The Inov-8 Mudtalon Speed is a lightweight trail-running shoe built for soft ground, with the 8mm lugs on its outside making it a great option for mud and fell runs. Nick has been using the shoe for plenty of muddy runs this winter, including an XC race, here’s what he makes of it.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
00:00 – Intro
00:13 – Design & Key Stats
02:59 – How’s The Fit
04:09 – The Run Test
08:33 – Verdict & Alternatives
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Hello and welcome to run testers my name Is Nick and this is our review of the Innovate mud Talon [Music] Speed so the mud Talon speed is a new Soft ground running shoe from innovate It's got big long lugs on the underside To help you get grip if you're running In the mud on fails that kind of thing And it's designed to be Speedy it's got A very lightweight design as well cost £130 in the UK $140 in the US it weighs At2 57 G or 9 o which is really very Light given the amount of alool you've Got here and then you've got a stack Height of 26 mm at the heel 22 mm at the 4T for a 4 mm drop of that stack heite 11 mm at the heel is the midsole and 7 Mm at the 4ot because obviously it Includes a lot of other stuff the stack Height but that's your midsole Heights You have a rip stop upper on the shoe Which is designed to drain very well It's quite a lightweight material but Yeah drainage is very much the key here To avoid the upper material soaking up a Load of water when you're on those wet And muddy runs you have a to to guard Running around the front of the shoe There uh to protect for any accidental Bumps of rocks and stuff on the trails You've got a foot shaped toe box as well And two fits available on the mud Talon Which is a first for rovate you've got a
Precision Fit which is what I have here And there's a wider fit available as Well those precision and wide fits refer To the width of the toebox so I've got Quite a narrow foot and I've got the Precision Fit here talk more about this In the fit section as you'd expect you Have a power flow Pro foam midsole on The shoe with a boomerang sock liner or Insole that's a 6 mm TPU beaded material Or the insole which adds a fair bit of Softness and bounce on the foot which is One of the features of the Sho it's got A little bit more midsole stack and Comfort here than many of innovates Lightweight soft ground shoes have had In the past and a lot of that is down to That sock liner along with the power Flow Pro midsole you have there got a Flexible meta shank Rock plate it's not That noticeable to me but you get a Little bit of extra protection but Doesn't stop the shoe being good and Flexible and giving you plenty of ground Feel Under Foot then onto the outside Very much the key with all of innovates Soft ground shoes you've got sticky grip Rubber here with these 8 mm lugs you can See the pattern how are they range there The idea is that you get good grip and Purchese especially when going uphill And when going downhill and trying to Break a little bit by dropping back on Your heels you've got the the logs
Change direction to try and give you That extra purchase when you're on mud Or grassy running they're also quite Widely spaced so you're going to shed That mud quite well and it's the sticky Grip rubber so it's meant to also be Able to cling to wet rocks okay and Stuff like that so this is a soft ground Running shoe but it's got some features Here that means it's okay for short stin On the hard Trails as well part of that Is this rubber which despite these Really long LS and you think you know on A with 8 mm like this you hit some hard Patches of rock or something like that You're not going to be very comfortable In the grip but actually the shoe does Pretty well with the nature of the Rubber you have here although it isn't The graphine enhanced stuff you have Seen on other innovated shoes in recent Years you have a few Flex screws around The front of the shoe again to increase Flexibility especially around the toe Off of the shoe and and make sure You' Still got a nice natural ground feel you Expect from a trail shoe even if it has Got a slightly higher stack than some of Inovated shoe in the past this is still A low stack shoe that gives you that you Real feel for the ground when you're on The [Music] Trails
So as I mentioned in the design section You've got two kinds of fit with the Innovate mud Talon speed you've got the Precision Fit which is what I have which Is the kind of more narrow dialed in fit Around the toe box and then a wider fit Which gives you the extra width around The toe box also got this foot shaped uh Toe box you have here generally I found The fit very good in my normal running Shoe size I've never really had a Problem with innovate shoes in the past I have quite a narrow foot so things Like the X Talon 210 and 212 fit me Quite well even though they were quite Torpedo like shoes I like the fit of Those shoes but I said the fit is better With the new shoe someone who has a Narrow foot I still get the nice tight Hold where I want it around the midfoot You've got a slightly more open back Design of the shoe here which means it's Easier to get the shoe off and on which I have had problems with in the past With some innovated shoes and you've got Enough room in the toe box that I didn't Feel I was being cramped or and my toes Didn't hit the front of the toe box at Any point when I was running downhills But at the same time it still felt nice And dialed in and racy I've raced in the Shoe and it felt really good it doesn't Feel like it's too much shoe or too much Space there for you're going to do like
