Middle Pack

I got this bag back in September and has been well tested in the months in between. These have included my daily commute, the OMM and various other days out in the hills.

On first inspection the thing that I noticed was the weight of this bag. Very lightweight, no frills bag. No strapping, no extra un-needed compression straps (although it does have some compression straps. Lightweight everything! It is currently weighting in at 335g. Making it just a tiny bit heavier than the new terra nova bags.

I much prefer the sleak black look and subtle styling as opposed to the in your face neon of the pro range. The lack of webbing and stuff hanging off it, not only makes it look better. It actually makes you think a bit about what you want and what you actually need from a bag. I like the webbing on the OMM bag as it is useful, yet I never use it? So how useful is it? I usually keep a bottle in the side webbing on my other bag and then have to nearly dislocate my shoulder to try and prize my bottle in and out of it. With the Inov8 one, I have just got myself shoulder strap bottle holders. easily sorted and a lot easier to access. I know i could have done that on the OMM one but I was determined to use the webbing for the purpose they were designed for, depsite being not fit for purpose.

The comfy chest strap seems to sit slightly lower than my OMM sack, This means extra stability and a lot less bounce. There is a whistle integrated into the buckle to ensure you never forget it. The waist strap has two integrated pockets for storing stuff you may need in a hurry. One is a showerproof pocket, which is handy for yuor mobile or generally things you do not want wet, whilst the other is a stretchy mesh pocket where I jam in sweets, flapjacks and gels.

It has a central zip, just like the previous range of Inov8 bags. This, I find both a good idea and a bad idea in equal measures. I just cannot decide if I like it or not? On the one hand, it is great for trying to find something that is in your bag should you need it. You do not need to empty your full bag to get to the bottom. On the other hand, it does make it slightly harder to pack, especially when you are trying to cram everything in. I guess because it is different to convential bags it will just take some getting used to. Don’t let it put you off as it works well, it just seems odd.

The quality of the bag is good, it still looks like new although it hasn’t had the same daily abuse as other bags I own. I am not sure if it would stand up to the abuse of a daily commute bag as it doesn feel so strong and robust but for its purpose as a lightweight race bag it is ideal.

The one downside to the bag is that it doesn’t have an option for a hydration bladder. Not much of a problem for myself for mountain marathons, but it is if you wnt to use it for other activities such as mountain biking. This may influence other peoples choice. If you want hydration bladder then you are better off looking at either the pro range or the OMM bags.

I would highly recommend this bag if you are trying to get your mountain marathon sack weight down, or if you are not one to traditionally use bladders on ultra runs. It is extremely comfy, functional and most importantly of all, it looks good!

I wish I had tried this shoe earlier. They just looked too aggressive. A bit clumpy, almost overkill? Oh how wrong can I be?

These shoes encourage you to fly down hills with what may seem like reckless abandonment but in these shoes you are in control. You know that if the foot hits the ground then you are not going to slip. Almost to the point of feeling like your knees will pop out before your shoes slip.

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Inov8 have recently revealed their new kit for 2009 at the Kendal Outdoor Retail show last month. With the X-talon 212’s shown along with a further dizzying array of different shoes (Am I the only one to lose track of them all?).

They have also gone for a womens range of trail shoes built on a different last, with narrower heels to fit the female shape. No pink there though I noticed.

The main thing that was of interest to me was the updated rucksacks and bumbags. I avoided the last range due to the bright yellow colours and the horizontal bladder. Much preferring dark colours to match my mood and bottles as they are easier to fill and you do not have to carry as much water. It looks like Inov8 were thinking along the same lines. They call it “deliberately stealthy” I call it more tasteful. But I see their point. In a mountain marathon or adventure race the guy with the inov8 bag stands out like a beacon on the fells, alerting you to their presence and singling them out as a competitor and possibly near your destination.

The new bumbags are both jet black The large one (I guess to replace the race 4) now have an external bottle holder and I am guessing by the looks of the design they now have two pockets with the bottle holder in the middle of those pockets. This means no horizontal bladder. The smaller bag (to replace the race 2?) does not have a bottle holder and I am unable to tell if there is room for a bladder or not. I am waiting a response from Inov8 on that one so hopefully I can update on that soon.

The rucksacks all have similar shapes to last years models, although I notice that one of the sizes seems to be missing from the line up. That will help matters as they did have 3 bags between 18l and 22l which is a bit of overkill. This will make my decision on my next bag a difficult one as more and more lightweight rucksacks come onto the market.