11 Sep 2012 by Raul Escutia

A Review of the Inov-8 Bare-X 200

Inov-8 is a company out of the UK best known for making awesome shoes for the gnarly, sloppy, off-trail conditions encountered by European fell runners. In case you aren’t familiar - and don’t worry I wasn’t at first either - fell running is a sport similar to trail running except competitors tend to run courses that are steeper and less maintained than the trail races that we are used to in the U.S. Basically, fell runners run up the face of hills around Europe - often without course markers - and attempt to make it to the top (and usually back down). The sloppy conditions often encountered on these courses led to the development of lugged shoes that give wearers traction in mud or loose gravel. Inov-8 perfected this type of shoe and has spent several years as one of the top off-road running shoe makers in the world.

I first became aware of the Inov-8 brand when an ultra-light backpacker friend of mine recommended them to me for running/hiking. At the time I was doing very little off-road adventuring, so considering my friend’s background and passion for ultra-light hiking I trusted him and bought a pair. I was quite happy with the purchase and the shoes treated me well on several trips, but over time my taste in shoes changed and I began to look for even lighter, flatter, more minimalist shoes to wear for all running or hiking conditions. The Inov-8 brand was still one I eyed at my favorite running store, but I had not purchased another pair since my original FlyRoc 310’s. Then Inov-8 decided to add a whole new line of products to their brand and I was instantly drawn back to see what they were up to.

At the end of 2011 Inov-8 added the Bare-X to their lineup. The Bare-X line was Inov-8’s first official entry into the minimalist running shoe market. Inov-8 took what they had learned over years of making great trail shoes and developed something that was, light, flat, and provided an anatomical fit. The Bare-X was embraced by both the minimalist running community and the Cross-fit world alike. When I was offered the opportunity to test the Bare-X 200, I jumped at the chance. From what I had read about the shoe, it sounded like a shoe I would like... the only question that remained was how would it test?

Key Stats

Weight: 200g (7.1 oz) These shoes are not my lightest, but at 7.1 oz are definitely light enough that their weight was acceptable and had minimal effect on my running.

Heel-to-Toe Drop: 0mm. A key feature of the Bare-X 200 is that the shoe is built upon a flat base. The shoe sits on only 3 millimeters of Inov-8 Sticky rubber and has no midsole. Upon wearing the shoe, it's instantly apparent that the shoe is low to the ground and flat.

Last: Wide, anatomical. Like the entire Bare-X line, the 200 is built on a last that allows natural running. My foot had no problem spreading out in the shoe, and with or without socks never felt cramped. An added highlight is the inclusion of a skeletal pattern on the sole, designed to look like the bones of our feet. While not functional, the bone pattern was kind of cool.

Styling/Materials: The Bare-X 200 is basically white mesh on white rubber. Personally, I like the all white look with running gear and with jeans or shorts. The shoe is accented with plastic overlays that add structure to the shoe as well a gray Inov-8 logo.

The skeletal pattern on the base of the shoe was even more visible after taking the Bare-X 200 out for a few miles

First Impressions

When the shoes arrived at my office I was excited as usual and immediately took off whatever I was wearing and put on the Bare-X 200's. The shoes appeared to have all the qualities I crave; they were light, flat, and roomy. The early impressions left me looking forward to my lunch time run.

First Run

Ground feel, ground feel, ground feel. Upon hitting the road, my first thought was "wow, I can feel everything through this sole". The sole - while slightly stiff when compared to shoes with a softer outsole material, or with deeper grooves cut into their base - was flexible and definitely thin. My normal route includes a good mix of terrain (grass, tree roots, concrete, asphalt, and gravel trail) and the shoe felt great on all of them. The rubber outsole provided a good grip on all the surfaces. On the gravel I was convinced I could count individual rocks through the sole, in a good way. I did notice a bit of slapping as the shoe made contact with the ground, but I attribute that to the stiffer rubber used on the outsole. Without the layer of foam used in most shoes mid/outsoles any cushioning has to come from the wearer’s body which requires a bit more attention to form and a gentle landing.

My grip is not that strong, so yes the Bare-X 200 is quite flexible

Sockless Test

As I have previously mentioned I am not a sockless runner. I like having a sock to protect my blister-prone feet, but to provide a thorough review I did take off my socks midway through a few runs to assess the Bare-X 200’s sockless performance. During my sockless runs I noticed some positive and negative aspects of the shoe. The positives are: the mesh felt soft and comfortable against my skin, and the anatomical last was even more noticeable when my toes were completely free to splay out. The negatives are likely more personal due to my particular foot and shoe preferences. Without even the typically thin and minimally cushioned socks I wear, I could feel even more of the landing impact (I personally prefer a bit more cushioning). Secondly, the plastic overlay near my big toe on my right foot buckled in a weird way (see photo below) and caused the inside of the shoe to rub on the top of my foot. While I did not get a blister, I was worried that it could be a problem if I were to log a lot of sockless miles.

