Inov8 Bare XF Women's - White/Gum
The reworked Bare-XF features a wider toe box, sporty feel on the feet, and durable construction. This barefoot shoe works great for lifting and cross-training.
SIZE
5.5
6
6.5
7
7.5
8
8.5
9
9.5
10
10.5
11
1
DETAILS
Mesh and Textile Upper: The lightweight upper locks the foot down and provides good durability.
Wide Toe Box: Allows for ample toe splay, enhancing stability during lifts.
ROPETEC Wrap: ROPETEC on the outsole provides additional rope climbing grip for CrossFit WODs.
Lightweight Construction: Flexible and breathable making this shoe ideal for training and casual wear.
Versatile Grip: Full rubber outsole provides good bite and traction on all gym surfaces.
BOOMERANG Footdbed: Inov8's signature BOOMERANG Footbed in this shoe gives them a little extra bounce and comfort.
CARE
I always recommend spot-cleaning barefoot shoes and using a three-pronged approach to do it thoroughly.
I would suggest NOT putting your barefoot shoes in your washing and drying machines. Instead, follow the four steps below for properly cleaning cross-training shoes.
Step 1: Grab your barefoot shoes, a clean washcloth, a soft soap void of harsh dyes and fragrances, and lukewarm water.
Step 2: Get your washcloth wet with lukewarm water and dab less than a dime-sized amount of soap on the damp washcloth.
Step 3: Remove your barefoot shoe’s insoles and spot clean areas on the shoes that need a little attention. Do not soak your shoes. Repeat this process of dampening your washcloth and rubbing trouble areas until your shoes look noticeably cleaner. If you have bright colorways, rub softly to avoid ruining your shoe’s colorway.
Step 4: Once you’re satisfied with the appearance of your shoes, place them by a vent or dry area in your house and remove their insoles until thoroughly dried.
RETURNS AND EXCHANGES
All returns and exchanges are accepted for unworn, like-new shoes within 30-days.
Read more here.
Features Worth Knowing
The core construction details that I think are worth knowing before you buy!
1. POWERFLOW PRO MIDSOLE
The POWERFLOW PRO midsole has good flexibility and it walks the fine line of being stable enough for lifting while staying responsive enough for running, jumping, and HIIT.
2. BREATHABLE MESH UPPER
The lightweight mesh breathes well in this shoe and its proven to be relatively durable for cross-training, lifting, and even CrossFit. Even on the hottest days in places like Austin, Texas, these stay cool.
3. WIDE ANATOMICAL TOE BOX
This shoe has a nice spacious toe box to accommodate toe splay and a wide range of foot anatomies. These shoes typically work for feet up to a 3E forefoot width.
4. GRIPPY RUBBER OUTSOLE
The full rubber outsole featuring 2.5mm thick lugs grips various gym surfaces super well. Whethether you train on turf, rubber gym floors, or wooden platforms, grip is no issue.
That Fit Friend's Performance Assessment
That Fit Friend's Performance Assessment
Lifting Thresholds and My Assessment
This shoe can work well for recreational lifting. I've pushed them hard to assess where their stability starts to fall short.
Below are a few of the core and top lifting tests I've done in them.
455 lb deadlifts. Decent. I'd suggest capping your pulling to this amount and below in them.
325 lb squats. Not bad at all for being a hybrid shoe. You'll start to notice a bit of compression above 315 lbs so I'd suggest capping your loading to about 340 lbs and below.
205 lb reverse lunge. Overall good. I like the flexibility of these shoes for this training context, but you will notice a bit of compression above 185 lbs for single-leg work.
CrossFit and Cross-Training Assessment
These work best for CrossFit WODs that have a bias towards running and dynamic exercises like box jumps and double-unders. If you know your gym programs a heavy cardio bias, then these work great.
For cross-training, these will be best served for more general sessions where you're doing some jumping and dynamic movement. They may lack for serious lateral cutting, but in most cross-training workouts, they've performed great.
Running, Walking, and Comfort Assessment
For running, my favorite distances to run in these are from 1-5 miles. At this mileage, their lower stack height isn't a huge concern. These are also best for those with a forefoot and midfoot strike.
For walking and daily wear, I've really liked these. They're a good do-it-all shoe and have made them my training shoes for travel fairly often. They're a good option for someone who wants a single shoe for training while traveling.
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