Swedish footwear specialist Icebug has launched a range of five trail shoes in the UK including its first pure mountain running shoes without metal-studded soles.
Icebug made its name in its native Scandinavia with a range of running shoes featuring tungsten carbide studs called BUGrip embedded in the soles of ifs shoes. The studs give grip on slippery surfaces like snow, ice and wet wood and grass, but on harder terrain, the studs are pressed back into the sole allowing the rubbber to do the gripping.
Squish and Grip…
The UK range, due to hit the shops next week includes the Pytho in men’s and women’s versions, a £100 shoe complete with 16 carbide tip studs in each shoe. Uppers use water-sheddiing materials with a PU coating for, erm, water resistance, while cushioning is courtesy of an EVA mid-sole complete with an extra ‘Squish’ unit at the heel.
The upper is also reinforced with a 3D exoskeleton for more support. The studs themselves sit on soft rubber areas to allow them to contract and are a T-shape so they won’t rip out of the sole unit. When pushed back, they shouldn’t – say Icebug – press into the foot at all.
Would have been great in the recent harsh weather conditions and were used by Shane Ohly on his recent record-breaking Scottish winter Ramsay Round circuit.
Mountain Running Shoes…
The Pytho’s a pretty specialist bit of kit, but the new Navigator for men and its sister the, erm, Froggy which is lasted for the female foot are aimed at more general mountain running.
Unlike the Pytho they have a conventional rubber outsole with a grippy looking tread pattern, but they also give you the option of adding a temporary BUGweb attachment which has six carbide studs for extra grip on ice and snow. The sole unit features grooves into which the BUGweb locates securely and once on – they’re matched exactly to shoe sizes – it feels quite firmly attached.
Looking at the shoes, they seem like a good compromise between thin-soled and stable, but harshly cushioned fell shoes and the sort of cushioned but less stable trail-running shoes coming out of the States. Cushioning is EVA, there’s tough-feeling reinforcement on toe and heel areas and a squish zone as well.
Colours are quite, erm, brash – think luminous pink for the gurlz and hot red for the fellas. Price is £90 and the Bugweb retails for £20 per pair.
Ideal Trail Walker?
We’ve saved the best for last, at least as far as walkers go. The Gripmaster and Gripmistress – yes, they’re Swedish – are intended as a shoe for longer, more general trail runs perhaps with a heavier load and have more padding, but we reckon they’ll also make an interesting lightweight option for walkers in the way that Inov8 trail shoes have been adapted.
The shoe looks better in the flesh than in pictures, features significantly more cushioning than its garish siblings and has more reinforcement to the uppers as well. The mid-sole uses two grades of EVA for, it says here, a ‘combination of firm torsion and softness towards the foot’.
And as with the Navigator, the sole can also take an optional BUGweb attachment for ultra-slippery conditions. We’re getting a pair in for review, so watch this space. Price is £80 for both Master and Mistress versions and fit feels medium volume / medium width based on a quick kitchen try-on test.
All the above should be in the shops early April. More information on line at www.icebug.se. For information on UK stockists contact sales@arkconsultants.co.uk.