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Thread: La Sportiva

  1. #1
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    Default La Sportiva

    Went to REI in King of Prussia, PA today. Needed some shoes. I tried looking around at Dick's Sporting Goods but the staff there is kids that wouldn't know their butt from a hole in the ground. So I traveled down to REI today. First off, that place is amazing and could put me in the poorhouse. Friendly and knowledgeable staff, ready and willing to help. Anyways, I went with the La Sportiva Ultra Raptors. One of the most comfortable shoes I've ever put my feet in. If you're looking for footwear, you may want to give these a test drive. Reg $130 on sale for $98.
    zig-zag man

    There is no such thing as free.

  2. #2

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    Love my Ultra Raptors. Great shoes. Only complaint is tread life, but it's not horrible. I generally get 300 miles out of a pair, but that includes wearing around while not hiking.

  3. #3
    Hiker bigcranky's Avatar
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    Been wearing the Wildcats for about three years now, love 'em. Started wearing them to work for the comfort and support, had to get a second pair since my trail shoes are rather, er, grungy.
    Ken B
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    Our Long Trail journal

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by zig-zag man View Post
    One of the most comfortable shoes I've ever put my feet in.
    Indeed they are, however I found them to be way too slippery on rock.

  5. #5
    Wanna-be hiker trash
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    Quote Originally Posted by Deacon View Post
    Indeed they are, however I found them to be way too slippery on rock.
    The wildcats and raptors have effectively the same sole and I had the same problem for quite some time. After some extended use (probably 300-400 miles) the soles finally wore down enough that they started to be more grippy abd stable on wet rock. I used that pair of Wildcats for far longer than the recommended lifespan and the more beat up they got, the better they were.

    When I finally got rid of them I bought a pair if the new LaSportiva Akyra trail runners which have a deeper and much more aggressive tread made of a softer rubber. These things hold on to wet rock like a mountain goat. The tradeoff is that the softer rubber means it wears down faster and the shoes won't last quite as long, but for my needs that's a fair tradeoff.
    Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

  6. #6
    Registered User John B's Avatar
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    La Sportiva is also friendly toward those of use who wear narrow width boots/shoes. I wear size 13 narrow and they fit very comfortably and my feet don't slide around and blister up.

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    Since Saucony has decided to de-fang the Xodus, I'm going to try switching to Ultra Raptors. That toe cap is just what I need. I'm concerned that the tread isn't going to be tough enough for the trail I'm about to do, but I'm pretty low on options at this point.

    I would much prefer something with that sort of toe cap, the tread from the Akyra, and a heel-to-toe drop of 4mm or so. Too bad no one makes something like that.

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    There customer service is amazing too i had an issue with a seam coming out of boot one picture and they sent out a free pair and they said keep the other pair. only issue is they sometimes discontinue products out of nowhere or slightly change the fit.

  9. #9
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    I got the TX4 for this year to replace my Garments. I also got the TX2's but those won't be hiking much


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  10. #10
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    Spelling correction garments=Garmonts


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  11. #11
    Registered User hikermiker's Avatar
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    I got my first pair of Ultraraptors in Nh and wore them on rainy wet rock & found them to be grippier than any other shoe I have had. I have now gotten my third pair.

  12. #12
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    LaSportiva labels the Ultra Raptors incorrectly. Their EU size to US size conversion is off by 1 whole size. I wear 9 1/2 or 43.5 size shoes according to every online conversion chart I can find. According to the size marked on box, I need a 10.5. Thanks to the REI exchange policy I was able to exchange my first pair of size 10 Ultra Raptors for the correct size 10.5.
    I like the Ultra Raptors so much that I bought a second pair before they disappear.
    Wayne

  13. #13

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    La Sportiva has a great comparison chart on their site, https://www.sportiva.com/sizing-technology/

    RunningComparisonChart2017_lowres_Page_1.jpg

    RunningComparisonChart2017_lowres_Page_2.jpg

    I got a crazy deal on the Akyras and found they fit pretty true to size, 8.5 US normally but found their 8.5+ (41.5 EU) size to fit well. I found the statements on width to be true as the Ultra Raptors were definitely more narrow than the Akyras.

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