REASONS TO BUY
Great traction
Rugged foot protection
Stable
Durable
REASONS TO AVOID
Less comfortable
Tougher to break in
Feel heavy underfoot
No sensitivity
Pricy
Inov-8 Trailfly Ultra G 300 Max - Women's Review
If you want a rugged, beefy, and well-tractioned shoe to carry you through tough terrain, you've met your match
Credit: Inov-8
Our Verdict
Initially, we struggled to get into our groove with the Inov-8 Trailfly Ultra G 300 Max. It has a much more aggressive build than most of the other shoes we tested, and it took close to 40 miles to break in. However, once broken in, this shoe provides a strong value for its elevated price point. By incorporating its brand new G-Fly technology and a wide-ish fit, Inov-8 created a durable and intensely rugged shoe. It provides very little sensitivity, so if you are looking for something that allows you to feel the trail features, this isn't it. But if you are looking for a tough shoe that can stick to slick surfaces and protect your feet, you'll love the feeling of the Trailfly.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Trailfly Ultra G 300 Max is unlike most of the shoes in our review. Despite its plentiful underfoot cushion, this shoe rides hard. It feels super rigid and takes much longer to break in than we are used to. This shoe incorporates Graphene, an ultra-thin and strong material, in the cushioning and the outsole. With a wide base of support, this shoe is incredibly durable, making it a good value, despite its hard-to-stomach pricetag.
Performance Comparison
The incredible traction of the Trailfly really elevates this rugged shoe.
Credit: Ally Arcuri
Foot Protection
The Trailfly offers great foot protection, despite not having a rock plate. The outsole is very tough, and the thick, layered lugs in tandem with the underfoot cushion do a fantastic job of protecting your feet.
The Trailfly offers great traction and protection on rocky and sandy trails.
Credit: Ally Arcuri
Even while running on super sandy coastal terrain, these shoes never waivered in their protection. They hardly allowed any sand to infiltrate the barrier, which is a huge plus. Because of their traditional running shoe shape and design, the heel collar fits in such a way to keep small particles from getting in as well. The mesh upper isn't the most water-resistant we've seen, but like many of the trail shoes we've tested, it does enough to prevent saturated socks during quick stream crossings. The protective rubber toe cap is super strong and makes accidental rock kicks mid-run a non-issue. Since the shoe runs a bit smaller than average, we found that our toes were coming into contact with this rigid rubber more than we generally like, especially on the downhills.
The toe bumper provides protection without being super invasive.
Credit: Ally Arcuri
Traction
With its graphene-enhanced rubber outsole and double-decker lugs, the Trailfly sets the standard for what we want traction to be.
The layers of textured lugs make the Trailfly a great mud running shoe.
Credit: Ally Arcuri
The lugs and sticky outsole inspired more confidence than we have felt in any other shoes. They stayed fresh, thick, and textured even after we tested this shoe on the roads. The lugs are shaped differently than most we have seen, with sharper edges and a more cohesive pattern. The surfaces are embellished with texture, and the sheer depth makes these kicks great for tackling muddy trails. The mud shed prowess is also fantastic.
Sensitivity
If you enjoy cruising over sharp terrain without beating up the bottoms of your feet, you'll love the lack of sensitivity of the Trailfly. Inov-8 claims the Trailfly sits at 25mm in the heel and 19mm at the forefoot, but in our testing lab we actually measured it at 36mm and 27mm (it's important to note that the measuring standards for specs like this are not standardized in anyway whatsoever). In general, the thicker the stack height, the less sensitivity the shoe offers. In the case of the Trailfly, this almost feels exaggerated. We typically prefer more sensitive shoes, but if you like a more rigid sole, we think you've met your match. The outsole is wider than most of the shoes we feel super agile in, but this pairs nicely with the lack of sensitivity. Because the base of support is wide, the lack of sensitivity never led to ankle rolls or feelings of instability, even on unpredictable terrain.
The 25mm stack height of the Trailfly doesn't look like much when compared to the Altra Olympus 4, which has a 33mm stack. But even 25mm provides a lift ample enough to disguise sharp rocks.
Credit: Ally Arcuri
Stability
As mentioned, the outsole of the Trailfly is a bit wide, especially considering its narrow-ish fit. Because of this width, though, the Trailfly is ultimately a pretty stable shoe. While we did test other shoes that are more stable, if the shape and rigidity of this one suits your feet, it is a stable ride with a lot of underfoot protection.
