I got some new shoes today! Not an event normally worth reporting you might think – but these have been sent to me by Adam at Fitness Footwear to review…

I haven’t ever had a pair of Gore Tex shoes before so I was super keen to give them a go. And so it was that I chose a pair of Inov-8 Flyroc 345 GTX to try out. They arrived very quickly (next day). So there certainly isn’t anything but praise for the delivery system – even at this time of year when there must be millions of presents zooming around the country.

Inov-8 Flyroc GTX shoes and Debrisocs

As a special bonus Adam had included an innovative pair of sports socks. Inov-8 have earned their innovative credentials with a neat-pun-name (Debrisoc) for these socks – they have a built in gaiter to prevent dirt and grit from entering the shoe when active. This should be great to stop those annoying little stones that flick up into my shoes when trail running. They are also made with Merino wool; so should help my feet stay warm in the cold and dry by helping wick moisture away.

One factor I was keen to understand was how people cope with buying shoes online. After all, shoe sizes can vary and most people I know expect to try them on before buying. Adam was very helpful,

“If they’re the wrong size, let me know and I’ll swap them for another pair in a different size. It’s not a problem. “

and

“We’ve found over the past year that people are more confident ordering shoes online. Although we do advise people go down a size for certain brands. Generally, most of the outdoor brands we stock are spot on for size. I think it helps that we sell half sizes too”

It seems that Fitness Footwear’s knowledge of each shoe’s particular fit allows them to know exactly what to send. For example,

“the Inov-8 Flyroc … is a good standard fit, so they should fit perfectly”

Adam was right, the Inov-8 Flyroc’s sent to me do fit perfectly! No worries buying online then.

Back to the review. I have never had any GoreTex shoes and I’m quite interested to know if I get damp feet (sweaty) in good weather, and keep dry in bad weather. Unfortunately there’s over a foot of snow outside right now, and then there’s Xmas at the weekend, so I’ll report back on how the shoes (and socks) perform a bit later when the weather improves (the snow underfoot should be a good test). It should help to motivate me to deal with the excess calories of Xmas dinner…