La Sportiva

I am back buying a second pair of these. I use the X Country for my basic trail trainer on moderately rugged trail and always feel sure footed and stable on these shows. I have a bit of a wide foot that is also slightly higher volume and found the X Country quickly felt more comfortable than the Crosslite 2. The sole is a little more minimal and can take some getting used to compared to the Crosslite 2 and you will feel the trail but I feel there is sufficient protection from the lone rock that wants to jump into your path. Hope this was helpful.

Let me start by saying that I have looked for a while for a mountaineering boot that is ideal for snowboarding. Main reason is because the main reason I like to go into the back country is to get in the high alpine areas, where a boot that can perform like an alpine boot is critical for safety reasons. To find one that does not compromise the snowboard riding is ideal. Well, for anyone interested in this, I believe these guys, and now I, have found it. I have taken this boot out twice. Since I bought this on sale at the end of the season from Backcountry.com, my choices for snow conditions were limited here in the Seattle area. My first trip was to the Hyack back country area. More specifically, I toured the line underneath the west facing wooden power lines. Conditions were essentially slush, with some hiking through the woods. My findings were identical to all that has been mentioned thus far. Clearly, these are superior hiking/mountaineering boots, that much is obvious. More important to me was how they toured and how they rode. On both accounts, they were awesome. There is absolutely no compromise in the riding. The only modification I needed was to adjust the forward lean forward, given the volume of the boot around the lower leg is less than a standard snowboard boot (I used to ride the Salomon Malamute). The boots were super responsive on turns. For touring, there are no complaints either. The added stiffness of the boot actually made it easier to get on the edges when traversing. I imaging that they will also perform quite nicely when I am able to fix the heel with the new Karakoram heel lifts and start skating down logging roads. Hiking up steeps with these allowed me to kick steps that probably would have turned my toes black and blue with the Malamutes. Extremely effective for climbing the steeps. The second tour I did with these was today, the McLellan Butte, North Couloir. I did about 3000 feet vertical in again slushy spring snow. The experience was identical, if not even better because I had to hike across multiple boulder fields, which probably would have shredded the Malamutes. Having these boots when I got up high where the angle was close to 50 degrees gave me a lot more piece of mind. Being able to kick deep solid steps was absolutely key. As far as the ride down, all I can say is that these boots felt so good that I am considering wearing them for resort riding. If you have wide feet, make sure you try these before purchasing, or make sure you can exchange them if necessary. I wear 9½ in the Salomon Malamutes. I started by trying the 43, but the toe box was just too small. After moving up to 43½, this was better, although there was still tightness around my forefoot. This sensation was completely relieved after I took out the insole. I am happy to report that the 6½ hour hike on McLellan Butte caused absolutely no pain or blisters. In fact, they are one of the most comfortable boots I have ever worn, period! The only other negative is the cost. Even at the sale price, I will probably not wear them for routine resort snowboarding, although I think they would be just fine. However, they are extremely well built boots. If used just for back country riding, I suspect they will last a while. Given the comfort and peace of mind they have given me, they are worth every penny! In summary, I believe these are a great alternative to soft snowboard boots for back country/alpine snowboarding. It is a shame that this is not better known. I have suffered through many tours with the wrong boots, and have probably compromised my safety a few times as well due to soft boots. If you have the same concerns, these are definitely worth trying.

An outstanding shoe when carrying a light load: fit, quality of materials,and support are superb. The toe box offers exceptional comfort even on steep descents.

I loved my experience with Zappos. These shoes were available on many other websites for about the same price but I had heard much about Zappos' service so I decided to give them a chance. Boy am I glad that I did! Their customer service and return/exchange process is so well streamlined that I am more confident of buying many more things online now.

I am really happy with these trail runners. They are comfortable as soon as I put them on. I usually wear a size 11. I ordered the biggest size available, a 43. They works but I probably would have used a 43½ if it had been available. I am very happy to have them. They look great, too.

Excellent trail shoes! I wore these for the entire Croom Fools 50 mile trail run a few weeks ago after running only a few runs totaling about 25 miles to break them in. I did not develop any blisters and my feet were actually still quite comfortable at the end of the race. The flap over the front of the shoes kept the sand and dirt out but still allowed my feet to breathe and not overheat. The treads on the bottom are definitely very sticky and I would not recommend these for runs on the road - stick to the trails, as they were intended and you won't be slipping very easily on rocks, even when wet. The shoes are very light although they still offer enough protection for all but the most extreme technical trail. I have no complaints about these shoes. They have a minimalist feel to them with a low heel to toe drop. If you're not used to this, it may be uncomfortable or take a little while to get used to. I am a forefoot striker and wear minimalist shoes as my road shoes, and these shoes feel great to me. They are not waterproof and there is no plate in the shoes, so if the trail is very, very rocky and wet, these are probably not the shoes for you, although they seem like they would dry quickly. Overall, these are the best trail shoes I have ever run in! I normally wear a size 12 or 12.5 road shoe, and the 12 here was way too small. The 12.5+ fit me well, so order at least a half size up.