Quite a short distance race like I did But you do have enough room there to go And do long runs in the shoe and for it To feel comfortable so yeah all around I Like the fit of the shoe quite a lot I Do think these new fit options will help Innovate appeal to some people who maybe Found them a bit narrow in the past as [Music] Well so I've done about 30 mi in inovate Mud Talon speed and that's all been in My local Forest here in a chingford in North London which is a very muddy Forest generally I has been actually Frozen for part of my testing of the Shoe and I did a f mile race in the shoe Across country race in the forest here Which is a very hilly Five Mile on a mix Of kind of grass mud some frozen ground As well that and also it's quite a heavy Heavy mud we have here in a bit of a Clay mud so that's been quite a good Test for the shoe in terms of its Capabilities and that kind of terrain Having been able to get out into Anything more adventurous in terms of Trails as I've been home for the winter Here but there has been a nice range of Trails available in the forest including Some good mud which is what I really Want to test the shoe in myself been a Big fan of innovates Trail Racing shoes For a few years like during cross Country season I will often use the X
Talon 210 instead of spikes just cuz I Prefer the feel of it the extra grip you Get at the back of the shoe particular Compared to spikes and yeah I've always Found them really good the grips always Been outstanding in but Comfort Necessarily hasn't always been there With this shoe I guess you're kind of Getting a bit of a combination of the X Talon range that lightweight grippy Speed ster and then the mudclaw which is The bigger more protective more cushion Mud shoe that you have in in range which I have used in the past it was fine but I did find it quite a big shoe quite a Heavy shoe and when I'm on soft ground I Tend to not want too much shoe on my Foot just because the ground is taking a Lot of the impact of the of the running Inway so I did like that the idea of a Slightly more protective X Talon which Is kind of what I think the mud Talon Speed is you still that grippy Lightweight racy feel but with a little Bit more cush Under Foot that does mean It's a bit more suitable for some easy Cruising so it's still not a shoe that's Obviously designed for allout Comfort It's still a speed Focus shoe and you've Got loads and loads of outsole there and Not a huge amount of midsole but I have Found I've been able to go and do some Easy runs in this shoe just rocking Around the forest which I didn't really
Tend to do in the X Talon 210 too much Just CU it was a very lightweight shoe And when I've raced in the X Talon I Found that it has beaten up my legs a Little bit whereas with the mud Talon Speed again you just got that little bit Of extra protection there and I do think It makes quite a big difference in terms Of how your legs feel the next day and How they feel on slightly longer runs at Easier Paces but you know no fear here It's still very much a Nimble firm Grounded shoe that gives you a lot of Feel for the trail and is very fast like It's not suddenly like a big cushion Cruiser for the trails or anything like That you're still very much getting that Sprightly feel that lets you know what's Under foot and gives you that you know That flexible feeling as well when You're on tricky narrow Trail slipping In and out of mud maybe on some harder Ground you've still got all that agility That you expect from a shoe like this When I raced in the shoe it was a 5 mile Race like I said it was pretty hilly uh Just up and down three hills twice Basically in the in the forest with some Descending or actually was probably more Frozen grass which was a bit unusual Here it doesn't normally get quite so Cold for everything to be a Frozen as it Was on that day but grip was very good Running down a grass hill that was
Frozen pretty fast and then hitting some Muddy sections especially one Particularly annoying uphill muddy climb Where you really need the purchase from A shoe like this to ensure you're kind Of not just spinning your wheels going Up the hill and just sliding every time You take a step and yeah grip was really Good weight was really good it was a f Mile race pushing all out very Nimble up The hills shed the mud pretty pretty Well as well I found like when going Through the mudy patches on the course Did get rid of that mud quite quickly it Wasn't like I felt like I was carrying That mud around with me for a mile or Two afterwards drain is pretty good too If you step through into a big puddle It's going to get rid of it quite Quickly the inso will CLE a little bit But I didn't find I was very squelchy And you know splashing along in it as I Have done in some other shoes when I've Gone through puddles so definitely still Has that edge for trail racing it's not Quite as light something like the um X Talon 210 or the Adidas terx speed SG Another shoe I've liked for racing but I Think the grip is exceptional the extra Protections very useful and I do think It's a really good trail racing option For cross country races or for longer uh You know runs on soft terrain things Like f runs that kind of thing it will
