Review: Icebug Capra

Kicka här för hela inlägget på svenska: Recension: Icebug Capra

Full disclosure: Sophia and I received these shoes as part of our ambassadorship for Icebug.

When we found out Icebug was coming out with a shoe this summer designed in collaboration with Tove Alexandersson, we were super excited. She is a big hero of ours – an orienteering world champion, sky runner and just so kick-ass – and we were pumped to try out the shoe she helped design. This shoe is being marketed as a sky running shoe, which basically means a shoe made for running fast on trails in the mountains, with long steep ascents and descent and lots of tricky technical terrain. Sophia and I have both run our fare share of mountain races here in Sweden – KIA Fjällmaraton most recently – and we really think these shoes would be ideal for that race.

What are we looking for in a shoe that is good for mountain running? Well, a shoe which is durable, lightweight and secure in technical terrain, and this shoe checks all those boxes. The upper appears sturdy and should be able to take a beating as well as protect your feet from flying rocks and overzealous branches. With a rock shield in the midsole, your forefoot is protected too. Overall, the sole is grippy and can handle the most technical of terrains.

These shoes are also fast, nimble and lightweight, which makes long ascents and navigating roots, rocks and boulders a little easier. Of course we don’t live in the mountains, but I use this shoe for a lot of my faster runs and speed work sessions, as well as when I’m hitting up some of the more technical trails on our island.

Another feature many people don’t immediately think of for a running shoe is that it should drain well. When running in the mountains, you often come across river crossings and swamps where getting your feet wet is unavoidable. For these instances, you need shoes that are going to drain well – and these do just that. While we don’t have any swamps where we live, I have been known to jump right into the sea, shoes and all, right after a run on a hot day and then run the 500 m back to our house. Not only is this a great way to cool off, but it also cleans your shoes 🙂

Outsole

RB9X rubber outsole made with recycled rubber. Features 3.5 mm deep lugs with large areas of surface contact which gives really secure traction over rocks, roots and boulders.

Midsole

I’d like to call the cushioning on this shoe playful. It’s pretty responsive and gives nice bounce back, making this a fast shoe to run in. There’s also a forefoot rock shield which gives you added protection from sharp rocks.

Upper

The upper is made of 100% recycled PET polyester made from recycled plastic bottles and leftover textiles, with TPU overlays for further protection. It appears to be pretty durable, and will protect you from penetrating branches and rocks.

Fit

The fit is a little more narrow than the Outrun (which I reviewed here recently), but it’s still got enough space in the toe box. Icebug recommends going up half a size from your normal shoe size, and I tried both my usual 43 and a 44 and was right on the fence, but ended up going with 44 and I’m happy with the fit.

In the end, while this shoe excels in the mountains and on single track technical trails, I use them for everything. Most often, I just rotate them with the other shoes, and pick up the pair that’s the driest. My favorite part about these shoes is that they are comfortable right out from the start, lightweight, and have great traction over technical terrain. I used to run a lot in Salomon shoes, and the most comparable shoe to this is the S/Lab Sense 7, which is their lightweight trail racing shoe. I thought it would be fun to list some races here in Sweden that either we’ve run or are planning on running that I think this Capra model would be ideal for. These would be KIA Fjällmaraton, which Sophia and I ran as a duo last year, Vemdalen Fjällmaraton, our introduction to the Swedish mountains and swamps in 2017, and Höga Kusten Trail, which Sophia placed third in this past year. We highly recommend them all, so go sign up!

Specs

Weight: 285 g (Men’s) / 240 g (Women’s)
Drop: 7 mm
More info: Icebug.com

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