Over the years there have been numerous references to Innov8s in TGO. I even remember seeing an article on them once. They are mentioned a lot in blogs. Lots of people wear them. So how can you review trailshoes in the current TGO and not feature Innov8s ? Makes no sense to me.

I thought that was a strange omission as well, although I understand, from things Chris has said in the past, that not all manufacturers respond when they are invited to submit gear for tests.

Checked with the reviewer John Manning. Innov8 apparently sent a pair of boots for this test, rather than trail shoes. Since the test was specifically on trail shoes the boots were omitted. Hope this explains the obvious omission

If they are a size 10 forward them on to me and I'll post a review on the Forum ;-)

Mark

Would seem to be a poor system if you just rely on manufacturers sending samples. Perhaps in some cases manufacturers wouldnt want to be reviewed. I cant imagine this is the case with Innov 8 s but the system obviously doesnt work if you end up with no review of one of the most popular shoes.

T***l reviewed a some 50L sacs this month. I was looking at one of the OMM sacs they reviewed and mentioned to the assistant that I had read the review in the magazine and that I had been looking for a lightweight 50L sac. He showed me a pac from Osprey that hadn't been reviewed (neither had the Jam2 for that matter) that seemed excellent and well designed. When doing comparison testing in the magazines it is very difficult to form an opinion if there are obvious omissions from the range tested.

At least the reason for omitting the Inov8 is because it didn't meet a pre-determined brief. With such an array of product available, the only way to conduct these comparisons is with a tight brief. Also, listing the manufactures in the article that didn't respond to the brief might help. Or even a list of, "You might also want to consider ..."

I assume the TGO team have to tread a delicate balance with the manufactures and distributors. I would guess that it is not financially feasible for TGO to purchase all the products that they sell - which would be the best scenario for independent review. In addition, I'm sure the manufactures see value in the promotional benefits of a product review - assuming it's positive.

Most of the companies and their PR representatives do a good job of submitting gear to fit the given brief. I'd imagine this is the approach taken by pretty much every specialist publication reviewing gear - I'd be surprised to hear of any magazines buying the kit they test, especially in these days of tightened budgets etc.

On the subject of Inov-8s, I'm in discussions with John M about writing up the Roclite boots into a longer one-off review. In the mean time, a couple of different Inov-8 shoes are reviewed on this website, having been tested for the magazine on previous occasions.

Emily

I've just purchased some roclite boots 370. These are replacements for my terrocs which have basically collapsed now giving no real support.

First impression is that they are well built. They have a long wide toe bumper, not strong but protective and the reversed stitch/glue seems to be a good idea preventing it to come away. I also like the fine mesh over the boot giving abrasion resistance to the material underneath. Obviously the weight of the footwear is one thing that inov-8 are renowned for and this is extremely light.

The sole unit has a good tread pattern and is really flexible but most of my walking is on good trails rather than scrambling over rocks these days (longer backpacking routes) so comfort is wonderful.

They haven't been used for anything multi day yet but once I've done this I'll put up a better review.

And the bargain, had them for £42 delivered.