Introduction to the Inov8 Trailfly Max
TAYLOR: My first Inov8 shoe will always be a memorable one because it was a freakin’ soccer cleat. If it stood toe-to-toe with one in an all-out brawl, I’m confident its build and aggressive nature would come out on top. Holla if you remember the Mudclaw G260?
The one that really made a splash, though, was the TerraUltra G270 (or its predecessor, which was renamed the Trailfly G270 v2). At the time of release, it was a modern marvel that combined lightweight materials, durability, grip, and a high-performance foam (for the time) in one trail shoe.
There are more memorable Inov8 shoes that I could sit around a campfire and talk about, and they all feel very on brand with each other, even to a fault sometimes. For example, when the modern age of running exploded, it seemed that Inov8’s fuse was yet to be lit.
Thankfully, someone picked up that proverbial match, and Inov8 is taking to the trails like never before. It has vision and momentum, and its new generation began with the Inov8 Trailtalon and Trailtalon Speed, both packing new PF Pro foams. Shortly after those releases came the Trailfly Zero and the shoe we’re talking about today, the Trailfly Max.
I love that, right out of the box, the Traifly Max looked and felt fresh yet like an OG Inov8 shoe all at once. There’s a new blended fat stack (35/29mm) of foam called the Flyspeed Pro, a lightweight traditional mesh upper, a crowd-pleasing Boomerang insole, and a best-in-class Graphene Grip outsole. This package has a lot to love on paper. Thankfully, it had a lot to love throughout my testing period, too.