Do the job really well because of the Extra Protection have been on some Harder stuff as well done a little bit Of Road T from the forest and some Harder Trails as well as the weather's Started to improve a little bit actually Does grip quite well I thought it'd be Very skittery on that kind of terrain Because of the long logs but especially On the road but actually it's okay it's Quite comfortable the rubber sticks Reasonably well I think even with the Rock plate on there if you're going to Spend a long time on Rocky or grally Ground I'm not sure it's going to be the Most comfortable option for sure there Definitely be shoes that do that kind of Stuff better but if again if you're Looking at mixed train races you're Hitting short spells of that the mud Talent speed I think copes with it quite Well like even on cross country races Sometimes you're going to hit a little Bit of tarmac or something like that and My club's races around the forest 10 Miles 15 miles have a lot of harder Spells and with some Road sections and I Do think this shoe will cope with those Fine whil then giving you that really Aggressive grip when you do hit the mud Again so yeah really enjoyed the run Test in the shoe enjoyed racing in it Enjoyed cruising around in it very Capable all around soft ground
[Music] Shoe ver is the mud Talon speed I think It's probably my favorite innovate ever In terms of their soft ground shoes like I've always been a big fan of those Shoes and I do think this is a really Well balanced uh shoe that combines some Of the features from other shoes in Their lineup best bet about it is Definitely the grip it's fantastic it Grips very well it sheds that mud pretty Well it's still quite comfortable on Hard at ground it's not going to Suddenly just fall apart if you hit a Bit of wet pavement and send you flying It still sticks quite well to that kind Of thing will be okay on rocks as well Like I think you're going to lose a Little bit on the Comfort side if you're Going to go in hard rails for long Periods cuz even with the slightly Higher level of cushioning you have in This shoe it is still a very grounded Shoe that's you not offering loads of Protection from the trail underneath Your feet H so again if you're looking At allterrain shoes and more hard ground Focus Shoes you're going to get a lot More cushioning in the mids soole a lot More General protection but as a soft Ground Focus shoe you do get a decent Amount of that here which does give it That a little bit extra versatility Compared to something like the X Talon
Which I you know did find a bit too hard When I was on hard ground and wasn't That comfortable so like it's not as Light as some of those other shoes I've Mentioned there or obviously even spikes If you're looking for a pure cross Country racer but it does that job Really well like generally I find in Cross Country seed I'm not always at my Best and this is the kind of Sho I'd Like to wear especially for longer races In cross country because you've got that Protection you've got the grip it's Still lightweight you can perform close To your best you know if you're really On it you're absolutely gunning over Five miles it's all going to be grass You're just going for all that speed Then spikes or you know even one of the Lighter innovates will give you a little Bit more of an edge but this is a very Capable short distance racing shoot then Has a bit of extra versatility that you Can do you loads more training in this Than I would do in spikes or the ex Talent or anything like that just Because I think it is a more comfortable Shoe for just mooching around soft Ground do think the new fits are quite a Nice idea for innovator as well I think They'll open up their shoes to a few More people who maybe found them a bit Too narrow and torpedo like in the past You've got this more foot-shaped toe box
The two options does make it a more Comfortable shoe even if you are someone Like myself who was who is narrow footed And was fine and innovates previous Versions I think the price is okay as Well like it's a bit more expensive than The X Talon but I think it's a Reasonable price what is a very capable All around shoe I guess really whether It's worth going for will depend on your Use case though cuz despite the extra Versitility you get here compared to Some other soft ground shoes it is still A fairly neat shoe you got to be Spending all your time on Soft Stuff in The shoe I think like can do a little Bit of hard ground here and there but I Don't think it's ideal for that there're Certainly better shoes within innovates Range or other people's range that can Do that and if you are maybe someone Who's gone into mod a little bit but are Actually just looking for a general Versatile Trail shoe something like the Saky peragine you know has pretty good Outso for the mod and then will give you A lot more versatility and comfort for Runs on other surfaces but you know if You are looking for a fast soft ground Focus shoe that can do bit of racing bit Of training you know give you really Good grip a little bit of comfort I do Think the mud toal speed is excellent It's really hit my sweet spot for a
Trail running shoe especially around Here in the winter especially when I'm Doing a lot of those kind of races as Well but you know for other uses there Probably will be more suitable shoes That might not make it the perfect pick But you know for some people I do think This would be an ideal shoe and it lives Up to basically everything it sets out To achieve so if you like the sound of It on paper it delivers it in practice I [Music] Found so that's our review of the Innovate mud Talon speed let us know Think in the comments below please like Subscribe and ring the little bell uh so You get notified when we do a new video And we'll see you next Time
