The INOV8 TRAILFLY PRO: A New Trail Running Icon? Almost, But Not Quite
For a brand that has become almost synonymous with British trail, fell and ultra running, INOV8 has a lot to live up to.
Born in the Lake District, INOV8 has spent decades producing shoes that have become staples for runners across the UK. From the X-Talon 212 and original Mudclaw to the Roclite and Trailfly Ultra G300, there has always been something distinctly INOV8 about a shoe that could be pulled out of the cupboard for almost anything the British hills could throw at it.
In recent years, however, while INOV8’s shoes have remained popular, I don’t think many have quite reached the iconic status of those older models. The TRAILFLY PRO feels different. Rather than simply being another iteration of an existing shoe, it feels like INOV8 has gone back to the idea of the do-it-all trail shoe and brought it into 2026: light enough to run quickly in, cushioned enough to spend all day in, comfortable on the road and capable enough to head into the hills.
After 140 miles in my first couple of weeks with the shoe, I think INOV8 might be onto something.
Putting it to the test
My first run in the TRAILFLY PRO wasn’t exactly a gentle introduction. I took them straight into the Lake District for a 50-mile, two-day fastpacking adventure, recceing part of a 100-mile ultra route. A day later I was back pacing on the Pennine Way at 1am, covering another 18 miles before finishing the day with a 10km fell race in Yorkshire. That put 80 miles into the shoes in their first week.
Over the following week I added another 50 miles, including shorter local runs along the Pennine Way and Hadrian’s Wall, covering both road and trail, alongside more trips into the Lakes. By the time I started writing this, the shoes had already seen around 140 miles across a broad range of terrain: wet and dry, road, rocky trails and fell paths, with plenty of time spent on my feet for several hours at a time.
Fortunately, they didn’t need much breaking in.
A shoe designed to do almost everything
The TRAILFLY PRO sits in an interesting part of the market. With 34mm of cushioning under the heel and 28mm under the forefoot, it certainly isn’t a minimalist trail shoe, but it also doesn’t feel like you’re running around on a pair of mattresses.
The 6mm drop and Powerflow Elite midsole provide a good balance between protection and responsiveness. There is enough cushioning to take the sting out of rocky Lakeland trails, while the shoe still retains a good connection with the ground. The midsole has a noticeable rebound, particularly when walking and running, encouraging you to keep moving rather than feeling like you’re sinking into the cushioning.
The slight rocker geometry helps here. It isn’t particularly aggressive but works naturally with the foot and makes the transition through each stride feel smooth. At faster paces the shoe feels capable of keeping up, while slowing down for an all-day outing doesn’t make it feel cumbersome. It genuinely feels equally at home pushing the pace or cruising for hours.
That versatility is probably the TRAILFLY PRO’s biggest strength.
During my 50-mile outing there were numerous extended road sections, and rather than feeling like I was fighting the shoe every time the trail turned into tarmac, the transition was remarkably seamless. It would be perfectly at home on a mixed road-and-trail long run, but equally comfortable heading into the hills. For me, this is where the TRAILFLY PRO starts to feel like a proper INOV8.
The grip
The outsole uses a 4mm lug, which isn’t going to provide the same bite as something like an X-Talon or Mudclaw in deep winter mud, but that’s not really what this shoe is designed for.
On firmer trails, rock and grass, the lugs provide plenty of confidence. I’ve been particularly impressed by the G-Grip graphene rubber. INOV8 has been using graphene in its outsoles for years, but this feels like a significant improvement over some of the previous iterations. Whilst not quite at Vibram levels of confidence on wet rock, it’s certainly getting close.
I haven’t had the opportunity to put the TRAILFLY PRO through properly deep winter mud yet, but I’m not sure that is a criticism of the shoe. In the northern English winter, once the mud gets sufficiently deep, almost anything short of a dedicated mud-specific outsole starts to struggle.
The trade-off is that these 4mm lugs make far more sense for the shoe’s intended purpose. You can run along a section of road, onto a Pennine Way-style trail and then into the fells without feeling like the outsole is working against you.
Light, but not at the expense of comfort
INOV8 claims a weight of 228g. My UK 9.5 pair came in at 247g, which is still impressively light for a shoe with this amount of cushioning and protection. For comparison, my NNormal Tomir 2 in the same size weighs around 301g despite offering a similar stack height.
That weight is noticeable when running. The TRAILFLY PRO doesn’t have the sluggishness that can sometimes come with a more protective ultra shoe, and I found it particularly easy to push the pace when I wanted to.
At the same time, it doesn’t feel like INOV8 has achieved the low weight simply by stripping everything back. After eight hours of running, my feet still felt comfortable and the midsole hadn’t started to feel flat or as though it was bottoming out. There were no hotspots or blisters either, despite taking the shoes straight into a 50-mile outing.
The upper: impressive, but not perfect
One of my biggest frustrations with modern trail shoes is the use of traditional fabric uppers that seem to perish remarkably quickly when exposed to the realities of trail running. I feel the industry can sometimes fall into what I call the “Strava trap” of replacing a shoe after 250 miles (400km). To me, that is an outdated approach. Modern shoes should, and often do, last much longer.
