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Bare-foot Philosopher Inov8 trail shoes have gone from nowhere to everywhere in just three years. Simon Willis hears the philosophy behind their success. From nowhere to everywhere in just three years must be some kind of speed record. In 2003 Inov-8 shoes did not exist, but now they’re the choice of light hikers and trail runners around the planet, from the USA through Europe to China. UK awards have come from TGO, Trail, Trail Runner, Runner’s World and more. They helped Andrew Thompson break the Appalachian Trail speed record and will probably be on Matt Hazely’s feet when he makes his attempt. I noticed a photo in an American magazine, and of the ten top runners, six wore Inov-8’s, even one sponsored by a rival. TGO’s Equipment Editor Chris Townsend can sniff marketing hype at five hundred meters but told me “Inov-8 shoes are great! I find them very comfortable and they give confidence on rough terrain because my feet feel in touch with the ground.” Before researching this article I had no idea where in the world Inov-8 was based or who was behind it, all I knew was it had blasted onto the light-hiking scene from nowhere and made a remarkable impact. I was determined to discover who and what makes these shoes so special. For a brand that has Nike nervous and causes anxiety to Adidas, it’s surprising to find their world-wide headquarters in a former Methodist Chapel in County Durham. The man who created Inov-8 is Wayne Edy. He’s a tall, affable chap whose background seems to have led inexorably to these shoes. He grew up in what was Rhodesia and after leaving school became an engineering apprentice at a sports shoe factory, the place where young Wayne’s twin enthusiasms, for engineering and shoes developed. Later he switched to the business-side of the operation; launched a chain of sports shops; was headhunted to another firm and tripled its size; won numerous business awards and learnt how to manage super-fast company growth. He managed all that by the age of 26. Then Wayne decided Zimbabwe was not for him and his family. Within a year he had designed and manufactured the first range of boots and shoes to bear the Berghaus badge. Wayne spent fourteen years working between Berghaus and Brasher, which are part of the same group, plus a couple of specialist sailing brands until he decided it was time to go solo. “I always wanted to do my own brand”, Wayne told me, “I thought, I have a sports background and I have an outdoor background, why don’t I merge the two and create this mountain running brand”. It was a financial gamble. A set of moulds for a full range of shoe-sizes costs up to £30,000. Wayne ordered a container of 2,500 pairs without having a single order. “I had to prove to myself how much I believed in the product”. He soon discovered he was not alone. It’s not one thing which makes Inov-8 shoes so different and so successful, but a series of patented, engineering innovations. Yet all these stem from a single philosophy, which you could call a bare-foot credo. Wayne explained, “The foot was not designed to work on flat surfaces. It was designed to work in a three dimensional, un-even plane. So when you take the foot back into that environment, our philosophy is to allow it to work unrestricted. You are less prone to lower limb injuries, you will find it more comfortable and you feel more agile.” It sounds like marketing-speak, but having bought and used three different models of shoe, I’m certain it’s more than spin and Chris Townsend agrees. “I've been in favour of the bare-foot idea for many years”, says Chris, “Hence my walking in sandals. So I think in this case the marketing blurb is true”. Wayne and I took a walk onto the fell-side above the Durham dale, chatting about how he controlled the phenomenal growth-rate of the business, when suddenly Wayne knelt and put the palm of his hand onto a rock. “You see how my fingers curve around the rock and my hand moulds to its shape?” He continued, “That is what my bare foot would do. That’s how our shoes work, and it allows my leg to stay upright.” Wayne then stiffened the palm of his hand, to simulate a stiff-soled boot, and immediately his arm was pushed off vertical. “A stiff boot pushes your leg out to one side, and that can cause injury”. There is an obvious problem here. Look at any guided walks programme and you’ll probably see the words ‘strong footwear recommended’. Some outdoor shops still advise customers that they need boots with ankle support and strong soles. Wayne is effectively telling the walking world its established wisdom is bunkum. While not claiming his shoes are suitable for everyone in all conditions, Inov-8 find a natural place in the current trend towards light-weight hiking. It’s tempting to be cynical about this, yet when I walk in the mountains I can actually feel the bare-foot philosophy in action. I don’t need to know it’s achieved by a stiffener, split into vanes so each aligns with my metatarsal heads. Nor do I need to know the new shoes have a ‘fascia-band’, a series of ridges in the sole which act like a bowstring to help propel the foot forward. In fact, all I need know is that these shoes are ridiculously light, comfortable and, for me, they work. Wayne’s Wisdom We have been criticised for writing too enthusiastically about ultra-light footwear. As with all ultra-light gear and techniques, these shoes are not for everyone or for every condition. However, a confluence of materials, technology and creativity has put us at the start of a mini-revolution, and if we failed to report this, we’d do you a disservice. Few people understand feet and footwear as well as Wayne Edy, so I put to him some hikers’ concerns. Traditional view: I need ankle support from boots. Wayne’s wisdom: “A lot of trail shoe makers say the same thing. They say if you’re going over on your ankle you need a stiffer more supportive shoe. We actually say ‘No’. We recommend you go the other way. Because the foot is a well designed, complicated component of the body, successfully carrying a huge weight. If you start supporting bits of it and stiffening other parts then you change the way that it works”. Traditional view: What about hiking across scree and rough ground? Wayne’s wisdom: “You need protection in certain conditions, but you want to develop the muscles back to where they should be. All our feet have been over protected. What our shoes try to do is give you some protection and not restrict the function but give you better grip, because our feet don’t grip very well.” Traditional view: I can’t carry a 28lb weekend backpacking load wearing light trail shoes. Wayne’s wisdom: “If someone is carrying that size pack, we may not be for them. We’re all about light and fast. Most people now look at loads like that and ask, ‘do I really need to carry all this with me?’” Traditional view: Your shoes won’t keep my feet dry. Wayne’s wisdom: “Accept you’re going to get water in then get rid of it fast. The feet create a natural pumping action and after a river crossing people say they can feel their feet dry out. As long as it’s not cold, I believe you’ll be better off.” Traditional view: What about the long Scottish backpack in possibly torrential rain? Wayne’s wisdom: “If you’ve got that you need to have waterproof footwear and you need to stop the water from getting in. We have plans for that”. TGO has seen Inov-8’s top secret prototype, which is less of a shoe and more like an waterproof ultra-light footwear system. We’ll reveal all in a future issue.