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Created page with "{{DISPLAYTITLE:Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220 Review}} The Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220 is an excessively firm shoe, and provides relatively little cushioning for its weight. While it could b..."
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220 Review}}
The Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220 is an excessively firm shoe, and provides relatively little cushioning for its weight. While it could be considered relatively light weight in comparison with many of the shoes, I believe you can do much better, either getting vastly more cushioning for the same weight, with the same cushioning for a vastly lower weight. If you want a shoe that provides a little protection from stones, such as running on gravel roads, without much in the way of cushioning, then you could give the 220 a try. The other aspects of the 220 are reasonable but not outstanding. For instance, the outsole uses materials and technology that could have been put to much better use. I rate the 220 as "Worth Considering". {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220-top.JPG|none|thumb|300px|Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220 top]]
|[[File:Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220-outside.JPG|none|thumb|300px|Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220 outside]]
bottom]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220-bottom.JPG|none|thumb|300px|Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220 bottom]]
|[[File:Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220-inside.JPG|none|thumb|300px|Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220 inside]]
outside]]
|}
=Characteristics=
* {{H:cushioning}}. The biggest problem with the RoadXTreme 220 is its lack of cushioning. The midsole foam is firm to the point of being hard. It offers similar levels of cushioning to the original [[New Balance RC5000]], and the RoadXTreme 220 weighs more than twice as much. The comparison with that the updated [[New Balance RC5000v2]] is even more brutal; the RoadXTreme 220 is twice as heavy but far less cushioned. Rather strangely, there's more cushioning in the forefoot than the heel, something I've rarely found in running shoes. If you look at just the forefoot cushioning, then the RoadXTreme 220 is not quite as bad, but still provides less cushioning than shoes like the [[Asics Gel Hyper Speed]] that way much less. To be fair, Inov-8 does advertise this as a minimally cushioned shoe, which is fine if the weight reflected the lack of cushioning. I've also noticed a certain degree of unevenness in the forefoot, as the midsole is thinner where the harder rubber outsole patches are located. This didn't cause me any problems on the shorter runs, but over longer distances it could be an issue.
* {{H:drop}}. The RoadXTreme 220 has only 3mm of drop when worn, which is close enough to zero-drop that you probably won't notice.
* {{H:structure}}. The RoadXTreme 220 has a single density of foam is nice and simple, without any attempt to interfere with natural foot movement.
* {{H:flexibility}}. The RoadXTreme 220 is a nicely flexible for shoe, in spite of their "Dynamic Fascia Band." This technology is intended to replicate the fascia of the foot and create a ""windlass effect", but I couldn't detect any difference in practice. There is a little bit of spring at toe off, but no more than any other comparable shoe. I suspect there DF B does not extend far enough forward to have any meaningful effect, as it terminates under the ball of the foot.
* {{H:outsole}}. The outsole is made of a variety of materials. If you look at the image above of the bottom of the shoe, then the white spots are hard rubber lugs that provide excellent traction on asphalt. These are a great idea, but are badly positioned, especially the lugs on the outside which are not going to be in contact at toe off. The black patch at the rear of the heel is a hard rubber outsole, but there are also patches of harder rubber that are color matched to the midsole. You can see them as the areas that are divided into squares on the picture above. This gives the RoadXTreme 220 some abrasion resistant material over pretty much all the contact surface.
* {{H:shape}}. The shoe is does not match the shape of the human foot, so the [[Shoe Modifications| toe box needs to be cut open for comfort]]. {{H:TryCuttingShoes}} <br/>[[File:Shoes For Humans.png|none|thumb|200px| The 220 is half way between a shoe designed for a human and a shoe designed for a mutant with a their big toe in the middle.]]
* {{H:upper}}. The upper is an open mesh over most of the shoe, but a little thicker around the heel. There is no padding in the upper except for around the ankle opening. The apartment above the midfoot has some transparent plastic reinforcement bands, but these didn't cause me any problems.
* {{H:tongue}}. The RoadXTreme 220 has a traditional tongue with tabs for the laces to hold it in position. The tongue has some reasonable padding.
* {{H:lacing}}. The laces are most, and slightly rounded, but I had no problem with them coming undone.
* {{H:heelcounter}}. The [[Heel Counter]] is quite innocuous, and is unlikely to cause much of a problem.
