La Sportiva Wildcat 2.0

I have a pair. The differences are very subtle best I can tell.

I really like the Wildcats as my normal backpacking shoe; my only complaint on them had been that the tongues always slipped down and fell to the side over time.

The 2.0s were described as having a tongue strap, so that was the important "upgrade" to me. Turns out all they did for the "tongue strap" is add a little loop at the top of the tongue that the laces run though before you tie them. It does the job I guess, but I was expecting proper toungue straps that actually connected the tongue to the rest of the body of the shoe.

Other than that change, the other changes include adding a small pull tab to the heel to help get the shoes on and they reconfigured the lacing layout slightly and did a slight update/reinforcement of the lacing eyelets.

Oh, and a new color scheme without any of the bright dayglo green or yellow.

In my mind the upgrades are not really worth paying more for than the traditional Wildcats. Maybe there's other "behind the scenes" changes that I don't know about or haven't noticed. Assuming there isn't though, I don't see the scope or degree of the changes really rising to the level of being called 2.0 or being priced differently.

Anyway I found them on sale, so they ended up being a good deal at the time, and I continue to be happy with the overall performance of the Wildcat (1.0/2.0) series.

Hey Nick. Thx for the info. Yeah, I'm not sure if I can justify the price difference for those features. I was hoping for some revolutionary sole design. But what you said makes sense why they would call it the 2.0. Same shoe with a few extra bells and whistles. Thx again.

I just used the REWARDS20 coupon code at REI online to buy the new Wildcats along with my dividend. I tried them on earlier in the day along with some Brooks Cascade's and one other style. I found the Brooks a little too soft for trail use. I really think the La Sportiva's have the overall support/rigidity just right. Plan to use them as my primary backpacking footwear.

Yeah Randy. I find the Wildcats are like wearing a sock upper with mid-boot lower. I'm very happy with mine.

I'm using the original Wildcats are my main footwear for this years PCT thru hike. I have amassed the following shoes for the whole trail;

3x La Sportiva Wildcats
1x La Sportiva Crosslite
1x La Sportiva Crossover GTX
1x Inov8 Rocklite 315

The Inov8s are an older pair I am going to wear until they die. The Crosslites feel comfy and are good in soft ground with the big lugs. The Crossover GTXs are for the end when it is likely to be wet and possibly some snow. Again very comfy and great for soft ground. The Wildcats however are possibly the comfiest shoes I have ever work straight off the shelf. They are perfect for my foot shape. Nice and breathable, light yet enough stiffness for rougher ground. I hope my feet don't change size too much over the PCT as I am at the upper size range of what La Sportiva make. I am definitely a Wildcat convert!

I just picked up a pair this morning. Have not hiked in them yet, so I can't really report back, but tried them on along with some other trail running shoes, and these were probably the best fit, and were a neck and neck tie with a pair of Vasque Mindbenders. I wear an 11.5 and have a low volume foot and the wide lacing on the La Sportive Wildcat allowed me to go up in size to accommodate foot swelling and a roomier toe box, but still held my heel in nicely with PLENTY of room to cinch the laces. With other shoes When I try going up in size for a hiking shoe I gain lots of slop and the laces can get maxed out and get heel slippage. Walking around with them in the store while shopping for over an hour and they felt great. Will give them a shot next week on a 6 mile day hike.

I have never owned a pair of La Sportiva trail shoes, but have been wearing their mountaineering boots and climbing shoes for years, and they have served me well. I have always worn La Sportivas or Scarpas, so hopefully these shoes will be of as good quality as their other shoes.

Hey Scott. Thanks for the info.

To add another plus one to them. I just dunked my wildcats through multiple stream crossings last weekend, and they dried out rather quickly. I'll be ordering more pairs of these in the future.

The Wildcat 2.0 came in 2nd on my list. They do have a nice rigidity in the footplate, but after trying 6 different kinds of trail runners I decided to go with a pair of the Brooks Cascadia 7s. What moved me away from the Wildcats was the lack of lugs on the sole. The Wildcats have good bite into a surface and decent stick, but I wanted more contact and control with each placement of my foot. IMO, the Cascadia 7s offer a slightly more minimalistic connection with the surface under your feet, full tread throughout the length of each step, and great stopping traction. I'm trail running in these shoes more frequently than hiking, mind you, and pivoting in these suckers feels great. But I think you've got a winner in the Wildcats if you're hiking in them more than running. All of this, I should say, matters not one bit. Try a bunch of different runners on for yourself and see what is going to work best for you, whether it's the Wildcats or not. Be picky. Be overly analytical about it. Get what is most going to fit your need. But, you probably already knew that. :)
My two cents…