With races in the trail world regularly extending beyond 100 miles, 250 miles barely gives you time to properly break in a shoe before racing in it, let alone get a meaningful lifespan from it. When a brand chooses a soft fabric upper that starts to rip early, it prevents runners from getting the full life out of their shoes.
It’s therefore refreshing to see INOV8 using a single layer ripstop material on the TRAILFLY PRO. It feels like a sensible decision for a shoe intended to rack up serious mileage, and after 140 miles mine still looks very fresh.
It also performed well in the wet. My second day in the Lakes was spent in the rain, but the upper didn’t seem to hold much water, drained well and dried quickly once conditions improved. My foot didn’t feel any less secure when wet either.
The issue I have with the upper is more about support. When running quickly over steep, technical and particularly off-camber terrain, I occasionally felt as though my foot was pushing the upper around rather than the upper holding my foot firmly in place. The fabric can feel a little too willing to move when you’re asking a lot from the shoe.
On grassy descents and more conventional trails this wasn’t an issue, and the shoe was comfortable to push hard in. But on technical Lakeland descents, I found myself becoming slightly more hesitant than I would in my usual trail shoes. When tackling technical terrain, I want an upper sturdy enough to hold my foot securely when pushing through steep, off-camber sections.
Compared with the NNormal Tomir 2 I’ve been using recently, the TRAILFLY PRO feels softer underfoot, with a little more ground feel, which I’ve really enjoyed. However, it doesn’t provide quite the same level of stability and support when things get fast and technical.
Fit: natural doesn’t necessarily mean natural for everyone
INOV8’s “Natural Fit” philosophy is intended to allow the shoe to follow the shape of the foot, with a more generous forefoot than many traditional running shoes. The problem is that, despite what the name suggests, not every foot is shaped the same.
For my feet, the toe box feels slightly too spacious. This isn’t particularly noticeable on smoother trails, roads or long-distance paths, but once I was tackling loose, technical Lakeland terrain, I could occasionally feel that extra movement contributing to the lack of stability.
The brand doesn’t currently specify whether the TRAILFLY PRO sits within its Precision, Standard or Wide fit categories, and I’d be interested to know whether a narrower Precision version might eventually appear. There are plenty of runners who will love the roomier fit, but for those of us with narrower feet, another option could turn an already good shoe into an excellent one.
The heel and midfoot hold, at least, are very good. It took me a little while to get the lacing exactly right, as is often the case with a new shoe, but once dialled in my heel felt securely locked into place.
The offset ankle collar is an interesting touch, although I’m not sure I personally noticed any meaningful difference from it. Likewise, the lightly padded tongue and notched laces are details that will probably divide opinion. I like the laces; once tied, the notches seem to lock everything in place nicely. I’ve also seen criticism of them feeling a little cheap. Ultimately, these are details that will come down to personal preference.
One rather unfortunate problem
There is one issue I can’t ignore.
At around 70 miles, the right shoe (pictured below) began to come apart around the edging where the upper meets the midsole. The left shoe remains completely unaffected, and the shoe itself continues to perform perfectly well, so I’m inclined to think this is an isolated manufacturing or gluing issue rather than a fundamental problem with the design. At present, it appears to be primarily the thin rubberised overlay that has come away, along with the front lip of the outsole. However, I can’t confirm that the ripstop upper itself remains fully intact underneath. Only more time in the shoe will tell whether this develops into a more significant issue.
I contacted INOV8, and to their credit they were quick to respond. They told me this was the first time they had encountered the issue and have offered to send me another pair to continue testing.
That’s good customer service, but if I’d spent £165 of my own money on a pair of shoes and they started coming apart after 70 miles, I’d certainly be disappointed. I’ll therefore be interested to see how the replacement pair fares alongside the original, and I will be adding a longer-term review to see how the shoes hold up over 500 miles or more.
So, is it a new INOV8 icon?
I’m genuinely impressed by the TRAILFLY PRO’s performance. What I like most isn’t any individual piece of technology; it’s the fact that INOV8 seems to have remembered what made some of its older shoes so good in the first place: versatility.
This is a shoe I would happily put on for a Parkrun, a local fell race, a day out on the trails with friends or a long-distance adventure. I’d have no hesitation taking it towards 100km, provided the route wasn’t predominantly highly technical terrain. It’s comfortable on the road, quick enough to race, protective enough for long days and grippy enough for the majority of terrain most UK trail runners will encounter.
There are compromises. The softer, less supportive upper and wider forefoot mean I wouldn’t choose it for a technical race where I knew I’d be charging down loose descents or taking off-path contouring lines. But perhaps that’s the point.
The TRAILFLY PRO doesn’t try to be the best shoe for one specific type of running. Instead, it tries to be very good at almost everything. And that, to me, is what made the old INOV8 icons so good.
I’m not sure I’d call the TRAILFLY PRO a new trail running icon just yet. The long-term durability still needs to be proven, and I’d like to see a more supportive upper and perhaps a narrower fit option.
But after 140 miles, it’s certainly the closest I’ve felt INOV8 has come in a long time. Maybe the TRAILFLY PRO isn’t quite a new icon. But it feels like INOV8 has started making shoes worthy of becoming one again.
About the Author: Harry Firth is a runner, biker and climber from the Lake District and is the current record holder for the Steve Parr Round.
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