe offerings (I won’t speak on behalf of the NZ market – for all I know, you guys may be riding front-of-wave). But let’s not blame the frontliners – it’s the distributors who get the things into the country. And even then, who knows what marketing strategies Head Office dictates to the backwater Antipodean market: “Ah give ‘em the…
If I was awarding points simply for looks I reckon the Cascadias would win. They look like something Spiderman would wear. Slick, low to the ground, racing-red, textured mesh, black webbing reinforcing and a gold flash. They look fast. I have always wanted to run in them but the earlier models were too narrow in the forefoot so I never got out the store door. But given the chance to put the latest version to the test, I simply couldn’t…
