In Trail Running Magazine's Get A Grip battle, contested by six shoes all claiming to offer the best traction in soft and muddy underfoot conditions, the MUDCLAW 300 came out on top, claiming the BEST IN TEST accolade for the second year running! Drop is a personal thing but I am a firm believer that 6mm/ 8mm drop shoes provide a great middle ground and if you are running longer, a slightly higher drop is kinder on the calf and legs. Dual-C Outsole - Made up of two types of sticky rubber, the Dual-C outsole provides optimal traction across a myriad of surfaces. These items include but are not limited to; harness, ropes, belay equipment, karabiners, helmets, climbing protection.

It’s not a light mesh equivalent of the Trail Talon 275, but in winter the added substance works well. Their enduring popularity and reputation as one of the best fell running shoes ever made speaks for itself. They are also the most solid around the toe box and toe crease that I have seen in the mudclaw range, with the rand giving confidence in the construction.Even when fully saturated they feel light in comparison to other shoes I’ve run in, a testament to their ability to shed water and the upper fibres ability to release water.

During the Sedburgh race I passed a couple of people who mentioned that they were really feeling the shoe under the ankle bones as they traversed around the hill. The Mens MudClaw 300 Shoe from Inov-8 propels fell and mountain runners over the Muddiest of terrains by delivering the ultimate grip in Mud through an aggressive outsole. This shoe is a lighter mere 300g compared to previous verisons and yet is built from some of the most durable materials in the market.The 6mm footbed is low enough to the ground to respond well to the terrain and provided good proprioceptive (sensation) feedback. Getting lacing right is particularly important as the heel box has been tweaked so that it sits lower on the Achilles Tendon to avoid tension and potential injury problems. For me, the Mudclaw although precision in fit still had a relatively roomy toe box and this was great on the technical muddy stuff. First impression of the 300's (other than the incredible yellowness) is that the fore-foot seems a lot wider than any other mudclaw I have ever worn. Its hero-status outsole remains as aggressive as ever, guaranteeing the ultimate grip for mountain, obstacle and adventure racers on the muddiest, steepest terrains.

I found that the 12 (my normal size) were cripplingly small, my toes horribly crunched up in front, as well as the midfoot a little pinched.As with climbing shoes, the grippy rubber is always the bit you want, and the bit you pay for, but the problem is the grippier rubber always wears out the fastest. I never put on the crampons and was hammering down on the Grande Motte Glacier (3600m altitude) all out with not one slip. If you’re regular running is road, you’re going to notice a different feel when you don some fell shoes.