Like a lot of people my first Inov8 shoe was a full fell shoe (in my case the mudclaw 330), and like most people I loved them. However I didn’t want to be wearing my beautiful grippy studs out on hard stony trails and in training so quickly supplemented the mudclaws with some Roclite 315s.
Trail shoes tend to have stiffer soles than fell shoes with more impact absorbtion. Great on the path but not so great for steep pathless contouring. The Roclite 315s get 3 out of 4 in Inov8’s Shoc-Zone cushioning scale and I found them to offer plenty of protection on broken ground and rough paths without being ‘clumpy’ in any way. I used them in last years Yorkshire 3 Peaks and thought them to be ideally suited to this mixture of terrain. Off path the grip is still pretty good, a little more caution used on steep, wet grassy descents and wet rock but no more than you would expect. I think that the wet rock was where I noticed the difference most, adding durability to the rubber reduces the grip and on rock and wood where the studs cannot bite in, the lack of grip is very apparent. This phenomenon is not limited to Inov8’s of course as any Walsh PB owners will testify. However you don’t want your training shoe wearing out in 6 months and end up feeling cheated. If you live for high level Lakeland routes where much boulder hopping is involved take a look at the Roclite 295 which is a pretty similar shoe but uses the sticky rather than the endurance rubber sole, but remember it won’t last as long. Otherwise I thought the endurance rubber was right for the type of use that the Roclite 315 is aimed at.
Fit wise the Roclite 315 seemed right. I choose my normal 10.5 and had no problems. The 315’s have a deeper heel cup than the mudclaw 330s and I found that they didn’t take as long to break in around the heel. I actually remove the insole completely to get my foot deeper into the shoe without any comfort or rubbing problems at all, so if you feel high or tight inside your shoes then that may be worth a try. Laces and lace system worked fine without any alteration. I have used the my Roclites for over a year now and they are holding up pretty well. The mesh has split slightly on the front above the toes but otherwise durability is good.
Overall I am very pleased with the Roclite 315s. I use them mainly for training and the occasional hard pack race. If I only had one pair of shoes then the Roclite 315 would definitely be on the short list but as soon as I had the luxury of 2 pairs then one would be a pair of Roclites.