Inov-8 Bare-X 150

Jimmy Hart

Barefooters
May 11, 2010
760
33
28
I recently reviewed this shoe and you can read the full thing plus lots of pics here http://wp.me/pReO1-fc. If you just want the short of it then here goes.

Not an ultra minimal shoe by any means. It's a 7mm injected EVA sole with a 3mm insole for a stack height of 10mm. The EVA sole takes a lot of the ground feel away but is still pretty flexible. It's not cushy or bouncy in it's ride but more firm. The toe box is not very roomy if you've got a thick or wide foot. For reference I need the wide version of the New Balance Minimus which fits fine but the standard size is pretty tight.

It's pretty light a just over 5 ounces and It's a pretty breathable shoe and is seamless inside for those that don't want to wear socks. I personally liked the feel of the shoe except for the tightness I felt over the top of my foot because the one piece upper can only be stretched so far.

Inov-8 has some shoes that are a lot more minimal than this one and I'd say this one falls squarely into the racing flat/performance shoe category. It's definitely a standard go fast shoe.
 
See I almost bought that one but I could find no one locally that carried it so I could try it on. I went with the 155 which is ok, but thicker with a 4mm drop, but I was able to try it on and make sure it fit before I ordered it online. I think I may have been happier with the 150 though, assuming it would have fit my foot like the 155 does.
 
The zeroed sole on the 150 is much better than the 4mm drop on the 155 for sure. The overall feel of the 150 is better than the 155 but that upper was seriously tight on me. It loosened up some but not enough to make it comfortable. I can handle it for about 3 miles of running before I have to take them off. I can wear it casually for longer than that but that's not really what this shoe is for.
 
Ya, I don't really use it to run much except when my feet or heel (pf) hurts. Otherwise the yellow monstrosity sits in my closet. Why do shoe companies feel the need to make seriously ugly shoes like the 155? I loved the looks of the 150 though, especially the blue and red.
 
So you're the one driving the sales up on those ugly colors! Lol! Guess someone has to like them. The orange of the 150 isn't bad surprisingly.
 
I'm curious as to how these got on in the wet and off-road on light trails?

I've got a 20% off voucher for a pair of Inov-8's and I was thinking about these with the 7mm stack height to give me an option from the super-minimalist shoes and give my feet a rest on the longer races.
 
Thanks Jimmy,

I think I went with the 180's in the end as they didn't have the 150s in my size and they only had them in orange anyway. I already have NB minimus in orange.