The “buckling” of the plastic overlay as shown by the fold over the big toe on my right foot

Long Term Impressions

During my testing I split time between the Bare-X 200 and a few other shoes. I often looked forward to running in the Bare-X 200’s. The shoe has proven to be as advertised: thin, low, flat, amd responsive. The only downside would be a sole that's slightly stiffer than I'd like; however, I'm comparing it to a lot of really flexible shoes. Compared to most running shoes, the sole of the Bare-X 200 is significantly more flexible. Given the minimal amount of cushioning provided by the shoe I saw my runs in the Bare-X 200 as a chance to really focus on form, trying to teach my body to cushion my landing versus relying on a marshmallow mid/outsole to do all the work. I also found the shoes to be great for wearing around town, or wearing as a very stable platform for exercises in the gym.

Final Thoughts

I would suggest the Inov-8 Bare-X 200 for any runner who really enjoys a thin sole, a la huaraches, or people looking for a gym/cross-fit shoe that is also a great running shoe, or someone looking for shoe to wear day-to-day that feels great on your feet and is ready for an impromptu run. If you are looking for a shoe with some cushioning this shoe isn't for you; however, I definitely suggest you look at and try on some Inov-8 shoes at your local store. Several of the other shoes in the Bare-X line offer the benefits of the Bare-X 200 (low heel to toe drop, wide anatomical last, thin outsoles, and low weight) but offer increased cushioning to protect your feet and legs while you work on developing a gentle running technique. The upcoming year is shaping up to be another great year for Inov-8. If you have not already checked out our preview of the upcoming Inov-8 shoes as shown at Outdoor Retailer 2012, I recommend you do as you will see that Inov-8 will be releasing shoes for all types of runners (see part 1 and part 2).

In closing, I enjoyed testing the Inov-8 Bare-X 200’s and have continued to include them in both my running and casual shoe rotation. If you have never heard of Inov-8 and their Bare-X line I highly recommend you take a look as I bet you would find a shoe that works well for you.

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Comments (3)

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Gary Allman 9

Sept. 11, 2012, 8:47 p.m.

Thanks for the excellent review. They sound very promising. I have some questions:

How was the grip on the sole? Have you tried them in wet conditions, and if so how did they fare? What about heat? My feet run hot, how did you find the mesh in providing ventilation? And the hoary old question for running shoes, how do they perform odor-wise and can you effectively wash them?

Raul Escutia 24

Sept. 15, 2012, 10:03 a.m.

Hi Gary,

Thanks for the positive feedback, glad you enjoyed the review. You asked some good questions, here are my thoughts:

Grip - the Bare-X 200 use Inov-8's "Sticky Rubber" outsole. I found the grip was acceptable on the roads, asphalt, gravel and packed dirt. I didn't test them in very wet conditions (it was a dry summer in Northern California) so I cannot comment on their performance in very wet conditions, though the tread pattern is pretty shallow so I wouldn't recommend them if you expected to do a lot of running in wet, loose and sloppy conditions. If you were interested in a shoe for those types of conditions I would check out the Inov-8 TrailRoc line.
Like I mentioned I didn't log a lot of miles in wet conditions but I would estimate their wet condition performance is above average. The mesh upper dries quickly, however the sole doesn't have drain holes like some of my trail shoes so it would take longer for the shoes to dry after a full submersion.
Heat- the shoes did well in the heat, the mesh is airy and definitely allowed my feet to "breathe". The shoe isn't quite as airy as some of my shoes with a thinner mesh, or my shoes with a looser weave on their mesh, however the tighter mesh used on the Bare-X did allow good airflow and didn't take in very much debris.
Da Stink- its tough for me to comment on this as well because I don't log many sockless miles and my experience is that a good pair of moisture managing socks (I like Drymax) can really help with odor. I have not had to wash the shoes yet but am confident the mesh upper would wash and air dry well. I would put these shoes pretty far from my Vibram's on the Stink Scale. The mostly white colorway would also respond well to a soak in diluted bleach which will definetly help with long-term odor management.

