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NiteRaven
01-03-2011, 23:03
After a lot of foot work and trying on lots of shoes from Inov-8, Adidas, ASICS, Merrill, Montrail, and probably others I finally found my starting shoe for my 2011 thru-hike: La Sportiva Raptors! La Sportiva wasn't really on my radar, in fact I was going in looking to pick up some Inov-8s, but a local shop was carrying these. I did some searching and La Sportiva has only been mentioned a few times here.

The Raptors are light weight but feel like a very substantial shoe. They have great heel support for carrying a load and mold around my feet, keeping my heel and foot snug and well contained. They feel like an extension of my foot, almost as if I wasn't even wearing them. The cushioning is pretty good and the sticky rubber on the bottom is supposed to grip wet rocks like no other, here's hoping.

In case these weren't on your radar - I highly suggest checking them out! I'm glad I did.

http://www.sportiva.com/products/prod/499

rockytop7
01-19-2011, 18:14
I was looking at some La Sportiva Wildcats in a shop the other day. Anyone know what the difference in the Raptors and Wildcats are? They look very similar.

NiteRaven
01-20-2011, 13:07
The Wildcats have more of a mesh front to the shoe. Whereas the Raptors have plastic that wraps up the side of the shoe and ties into the ghillie lacing system (not sure what that means but that's what it's called). This results in a more solid fit and less foot movement in my experience. I tried both on and foot felt very secure and in place with the Raptor. I also just noticed the Raptors come in red now. I would have picked these up as they look cooler than the yellows. I might have to get a second pair. :)

NiteRaven
03-16-2011, 10:20
Well after using these on the trail for a week, I have a couple updates. I started out liking these shoes a lot then developed a bad blister on my pinky toe coming down Blood Mountain. If you buy these I'd recommend getting a size bigger. Also if your feet tend to swell I'd recommend staying away from these shoes all together. On the 5th day of my hike my feet started to swell like crazy and developed a ton of blisters. I don't know if I'm a special case or not. Other than those problems, the grip on the shoe is phenominal and still do like the shoe. That being said, I'm switching to a hiking boot as I feel my feet aren't ready for a trail shoe on the A.T.