We’ve talked so far today about a running shoe… and a light-weight off-road dirt kicker.  Now, let’s talk about REALLY getting your bum off the main trail and into some serious training.  A guy in the office, for the sake of this story we’ll call him Super Douche Bag, recently started wearing these shoes I’ve never seen before.  A brand by the name of Inov-8.  I was intrigued.  Upon further discussion I found out that his personal trainer highly recommended them as a great all-around running shoe.

I, of course, had to see for myself if they were indeed awesome… or if Super Douche Bag was just being himself.  In my quest for a great wilderness shoe to combat both the warm, and cold… handle the rough terrain of an off-the-beaten jaunt… and keep my feet firmly gripped to the ground I came across the Inov-8 Roclite 318 GTX ($160-ish).

Let me begin by saying this… Holy Shit!!!!  (in a good way)  I expected something good, durable and willing to take on the challenge… but the Roclite’s really surprised me.  They were seductively comfortable from the moment I slipped my sasquatsh-like flippers into them.  I mean… really, truly comfortable!  They had padding in all of the right places and the perfect amount of support in all of the others.  Then… I started walking.  Wow.  The comfort didn’t waiver or go away… in fact… I’d even dare to say that the more I walked the more comfortable they became.  So, I took this little test of our to the next level… off road.

Once I started crunching over twigs and bouncing off of large rocks the majestic values of these shoes really started to shine.  For the first time in a very long time, my feet didn’t ache anymore.  Hell… it felt GOOD to run.  Yeah…” WTF” is what I though too.  It.  Felt.  Good!  On top of that, my feet weren’t hot.  They weren’t sweating and gross or swampy… the touted Gore-Tex lining that was supposed to keep my feet dry was actually working.  Oh… and that same tech that was keeping me dry, dudes, kept them warm too.  Sooo… how the hell did they do that?!?!  I took the Roclite’s into the chilly wild to test their skillz against the elements.  Yup… you guessed it, ROCK STARS!!!  Can a man be in love with a pair of shoes?  Can a man make love to his shoes?  Hmmmm…..

So… all around, fantastic shoes that walk the walk (pun intended) and look great doing it.  Great color combinations help show off your style in life while staying well kept.  Hell, the Roclites even look pretty good tossed on with a pair of jeans out in the regular world.

Definitely worth the money, and stamped with the official WGUB seal of approval.  Paired best with a shot of Whiskey and/or a hefeweizen.