Discussion: Orienteering USA Announces Three Year Partnership with Icebug and Archflex

All

Effective April 1 Icebug Traction Footwear will become the official shoe sponsor of OUSA. Icebug's Archflex System will become the official arch support. This is a three year partnership.

In the next 100 days a marketing and branding program will be rolled out.

Have a good day.
Glen

In addition, should you have any questions, please post them here for the community. I will answer those that I can but a lot of the work is still in development. I will check in at the beginning and end of each day for the next few days.

Glen
OUSA

Sweet! does this mean free shoes (or at least discounts) for the OUSA teams?!?

Can you outline some of the benefits to OUSA members (team members only? All OUSA? Some of the teams?)? What does Icebug expect from OUSA? What should OUSA expect from Icebug?

As I noted above, the program will be rolled out in the next 100 days. The primary benefits to the federation are a partner to work with promoting the sport of orienteering as well as funding to invest into the mission of the organization.

http://icebug.se/en/produkter/spirit4-olx/

This color is pretty intense.

Just got a pair of the OLX last week. Ordered a half size larger than my normal based on reviews that indicated a narrow width. Fit well, comfortable, and broke them in with back-to-back 5.2 km and 6.2 km races on Saturday and Sunday.

bct: Agreed...Icebug's colors are vibrant....a lot of purples and aquas. They do offer black shoes but not across the entire product line.

Icebug USA is interested in product feedback....this, or a flanker thread, would be a good forum. Ap writers wear their products hard and can provide valuable feedback.

Ok I'll play. My daughter has Icebugs, the color in that photo in fact. She must have tried on every model shoe BOS had in stock and they were the only ones that fit her long narrow feet. Thank you, Icebug, for supporting narrow-footed runners. (And I hope her feet are finished growing so that she can wear this pair out before needing more!)

This color is pretty intense.

Meh.

Interesting. I love my Icebugs precisely because the forefoot is extra wide! I know that it depends very much on the model of Icebug - some don't fit me at all as they are too narrow and others fit me perfectly. I currently have 8 pairs of various models from boots to the studded shoes I use for orienteering to the non-studded ones I use for everyday use. The ones made specifically for orienteering don't fit me very well - too narrow - but most of the others do. I am for anything that makes Icebugs more widely available in the US.

I liked my Icebugs. They fit well and functioned perfectly on our steep slopes. They are no more. Holes opened up much faster than I'd expect, and though they still are in one piece, enough dirt gets in through the holes in our mostly arid conditions to make life sorta miserable while rogaining. Sorry to be a pooper, didn't want to write until Glen asked to provide feedback.

I wore a pair of icebug Sisu olx for a couple years and they were okay though by the time I retired them, most of the little steel studs were missing. Maybe they have fixed that now.

The first two generations of icebug racing O shoes were not durable, but they seem to have sorted out their issues. The first-gen shoes were the first running shoes I had that fit me perfectly. Unfortunately the later gens are a quarter-size off, but with an extra pair of socks they are still very good. The heel is narrower than some of their competitors' shoes, which helps. I'm happy to recommend them. VJ Bold are somewhat similar, and also good.

There were two pieces of icebug advertising in the Relay Champs packets, one with the OUSA logo on it. Can we get the details of the agreement now or do we have to wait another 2 months?

Rhonda and I have been using Icebug Anima BUGrip shoes, marketed for winter running. They seem to work fine for orienteering, and fit me well, wider in front, narrower in back. While I've done a couple of minor repairs, I have a lot of miles on my first pair and haven't opened the second pair yet.

I can't wear the orienteering specific models-too tight in front, and can't wear INOV8s at all, for the same reason.

Tried some of the insoles at relay champs, and they felt good!

I got a pair of the Icebug OLX a month or so ago. I'd heard they were narrow, so I ordered a half size larger than normal. They still feel pretty tight going on but I'm pretty happy running with them. I have a fairly wide toe spread and would definitely like to see a slightly wider version. If I order again, I might even try yet another half size larger, but hard to tell when that might overcompensate and be too loose in the heel.

That's the issue I found when trying on various IceBug models -- I need a lot of room around the toes and even with a size so big they were in danger of coming off I found that my toes were squeezed. Trying to be open-minded with my shoes but it's just not happening for me. ;-)

(PS Charlie, my toes are in love with my inov-8 Trailroc 246's. Awesomely large toebox. They have a 'natural' fit in contrast to the 'precision' fit of the ORocs.)