INOV8 Trailfly G 270

A rugged trail shoe with a long lifespan. Graphene-enhanced rubber ousole gives good grip and long life.

I guess I must really like these shoes, because I bought a second pair!

I put over 1100 km (700 mi) on the first pair. At that distance, the uppers were slightly frayed at the bend of the toe and the tread was worn flat on the back of the heels (I guess I am a heel, not knuckle, dragger) but still holding up under the rest of the foot. Every other shoe that I have owned (except Inov8s) would be falling apart at that distance.

I am at about 600 km (375 mi) on the second pair and expect to finish out my running season in them.

The long life of the soles is a pleasant surprise for me, because in 2019 I reviewed the Terraultra G 260 and the Mudclaw G 260 for the TS Review Corps, and was disappointed by the durability of the soles in both shoes. They were in the first generation of Inov8s graphene-enhanced soles, which promised both good grip and long wear, but in my telling failed on the second count. 

But I was still partial to Inov-8s because of my generally happy experience with the X-Talon 212, so after wearing out various other kinds of shoe mostly at something like 600 km, I decided to give Innov-8 another chance. They seem to have got it right this time.

As with the previous Inov8 models that I’ve used, the Trailfly is a good fit on my somewhat unconventional feet. I have hammer toes that can lead to painful calluses on the tops and tips of some toes, but I’ve learned to keep those under control, and they don’t seem to be unduly aggravated by these shoes. I’m an ex (and sometimes still) minimalist shoe fan, so the zero drop and lightly padded sole suits me fine (not a Hoka fan). I like to feel variations in the trail surface underfoot, but with enough padding to blunt sharp rocks and edges. I take an EU 46 / US 12 in some shoes, but for all Inov8s an EU 45 / US 11.5 works for me.

Inov8 seems to have finally given up on the gaiter attachment slots, which are still there on the 2023 but not the 2024 model. In the shoes I reviewed in 2019, I found it hard to get the gaiter attachment tabs into the slots and that the tabs broke off easily.

"270" seems to refer to the weight of the (presumably medium-sized) shoe. My partially worn out and dirty EU45s weigh just about 300g each. That puts them at the heavier end of the running shoe spectrum.

I’ll probably buy another pair before winter hits, to make sure I’m ready for next season.

Note: As of late 2024, this shoe has been replaced by the Trailfly 280, which still has the graphene sole. I’ll happily give those a try.

Background

These days I’m running 30-50 km with 500-600 m of elevation a week, occasionally more, with single-run distances of up to about 25 km, on a mix of dirt roads and variously rocky, muddy, or rooty trails with only very occasional stretches of asphalt. I have a combined 1700 km+ on two pairs of Trailfly G-270s. In over 15 years of trail running, I have worn out dozens of pairs of running shoes ranging from minimalist to heavily padded.