At inov-8™ we believe the human foot to be a masterpiece of mechanical and structural design, so when the inov-8 team began work on a range of ultimate off road running footwear, we looked to the human foot for guidance and inspiration.

With 26 bones and multidirectional joint systems, the human foot is perfectly adapted to accommodate variations in ground orientation and when activity demands, change its mechanical characteristics from a flexible adaptive platform to a rigid propulsive lever. The inov-8 design philosophy is to design footwear around the natural function of the foot.

When the inov-8 design team began work on the range of inov-8 shoes, we asked ourselves two simple questions, “How does the foot mechanically behave when mountain, hill and fell runners are crossing a variety of different terrains?" and "How can we incorporate the natural biomechanical function and motion of the foot within the design of the inov-8 range of shoes?".

The inov-8 range of off road shoes follows the precision shape of the foot providing the wearer with a secure and intimate fit that’s almost like running bare foot. Running bare foot is associated with a substantially lower prevalence of acute and chronic injuries to the ankle and lower limbs, so, the inov-8 team designs all our footwear range to allow the foot the freedom to move and function as nature intended, without interference from the structure of the shoe.

inov-8 shoes protect the foot from the harsh external environment experienced by the off road runner but maintain the feeling and function of bare foot running. inov-8 believes that foot function has evolved over millennia to provide a stable platform on which the runner can perform.

It is, and always will be our philosophy to look to the natural function of the foot for inspiration and guidance whenever we design footwear for the high performance athlete or the recreational runner.