La Sportiva Men's Wildcat Trail Running Shoe

I have been hiking in the Sierras since 2005. Every year, I suffered 5+ blisters because my feet apparently sweat a lot more than normal people. I have 4 pairs of boots including the amazing Scarpa Kailash. Even with the light weight Kailash, I was still getting blister. Finally, last year, during our interim, we headed down to REI in Fresno, CA and I tried 3 pairs of trail running shoes. I just figured out that boots are NEVER for me. I got this pair of La Sportiva for $80(on sale). I said, " What the heck, let me try them."Later, pair with my Injinji socks, we headed back to the wilderness around Ediza Lake. During the hike, I can feel the breeze on my shoes. I guess that was a good thing because my feet remained dry throughout our hikes in the Sierras, Utah, and Colorado. I was blister free for the rest of the trips!!! :) I guess in the end, it came down to ventilations. My friend was worried that I might sprain my ankles but so far, I have not experienced it with these shoes. No more boots for me...

Shoes run a bit small. Ordered the 13s because that was the biggest size they had and 13s in any brand have always been big enough. Luckily the insole is kinda thick and taking it out gives me the room I need to not have my feet feel all bunched up.Wore them on a 4 mile walk on St. Pats and didn't have socks on. Breathe really well and no blisters, a few hot spots that could possibly turn in to blisters. I wouldn't be wearing them without sock liners on the trail anyways.Even without the insoles they are very comfortable and I had no foot fatigue after wearing them a long time and being on my feet for hours straight. I have some injinji run socks that I wear them with and they are are super comfortable. It rained on another "urban hike" I was on, wearing socks, and they dried pretty quickly with all the mesh. Feet also didn't feel sweaty.Took the star off only because of size issue. If I could find these in a 13.5 I would be in foot heaven. I also think I need to find a thin insole for them. Maybe one of their latest styles might have them in a bigger size. Overall solid shoe and can't wait to hit the trail with them!

The La Sportiva Wildcats are comfortable in a way that a precise ski race boot is, by becoming one with my feet and thus giving me the precision I want. Lightweight, feeling somewhat minimal in a god sense, with well-placed shoe laces that don’t slip, they have the right angle for flat and uphill trails. I also like the soles that have a give to them providing me with a valuable feedback of what’s under my feet and by allowing the sole to bend down, giving me great traction on uphill runs. I live in Grand Junction, CO and most of my trail runs are on high-desert trails of western Colorado and eastern Utah.Even when running in the winter I enjoyed the Wildcat’s breathability. This also may be the feature that makes them tear easily but heat dissipation allows me to run in high-desert without feeling as if my feet were on fire.The soles are adequately grippy on high-desert trails and I really like a narrow platform of the soles. I tried trail running shoes with the wider soles. Wider sole platform may have provided more lateral stability that would prevent rolling of an ankle but I prefer a shoe that requires me to be aware of my stride and that forces light, precise landing of my feet. I believe that it also makes my ankles stronger by providing minimal ankle lateral support.I tried Wildcats on longer, mountain hikes with multi-day backpacks. The characteristics that make this shoe a phenomenal trail running shoe are exactly the characteristics that make it not the best choice for backpacking with medium to heavy loads on your back. After just about 15 miles of backpacking in the mountains of southwestern Colorado I was already longing for my Merrell Moab hiking shoes.I just purchased 11th pair of La Sportiva Wildcats. Each pair lasted 400-450 miles of trail running, after which they begin to rapidly disintegrate. I get them in a size that is an exact match to my foot size, and not a millimeter longer. With its soft material that snugly wraps around your foot, any extra room would take away from the precision of this trail running shoe.Overall verdict: as perfect as trail running shoes get.

I've shopped for trail runners at REI other gear retailers, confounded by the dramatic differences in how nominal sizes are executed in running shoes by different manufacturers. Typically, toe box and last stiffness are accurately portrayed, but after a disaster with Montrails, ordered with impunity online after reading review that touted them as true to street shoe size, I found them wonderful, supportive trail runners, but a full half size too small (I have Morton's toe). The result of my laziness in actually trying on a pair, was plantar fascia problems, and blisters.The La Sportiva size chart, on the other hand, where U.S. and Euro sizing are portrayed side by side and reflect quarter sizes, I selected a pair of 44/10.5+ Turtle Wildcats vice the 43.5/10.5 pair ai thought I needed (the "+" being the salvation for my Morton's toe). This time I did try on a pair at a retailer who, unlike gear shops in Flagstaff I frequented, would not match the Internet pricing of sites such as Amazon ... I felt bad about not paying full retail for the privilege of using their stock to ensure fitment, but the prospect of saving about $30 over the retail price plus sales tax, made the decision to acquire them through Amazon a no-brainer.And these Wildcats are just fantastic, great support via a stiff last, stability by a high heel counter, super-comfortable on the foot, and great looking ... I dropped in a pair of Superfeet greenies, and am off to the races on bluestone and tarmac trails here in Northern Virginia ... just wish I had them while I running the challenging venues of Sedona and Flagstaff, AZ this year.Try them, buy them, you'll love them! Amazon had both the best selection of colors and sizes, and the best price at the time I ordered them ... and shipping was free!