I loved them! A three day backpack in the Cairngorms, walks in the Brecons, on the Cotswold Way, occasionally on the bike; they were great. Cool and light obviously, but with the extra benefit of connection to the ground. Very often I find myself stumbling when wearing boots as my feet are "stiff" and heavy. With trail shoes this was no longer a problem. Foot placement seemed much more precise, and I didn't miss the ankle support, or weight, of my Scarpa ZG10s (good boots, and lightish for what they are, but still twice the weight of the Terrocs).
So I emailed inov8, who said my first port of call should be the retailer. So I popped in to Up and Running in Cheltenham, who said they would see what they could do. A week later I got a call saying inov8 would replace the shoes, and four days after that they were in the store.
Following the advice of Colin Ibbotson (@tramplite on twitter) I seam-sealed them immediately when I got home, hoping that this might protect the stitching, and prolong the life of the shoe. Watch this space!
So, many thanks to Up and Running, and to Inov8 for good customer service. I would be interested to hear about the success or otherwise of seam sealing shoes. Please leave a comment.
Thats good. I was going to suggest same action. Inov-8 are usually VG on things like this and especially as your photo shows that they are otherwise in good nik.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Ultimate outdoors are selling them for around £58.
Shoe Goo is excellent for sealing stiching on this type of shoe.
I hope you have better luck now with the new pair.
My experience with Terrocs was pretty similar; A very comfortable shoe that fell to pieces *way* before the sole wore out:
DeleteThe inside of the heel cup just wore away, leaving the plastic cup edge exposed to dig in nicely to my soft pink flesh.
The out rubber "bumpers" cracked and just fell off.
The outer stitching gave way and the shoes seems to fall apart.
The laces - a niggle, I know, end caps came off leaving the laces to fray like a firework.
Never again!
I now wear LaSportiva Raptors - which, so far, seem to be very well made indeed. They have the same excellent ground "feel" as the Terrocs but with far better build quality.
I just couldn't be doing with seam-sealing my shoes!
Al,
ReplyDeleteDid you wash them in Nikwax? ha
My 320's have been VG. No complains even though they are now not far away from being replaced.
(Woops sorry for the bit of a hyjack here.)
Hi Al R, I used some Sil-Net that I had kicking about, we'll see how it works! Don't worry about the hijack!
ReplyDeleteAl S, fortunately the only problem I have had is with the stitching on the upper, but I'll keep an eye out for any other problems. If Inov8 hadn't replaced the shoes I think I would have tried the Raptors, but I'll stick with the Terrocs for now, as I say, I can't really justify the outlay at the moment (the mountainbike needs new disc brakes and a hub service, I've been offered a classic Olympus film camera kit, to mention just a couple of reasons!)
As always, thanks for commenting.
Interesting reading what you have to say. I am currently trying to get my Terroc 345 GTX repaced for the second time, after the inside of the heel on both shoes disintegrated after just six days on the hill. (First time round was after just a few days too.) I have been planning to use them for the TGO 2012, and am feeling somewhat nervous about putting my trust in them. Otherwise they are brilliant: comfortable, light, exactly what I want.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I would think that two pairs going the same way is a sign! I know Messrs Sloman and Rye swear by the La Sportiva Raptors, maybe worth giving them a shot. All the best with the TGO, don't forget to pack your thermals, it looks like May could be bracing!
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