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Shoes are a personal thing. They carry us on all sorts of adventures and help us perform optimally.
Like any good relationship they should support us, and bring out our best.
As much as I love hiking barefoot, good shoes make the trek easier, especially on rocky terrain and as I slowly get more into trail running I wanted a pair of shoes that were lightweight, supportive and most importantly grippy on loose, rocky surfaces.
I spend a lot of time on steep rocky trails carrying heavy packs of climbing gear, I have , on occasion, been knows to slip backwards due to the weight of the pack and the lack of grip on my shoes.....
But these babies have stopped all that!
So far I have tested them on a 4 hour hike up and down a mountain with a huge pack of climbing gear on my back and they didn't miss a beat.
I have used them on a rainforest trail run and they were comfy but most importantly they didn't slip out on me as I ran downhill, the shoes lugs held fast even on the loose terrain and the eva soles meant the impact of the rocks was lessened!
Lightweight and minimalistic I thought they would be harder on my feet during longer trails but after 23kms of muddy tracks and creek scrambles my feet didn't hurt by the end of the day, which is no small achievement as I'm usually tearing my shoes off by the time we reach the carpark!
The breathable mesh also means my feet don't get sweaty on longer tracks which equals less blisters for me.
These shoes are a pretty true to size fit, I'm a 37 in most street shoes but I always size up half in runners and hiking boots for a little extra toe room.
Best of all they are vegan! So you can run away knowing your comfort hasn't came at the cost of another's life.
Retracing our steps we decided to take the South East Ridge track down, with lizards sun baking openly and views back across the valley to the other mountains, it took us across expansive slabs of rocks and I was grateful I had recently purchased some new La Sportiva Helios SR trail runners from K2 Basecamp (not sponsored I just really love them and the guys at K2!) in the valley the week before as it made coming down a breeze.
Pros
They're vegan!
Lightweight & breathable
Incredible Grippy soles!!!
Comfy enough to wear over 20kms
Cons
So far I can't find any but I have been told they may wear out quicker than my standard approach shoes however i'm willing to take that risk based on how much grip and support they are giving me! I promise I will update the post if I find any faults or have any issues.
Overall these runners are made to conquer the mountains and trails and they do that 100%.
If you have any questions feel free to shoot me an email or reach out to me via Insta.
Happy Adventuring!
💕Lia xoxo
“Lost is a state of mind, I prefer to think of it as exploring” - Lia Skye
Further Reading (for all the technical deets)
You can read more about these incredible shoes on the La Sportiva website by clicking here