Great trail running shoe. I'm not a big fan of running on the road, but I love running on technical trail. These shoes are supper grippy! And very stable. One of my local trails has a big boulder section and I was pulling moves with these that I would not do in others. Once again these are great trail sneaks.

I love the feel of this shoe on my feet! I bought them as a hiking/approach shoe. I wear an 8 and am returning them (39.5) for a 40.0. The big toe went right to the tip of the toe box and was rubbing it - thus the up-size. I have weird feet though - 8A on the left and 7B on the right. It is a snug but cozy fit, so make sure you get the best size for your feet. I love the shoe! Cuter than they look in the picture.

I bought two pairs of these and love them...so I ordered a pair for my husband but they run small and also narrow for men's feet. I'm returning his pair and have ordered another in a full size larger. Hopefully they fit. Zappos customer service was excellent!

I love them because my heel doesn't fall out and I have a really thin heel I have never had a climbing shoe like this one.

I plan to backpack into the Grand Canyon on a five day trip. Andrew Skurka in his book, The Ultimate Hiker's Gear Guide, recommended these shoes for through hikes. I ordered them one size larger than my normal size. They were comfortable from the get-go! In preparing for my GC trip, I've been hiking in southern Utah. The shoes have great "gription" on slick rock and gravelly areas. The shoes are lightweight so no foot fatigue at the end of the day. Love 'em!

Unbelievably good trail runner for anybody with narrow feet. Also provide tremendous arch support and good stiffness in the support so that mild pronators will feel great. Perfect traction on any offroad surface.

I haven't gotten a chance to really wear these shoes on trails yet. Bought them for an upcoming backpacking trip to Yellowstone. Shoes run really small. I normally wear 10.5 or 11 and had to get a 12 in this shoe.

These are nice shoes that feel futuristic. They are very snug and have a glove like fit. The sole is super neat, allowing you to feel the nuances of the trail, but without discomfort. I do not think that I would suggest these shoes to runners who supinate; it seems to encourage my tendency to roll along the outside of my feet. There are no color choices, so that sucks. Why does it need to say "La Sportive" in huge letter? Also, these are very warm shoes. The black material holds heat! Definitely order a full size larger than you normally would. Please La Sportive, more color options!

This is not a negative review of the shoe, just that the one I received from Zappos appeared to have been worn. One of the toes was scuffed and the toe box was creased like the shoe had been used, at least enough to be noticeable. I ended up going with a different shoe that I ordered at the same time and returning this one.

The fit is true to size. These trail runners are great on rocks, in water, and in mud. I highly recommend La Sportiva for your athletic pursuits.

Fantastic shoe but runs very small. I wear a 7 size shoe, normally take an 8 in running shoes to minimize toe impact. 8.5 of these were too small, had to go up to 9.5. Otherwise, great traction, great support, great shoe!

I did some research before buying these boots. I had my foot measured twice, just to make sure, and I visited the La Sportiva website which recommended buying a half size bigger. I followed their advice and they came in perfect. I took the factory inserts out and put my own in. I now have a little over 360 miles in them climbing, on and off trails, post holding through snow and snowshoeing. I think they are as close as you can get to a wonderful all around boot. Great fit, very supportive and a terrific value for the money. They seem very warm so summer use may be limited - we'll have to see. I would highly recommend these to a friend but with the understanding they make sure of the fit. That is critical no matter what boots you decide on.

I just spent a week doing a lot of walking in the Wildcats while birding on mostly level non-technical type surfaces. They were perhaps the most comfortable shoes I have worn and required no breaking in. I have done no running in them and really did not get them for that purpose. The only negative I have is that they were very slippery when worn on wet surfaces, particularly blacktops. I did not walk on any wet rocky surfaces, so can't speak for that. I suspect the problem may be a combination of tread type and pattern. Sizing - I had to get a half size larger to get the proper fit.

Overall pretty happy with the shoe. I run a lot of trail miles and it has been a sloppy wet muddy winter. My Brooks Cascadias were constantly wet and cold. This is a great winter option. I really like them for what they are. I will not touch them in the summer, for winter only! They took a little bit to break in, which is odd for me. Had some blister problems early on my Achilles , duct tape solved those