On a day we chose to tote along two pairs of shoes for testing purposes, the Trailfly felt secure on techy downhills, even though we could hardly feel the natural protrusions of the rocks in them.
Credit: Ally Arcuri
The rigidity of the outsole helps your feet absorb potential hazards. Through our testing runs in the Trailfly, we found that it is a tool for stability. Unlike other trail running shoes that we tested, which encourage your toes to splay and create support by keeping a low profile, the Trailfly rides like it just doesn't have any time to get hung up on ankle-twisting trail features.
We view the outsole of the Trailfly like super-strong 4-wheel drive tires on the base of a stable Jeep.
Credit: Ally Arcuri
Comfort and Fit
Even though many of the shoes we tested needed a few break-in miles to really shine, they ultimately all ended up being pretty comfortable. Unfortunately, the Trailfly really let us down in this metric. While it is a great shoe with a ton of really exceptional features, the fit is kind of off, and there aren't really any super comfortable elements to make up for it.
We were never quite able to fully settle into the fit of these shoes.
Credit: Ally Arcuri
Our first run felt stilted and uncomfortable, and that sensation lingered well beyond the 30-mile mark in these shoes. Despite their wide outsole, the shoe body is on the narrower side with a crowded toebox. We have grown to love a shoe with a spacious toebox, so the traditional running shoe shape of the Trailfly felt cramped. The reinforcement on the shoe's body prevented it from ever really molding to accommodate our unique foot shapes, so we found that our pinky toes constantly got rubbed to blisters in these shoes. In addition to being narrow width-wise, the toebox feels a bit short in height. Even with trimmed toenails, our big toenails were constantly in contact with the upper of the shoe, despite about a quarter-inch of space.
The tongue doesn't have any added cushion and the laces are super basic. For the price, we have grown to expect a bit more in the way of comfort.
Credit: Ally Arcuri
The Trailfly doesn't offer much arch support, and with such a narrow profile, we never felt like we could stride confidently or land with ease in them. The upper doesn't have any cushion, so the tongue and lace bed also feel slightly abrasive. Of course, this was mitigated by wearing more protective socks. But thicker socks led to the shoe feeling even more cramped.
The heel cup provides enough cushion to be comfortable, but the short and narrow toebox left us feeling cramped.
Credit: Ally Arcuri
Weight
The Trailfly weighs in at the back of the pack, which is predictable considering how rugged and protective the outsole is. Each size 6.5 US shoe weighs in at 9.38 ounces, and you can feel the heavy outsole while running. If you run enough in the same shoes, your body will adapt to the demands of running in a shoe with a lot of undercarriage weight. Since we change up our shoes daily for testing purposes, the meaty outsole felt heavy underfoot. If you want a shoe that feels light and heavy while you make your way through your trail systems, this isn't it. But if you want a shoe that feels like it is part hiking boot, you'll love the weight and power of the Trailfly.
The thick and grippy outsole makes for a durable and well-tractioned shoe. If you can get comfortable with the shape of it, you'll love it for rugged runs.
Credit: Ally Arcuri
Should You Buy the Inov-8 Trailfly Ultra G 300 Max?
The Trailfly is a pricy trail companion. If everything about these shoes fits you perfectly, it is definitely a great value. The traction and durability are such that once you buy these shoes, they'll hold up. However, since we never felt like we could fully get in the groove with these shoes, we likely wouldn't pay up for them again. We prefer the fit, feel, and features of the HOKA Torrent 3, which are available for a more palatable price point.
These shoes won't be for everyone. Even though we found things we loved about them, our list of things we weren't sold on is equal in length.
Credit: Ally Arcuri
What Other Trail Running Shoes Should You Consider?
If you are interested in finding a trail running shoe with the shape of a traditional road running shoe, you might like the fit of the Trailfly. We prefer the fit of the Brooks Divide 4, which is available for nearly half the price. While the Divide didn't perform as well in some metrics, it is a much more comfortable shoe to get used to right away. The Trailfly has great traction, but so do other shoes that offer a bit more comfort. The Salomon Speedcross 6 is equal when it comes to traction but fits in completely different way. The Speedcross offers deeper lugs and a ton more cushion, especially for heel strikers.
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Ally Arcuri
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