Sorry I don't have as much experience with the areas you asked about, but I hope this helped. Overall, I'd say that unless you were looking specifically for a shoe for wet off-road conditions I would encourage you to try these out. If you have other questions let me know, I'd be happy to answer them.

Raul

Stefan Fuglsang Toft 1

Sept. 22, 2012, 4:10 a.m.

Hey ;) I enjoyed your review and it's nice to see that we almost agree on everything. I'll post my own review here also - if that is okay? Please delete this post if it's not okay. Just trying to add more information to the "discussion" ;)

Inov-8 Bare-X 200 review after many many kilometers

Pictures on http://www.flickr.com/photos/stefantoft/ or on google plus(Stefan Fuglsang Toft).

INTRODUCTION This is my long term review of the bare-x 200(bought from wiggle.co.uk on the 5th of October 2011) and to begin with I'll highlight how my feelings toward it have evolved over time. If you want more information on the shoe then checkout www.inov-8.com. It's a simple, good looking, zero-drop racing flat without the marshmallows between you and mother earth.

To begin with I love the design. They look cool and fast and for whatever reason this can only be a good thing. Within the first few runs I experienced what should be the bane of what is an excellent road and/or track shoe; the design and use of plastic in the front. The pictures should demonstrate what my concern is - look for the blue dotted line. I think the plastic is there trying to give the forefoot of the shoe some structure but what it in reality does to me is rub against my big toe and course blisters after no more than 5 km. This problem is fixed if you just put on some socks but what a shame that I'm not able to use them without - especially in the summer. I've had blisters with almost all my shoes I would like to add. But after some time I wanted to give it another try and this time around the love/hate relationship turned into pure love with some remarks to fix the design for the next bash.

RAMBLING Let me try to explain how I use this shoe and why I think that - even with the flawed design in front - this is a great minimalist running shoe. To begin with it should be noted that my only other 'active' shoe at the moment is still the Vivobarefoot EVO II - I just can't destroy it no matter what I throw at it! A normal week of running boils down to two speed workouts, one slow hilly morning run, two 12-16k of road running and a long run in the weekend on some trail or whatever I can find that might reassemble a trail. Not a whole lot compared to others but the variance in speed, surface, environment and distance should be a worthy challenge for any running shoe.

REVIEW The bare-x 200 quickly found itself as my go-to shoe for any speed work and even some of the faster normal runs. While using this shoe for my speed work I've gone from 20.43 to 19.03 on a 5k but I would like to think that is because of the extra training I've put in! I almost always remove the insoles and what a joy to find a shoe where the inside is smooth even after the removal of the insoles. As the pictures below shows there is a minimal of stitching on the bottom inside - thank you.

The shoe fits like hand in a glove around the heel and the middle of the foot without being restrictive in any way or form. It just fits really well and it gives you this reassuring feel while at the same time offering a somewhat spacious forefoot with room for toe splashing even though there are shoes out there with more room, this is definitely enough - especially if you take out the insole. I'm interested in comparing this anatomical last with the upcoming revamped Trailroc series. From what I understand it should be the same? As long as it's at least as roomy as this one then I'm sure I'll be one happy camper - time will tell, as it always does.

This is snug fitting in all the right places and spacious ditto as I hope the pictures shows.

The build quality of the shoe has been excellent apart from one small piece. This part got unstuck the very first time I put it on, but it's the only bad thing to say about that. Because the shoe as a whole has stood up to whatever crap I've put it up to and believe me, I see my shoes as tools. As tools that should be used and abused. The white color has turned grayish but that's okay, as the white started out a bit flashy. Remember when you used to put on your new shiny snickers and the first thing you would do is to find a pool of mud? Just to avoid coming to school the following day in new looking shoes... The outer of the shoe has managed to stay whole without any tears from sharp rocks or thorn bushes. For some reason I can't avoid thorns when running or biking. One would think my bed mate is a feline.

The sole got some styling that is to look like the bones of the human foot. I like this but it serves no use apart from letting me know that my initial concerns about how long the sole would last was without reason. You do see some wear, but believe me this is nothing when you know how many k's and muddy tracks this has seen.

I don't know, what I think about the laces. They are round and not slippery. That is all I'll say about laces today: they do the job.

All in all, this is a shoe I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a true zero-drop racing flat with bare to nothing cushioning - if you don't mind wearing socks that is. Most importantly it does not interfere with my running style. It should only be used on the road, as there is no traction on wet or muddy surfaces; that is why I'm so interested in the rumored "Trailroc 150" as this looks like the bare-x with traction! They are at home flying around the track.

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