This past February, I wrote a shoe review for the Icebug Arcus trail shoe. At the time, it was my first foray into the brand. It was also my first time wearing a shoe with built in studs for traction in snow and ice (I used to screw my shoes myself when I lived in Central Oregon). I was fairly impressed with the grip, but also equally impressed by the fit and how the shoes kept my feet dry.
For some context, Icebug has a variety of shoe and boot models and all of them are designed for winter comfort. Their journey into trail running makes a lot of sense and now includes a model without built in spikes. Enter the Jarv Gaiter RB9X GTX (that’s a mouthful) trail shoe!
The Jarv is an all-weather, waterproof shoe with a built in gaiter. The GTX stands for GORE-TEX Invisible Fit, and the RB9X refers to the outsole, which Icebug refers to as grippy. Currently, the only colorway is Ice Blue/Orange, but don’t let that stop you.
Fresh out of the box, the Jarv is a hefty fella at 13 ounces, but Gore-Tex and a built-in gaiter are like wearing all your clothes when you step on the scale; there’s some extra weight there. However, unlike your clothes, there is nothing for the Jarv to shed to get lighter, so here we are.
The built-in gaiter makes putting the shoe on a little tougher but not terrible, but once on, the Jarv is comfortable and hugs the foot well. The weight is noticeable if you’re like me and wear lighter shoes, but the real test is on the trail, so here we go.
My first run was a cooler day as we shifted into winter here in the PNW. It was 39 degrees when I headed out and one of the first things I noticed was how the gaiter acted like an additional sock for my ankles, keeping them both warm and dry. It was a funny observation but true, nonetheless.
As I pushed up and down hills on that first run, the big takeaways were the grip, the overall comfort, and the weight. I hate to beat a dead horse here, but these shoes will wear on you, so to speak, for their weight – if you are used to lighter shoes. However, as for the grip, the RB9X with its well-spaced lugs, is the real deal. On rocks, in mud, over roots, on steep ups and steep downs, the Jarv is a boss.
Added to that, the overall comfort is similar to the Arcus, in that it is a joy to run in, for however long you’re out.
On my 2nd adventure, I upped my mileage to get a feel for a longer amount of time on my feet in these shoes. The first few miles had me focused on the weight but by about mile 15 I had forgotten all about that and kept going back to the grip and comfort. Additionally, I thought I would find the gaiter a nuisance, but it does a good job of keeping out the usual tidbits that trails like to share with my feet.
For my third trip out, I added some interval work on a rolling trail to see how the Jarv would handle corners at pace, as well as turn over. The weight enters back into the conversation, for sure, but as for handling corners when physics is at play, the Jarv again displays that grippy outsole. Even on fast descents, I had no fear of pushing into corners hard and sliding out.
Overall, the Jarv is a very capable trail shoe, even as a heavier option to the majority of what’s on the market. Being able to handle everything it does speaks volumes to the kinds of shoes that Icebug produces, and it will be fun to see what they come up with next!
