Running Shoes: TNF Arnuva 50 Boa
20th Mar 2009
Weighing in at 709g these are a very light weight pair of running shoes with a fairly major difference to most. The traditional lacing system has been replaced with a fairly neat wired closure system. Basically uou slip your foot inside, make sure the tongue is placed comfortably, reach around to the heel, press the round button ‘in’, and twist to tighten the laces to the desired tension. As the button is twisted the wire, which criss-crosses the tongue in much the same way as a standard pair of laces would do, tightens uniformly to give a very snug and comfortable fit.
On first use this seemed to be a genuine step forward, but after a few months of use a fairly irritating niggle has come to light. When twisting the button to tighten the wires, the button some times doesn’t engage, or becomes disengaged part way through winging, meaning that you have to start again – no big deal as the whole operation only takes a second or two, but frustrating nevertheless. It’s also worth noting that should one of the wires break it would be a case of sending the shoe back to the shop / manufacturer for mending / replacement as opposed to simply buying some news laces. This shouldn’t be a problem however as the metal wir should outlast the rest of the shoe.
How did they function as a regular running shoe? The tread is not the most adherent I’ve ever worn – extra care needs to be taken on wet rock), but other than that they are great. There is a ‘silver agent’ woven into the footbed to prevent odours from taking hold. I can’t say I’ve noticed them being at all smelly so must assume that this works . One thing to note is that they are a distinctly cold shoe to wear! The sides are made of a lightweight mesh which lets in both water and wind very readily, so probably worth avoiding without some sort of thermal socks in snowy or cold and wet conditions!
Reviewed by Matt Heason on behalf of planetFear