Had an interesting conversation today. I’ll tell you aaalllllllll about it.
By way of an introduction, we’ve already talked about the role of ‘fad’ foods via this forum. Not really touched on kit and the like though. That is, until now.
NB: I’ll caveat this post by saying we’ve all been guilty of this at some point in our lives, no-one is perfect, and I’m undoubtedly a hypocrite. Hence the title (here’s what it means).
Someone was complaining that they didn’t want a bit of kit in the colour black as it would be too hot to compete/run/cycle/train in. Seriously?? It may be true on some sort of molecular level but if you can notice the 0.003 degree differentiation in temperature from a black top over a white type then, frankly, you belong in a lab being tested yourself. Looking at it another way, which is going to cool you down more, a white suit of armour or a black string vest? Pure marketing psycho-babble. If wearing lighter coloured clothing makes you feel cooler then all power to you. Actually, nah scratch that. Reframe that notion, do some basic research (anecdotal or scientific, it’s all the same), give yourself a slap and stern talking to, and convince yourself to stop being so fucking stupid. Sure dark clothing absorbs more heat than lighter clothing BUT THAT’S WHERE IT STAYS, in the clothing. The material that your clothing is made from is what makes the difference dummy!
The billowy, light clothing definitely helped make me cooler….
Next up, Maurten drinks “as used by Berlin/London/Frankfurt/Boston Marathon winner……” – looks pretty convincing huh!? The concept is pretty flippin’ cool but I’m pretty sure Maurten wouldn’t have started sponsoring all these elite athletes had they not already been such-and-such marathon winners/pro cyclists/professional footballers…..#justsaying.
Graphene sole units. This opened up a right can of worms on the ol’FaceyB forums. A starter for six…..£140 for a pair of inov8 G-series shoes?! Are you on fucking crack?? Or, to coin a phrase, GET A GRIP! I don’t care if it’s the world’s toughest grip (although I’m pretty sure Adam Ondra or Alexander Megos could duke it out for that particular honour) and “200 x stronger than steel” (insert shoulder shrug emoji here), durability of the sole isn’t something that generally goes tits on inov-8 shoes. The uppers are usually pretty wank and they can’t grip for shit on wet or greasy rock. To watch some of the UKs best fell-runners besides themselves with euphoria over some molecules of rubber is pretty disheartening. It doesn’t help that the release has coincided with the UKs longest heat-wave since the UK was just a twinkle in God’s eye; my left testicle could find some grip in this weather. Again, I hope it works for some people and it’s no bad thing that companies, like inov-8, are going out there looking for innovative ways to progress. It’s your money you’re spending/they’re after.
Has anyone seen the Vivo barefoot adverts up on social media?? They have a range of shoes made from recycled plastic bottles. That’s a GOOD THING. They have vegan shoes. That’s also a GOOD THING. Their marketing campaign shows (almost wrote ‘shoes’ instead of ‘shows’ there; wrist slap; lolly-bantz) a foot in one of their shoes and a foot in a.n.other brand shoe. The one with their shoe says ‘Good’ by it, the one in the other brand says ‘Bad’ by it. And that’s it. No scientific accountability at face level. Go onto their site (and they’re obviously not shy of spending a few bob on some good web design, chapeau) and they show their evidence. On the face of it it’s compelling and convincing but that’s why they chose it.
There’s me thinking that barefoot running was supposed to encourage fore-foot striking……..
Now, you can argue until the cows come home/you’re blue in the face/any other handy cliche about the benefits, or not, of this shoe over that shoe, this rubber over that rubber (I’m a Staedtler man over a Faber-Castell any day of the week), that high-carb fuel over this high-carb fuel etc etc etc. I get that we live in a capitalist society. It’s not perfect but I’m fucked if I know a viable solution that the Western world will buy into (no pun intended). All I’d like as a necessary consumer is information. Information, unbiased and perspicuous, and accountability.
It doesn’t get any easier to fork out £140 on a pair of shoes from a big fish in a tiny pond because the shoes that were developed six months ago were as shit at what they were preached to do as the shoes released six months before that, which also needed replacing half a year into their life (and so on)**. If something works, and you can hand-on-heart look someone in the eye and say “My product will do x, y and z or your money back”, then bravo my brother and sister, bravo and I’ll step down from my soap box and hand back the reigns of that massive horse I’m astraddle.
So what am I really saying here?? It’s a bit ranty. I apologise. I don’t like to be a whingey bastard. Honest! I’d just like to be able to make an informed choice without having to pick through the why’s and where-for’s of one marketing campaign over another. Just tell us the truth. Ironically I’m more likely to buy from you if you’re honest with me because I’m old enough to know that there are no perfect products out there. Treating me/us like I’m/we’re stupid is almost impossibly arrogant and ignorant.
**I feel like I’ve scuppered my chances of an inov-8 sponsorship deal…..? (In credit to you you’re putting yourselves out there with potentially game changing innovation, which in turn makes you a bigger, more obvious target; don’t get me started on Hoka One One……ok do, but just quickly……they’re mega comfy sure, and you may be unlikely to get Achilles injuries etc but that’s because continued use of their shoes is making your Achilles/ankle weaker [evidence is purely anecdotal – hypocrite] due to the exaggerated ‘rocker’ used. Wearing them because you have an Achilles injury isn’t actually helping you in the grand scheme of things, it’s just masking the problem. But, fuck, are they comfy!!)