{{FastBlr|Inov-8/RoadXTreme 220-iv-1331|1331|Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220 IV}}
{{ShoeGraphs}}
=A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes=
{{:Shoes-include}}
The Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220 is an excessively firm shoe, and provides relatively little cushioning for its weight. While it could be considered relatively light weight in comparison with many of the shoes, I believe you can do much better, either getting vastly more cushioning for the same weight, with the same cushioning for a vastly lower weight. If you want a shoe that provides a little protection from stones, such as running on gravel roads, without much in the way of cushioning, then you could give the 220 a try. The other aspects of the 220 are reasonable but not outstanding. For instance, the outsole uses materials and technology that could have been put to much better use. I rate the 220 as "Worth Considering". {{H:WhatToLookForInShoes}}
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220-top.JPG|none|thumb|300px|Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220 top]]
|[[File:Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220-outside.JPG|none|thumb|300px|Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220 outside]]
bottom]]
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220-bottom.JPG|none|thumb|300px|Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220 bottom]]
|[[File:Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220-inside.JPG|none|thumb|300px|Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220 inside]]
outside]]
|}
=Characteristics=
* {{H:cushioning}}. The biggest problem with the RoadXTreme 220 is its lack of cushioning. The midsole foam is firm to the point of being hard. It offers similar levels of cushioning to the original [[New Balance RC5000]], and the RoadXTreme 220 weighs more than twice as much. The comparison with that the updated [[New Balance RC5000v2]] is even more brutal; the RoadXTreme 220 is twice as heavy but far less cushioned. Rather strangely, there's more cushioning in the forefoot than the heel, something I've rarely found in running shoes. If you look at just the forefoot cushioning, then the RoadXTreme 220 is not quite as bad, but still provides less cushioning than shoes like the [[Asics Gel Hyper Speed]] that way much less. To be fair, Inov-8 does advertise this as a minimally cushioned shoe, which is fine if the weight reflected the lack of cushioning. I've also noticed a certain degree of unevenness in the forefoot, as the midsole is thinner where the harder rubber outsole patches are located. This didn't cause me any problems on the shorter runs, but over longer distances it could be an issue.
* {{H:drop}}. The RoadXTreme 220 has only 3mm of drop when worn, which is close enough to zero-drop that you probably won't notice.
* {{H:structure}}. The RoadXTreme 220 has a single density of foam is nice and simple, without any attempt to interfere with natural foot movement.
* {{H:flexibility}}. The RoadXTreme 220 is a nicely flexible for shoe, in spite of their "Dynamic Fascia Band." This technology is intended to replicate the fascia of the foot and create a ""windlass effect", but I couldn't detect any difference in practice. There is a little bit of spring at toe off, but no more than any other comparable shoe. I suspect there DF B does not extend far enough forward to have any meaningful effect, as it terminates under the ball of the foot.
* {{H:outsole}}. The outsole is made of a variety of materials. If you look at the image above of the bottom of the shoe, then the white spots are hard rubber lugs that provide excellent traction on asphalt. These are a great idea, but are badly positioned, especially the lugs on the outside which are not going to be in contact at toe off. The black patch at the rear of the heel is a hard rubber outsole, but there are also patches of harder rubber that are color matched to the midsole. You can see them as the areas that are divided into squares on the picture above. This gives the RoadXTreme 220 some abrasion resistant material over pretty much all the contact surface.
* {{H:shape}}. The shoe is does not match the shape of the human foot, so the [[Shoe Modifications| toe box needs to be cut open for comfort]]. {{H:TryCuttingShoes}} <br/>[[File:Shoes For Humans.png|none|thumb|200px| The 220 is half way between a shoe designed for a human and a shoe designed for a mutant with a their big toe in the middle.]]
* {{H:upper}}. The upper is an open mesh over most of the shoe, but a little thicker around the heel. There is no padding in the upper except for around the ankle opening. The apartment above the midfoot has some transparent plastic reinforcement bands, but these didn't cause me any problems.
* {{H:tongue}}. The RoadXTreme 220 has a traditional tongue with tabs for the laces to hold it in position. The tongue has some reasonable padding.
* {{H:lacing}}. The laces are most, and slightly rounded, but I had no problem with them coming undone.
* {{H:heelcounter}}. The [[Heel Counter]] is quite innocuous, and is unlikely to cause much of a problem.
{{FastBlr|Inov-8/RoadXTreme 220-iv-1331|1331|Inov-8 RoadXTreme 220 IV}}
{{ShoeGraphs}}
=A Comparison with other Recommended Shoes=
{{:Shoes-include}}