The La Sportiva Raptors are the best shoes I have ever owned. I just ordered my second pair after wearing my first pair continuously for the past two years. My search has been for shoes able to double as both great trail running shoes (light weight, grippy turns at speed, fast stoppers, don’t destroy my toes on downhills) as well as great light hikers (carrying a 30 pound pack on long distance desert and mountain backpacking trips). My ideal shoes would also last awhile, which is why I have been wearing them as my daily wear city shoes (work, home, and play) to test their durability before making my final selection for hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. After trying out many specialized trail runners and hiking boots, the Raptors are the first pair to do everything while meeting or exceeding most of my expectations.

The shoes look bulky but feel light for their actual weight, and they required no real breaking in period. I pulled them out of the box and within a couple of hours went on a 5 mile, mostly off-trail run in the Sierra Nevada foothills (nothing but rock, sand, and sagebrush to maneuver through). I returned home with happy feet and an astonished grin on my face. No matter what I have done with them, I’ve never had a hot spot or blister.

With my flat feet and bad ankles from way too many sprains from sports and over-zealous adventures, I need shoes with serious support, which the Raptors have provided without breaking down. I wear custom orthotics, and in many shoes the depth of the inserts compromises the ankle support, but not in these Raptors even with their low profile design. After approximately 500 miles of wear, I still have all the support I need for running and backpacking, although the mesh is finally developing holes and the plastic toe bumper is separating – hence the need for a new pair.

Over the decades, my toes have taken a beating from all the miles of downhill running and backpacking – I’ve lost a lot of toenails along the way. The Raptors are the first pair of shoes / light hikers that have never once bruised or blistered my toes because the toe box has just the right amount of roominess even after my feet expand from a day of hard backpacking or running. La Sportiva’s proprietary Impact Braking System (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnOp-E99xy4) is the technology behind its astonishing capacity for non-skid turning, braking, and stopping on all surfaces, angles, and speeds.

The sticky rubber on the Raptors is the same quality as my climbing shoes, and I use the Raptors with confidence free soloing up to easy 5.2 routes. I have equal confidence on wet rock and loose sand.

The shoes provide great ventilation when worn with appropriate socks, keeping my feet perfectly dry and cushioned. They dry out quickly after creek crossings. The only downside of all that ventilation is that a small amount of desert dust does filter in through the mesh, but every shoe with comparable construction has this same issue.

The lacing system permits multiple methods for fine-tuning the fit and tightness, including the ability to center the shoe laterally on your foot so that it doesn't roll when you are off trail traversing steep hillside slopes and boulders. At first I had a problem with the tongue slipping to the side, but then I figured out a different zigzag lacing system at the top that keeps the tongue centered.

My average shoe size is 11.5, but depending upon the manufacturer it can be anything from 10 to 13. My Raptors are 12.5 (46.5 European).

Now that I have ordered my second pair, the only question is whether I should order another couple of pairs at the same time just in case La Sportiva decides to “upgrade” the Raptors in a way that isn’t actually an improvement for my foot and the ways I use them.