La Sportiva Ultranord GTX-XCR Trail Running Shoe - Men's - 2007 BCS

I bought these shoes as hikers not runners and have found them well suited to the job. The sole is stiff and supports well. The gaiters are worth much but they do keep scree and snow out of your socks. They're durable- after several months of use only the 'La Sportiva' lettering is falling off. I've tried running with them- imagine strapping a pair of bricks to your feet. If you were doing adventure races- ie jogging- then maybe these would work, but they're just not nimble enough to handle anything else.

This is a great pair of trail shoes. The gators aren't too high but keep plenty of crud out of your feet. The GoreTex breathes plenty well but keeps the undesirable water out of the socks. I'm extremely happy with these shoes......Finally!

These are frustrating shoes. The gaiters are a nice touch, and the waterproofing is good, but Sportiva makes great climbing and running shoes (the Fireblades are awesome) so I was a little startled at some of the lame aspects of these. I'd say for short to medium runs on wet or snowy terrain they're solid, but they don't feel fast or comfy enough for much else.

Cushioning: minimal--a long run on a hard surface will be very uncomfortable. That would be OK if they rode low, so you could get good feel for the surface, but they seem to ride higher than the minimalist Fireblades.

Fit: solidly cylindrical--for a person with a wide toe and narrow heel it's hard to feel completely comfortable in them.

Lacing: inflexible and strangely uncomfortable--you have to keep playing with the lacing to get it to feel right, and it's really easy to crank it too hard in one place and get a bad pinch.

Gaiters: Water-resistant, but not waterproof. Great for snow and splashes. These take some doing to attach to the shoe, and because the clips aren't too well designed I have to use something like a butter knife to keep the attachments open to receive them. Once they're on they protect well against snow, though I'm not sure why they didn't make them out of XCR.

Great shoe if you want to speed hike a rough section of trail. The shoe is on the heavy and stiff side for "running". If you want to lope with a pack or cover lots of distance the shoe is great. Gaiters are more gimicky than helpful.

Warm and comfortable. I wear 44.5, had to go to 45 for a good fit.