Lightweight shoes non-waterproof

Footwear is very subjective so it is hard to give good suggestions.  After ditching my all leather Lowas in 2008-2009 I wore Salomon XA Pros until last year until I switched to La Sportiva Ultra Raptors and am experimenting with La Sportiva Bushido’s now.

La Sportiva runs narrow, particularly in the heel, which fits me well.  Salomon tends to run narrow as well.    I read that Salomon and Altera were the two “most popular” trail runners for thru hikers for whatever that is worth.

My recommendation is to go to a good running store or outfitter with someone that is really good with footwear and try a bunch

BTW: You won’t miss your boots at all

What Brad said.

YOUR feet are the only opinions that matter.

+1 for La Sportivas. Ultra Raptor, Wildcats, and now I’m using the Akyra which has even tougher outersoles.

Each person’s experience is different. I’ve used INOV-8 for years without any problems and decided to try the Ultra Raptors. I found my ankles turning several times whenever on a decline and they’ve since been limited to street use. I strongly disliked their lateral performance.

If the OP is looking for light, I’d take a look to see how the INOV-8 line fits your feet.

Inov-8 is my go-to brand as well.

I prefer low profile, lightweight, tight-fitting shoes for trail running, and I’ve found the Inov-8 sticky rubber to be the grippiest available from any running shoe brand for running on rocks wet or dry. They’ve introduced a supposedly even stickier rubber this year too, though I haven’t had any dry (snow free) trails to put it to the test yet. I avoid any of their trail shoes w/out sticky rubber though as I’ve found the performance to be very poor for my typical conditions.

The La Sportiva Bushido has a similar profile to the Innov8 295. They are much lower than the Ultra Raptors.

I avoid any of their trail shoes w/out sticky rubber though as I’ve found the performance to be very poor for my typical conditions.

OK, but then one has to mention also that their old sticky compound isn’t really durable and that for me that means that I need to buy a new pair at least once a year if that particular model uses that compound. No idea how durable their new compound is.

If the OP is looking for light, I’d take a look to see how the INOV-8 line fits your feet.

+1 Best line of shoes I’ve ever used.

Woubeir – You have to choose what criteria is important to you.

When it comes to footwear, particularly something I’ll wear on wet rocks as I’m descending, the last thing on my mind is what it costs or when I’ll have to replace it. The only thing that matters to me is does it perform.  YMMV

Thank you for all the replies.

I tried the la sportiva bushido, unfortubately i fit in between 2 sizes so its not an option.

I will take a drive up to my closest inov-8 store as soon as i get a chance.

Does anyone have experience with the salomon s/lab amphib?

Cheers

When it comes to footwear, particularly something I’ll wear on wet rocks as I’m descending, the last thing on my mind is what it costs or when I’ll have to replace it. The only thing that matters to me is does it perform. YMMV

Oh no, that’s not what I mean. When I find the right shoemodel for me, I gladly buy a pair of that model every year or multiple times a year if necessary, even when they are expensive. But that’s my choice.

Everyone has the right to make their own choice, but everyone should have at least the right info to make an informed choice. In this particular case, one should know that if he/she is interested in an Inov-8 model with an outsole made of a grippy compound, it might be supergrippy but that as a downside it might not be as durable as hoped, even up to a point that he/she needs to buy a new pair every year/6 moths/…

Currently using Brooks Cascadia 12’s but I will echo the advice to go into a store where they know their shoes and try on a ton of different ones.  I also got a custom set of insoles from the running store and that has helped since I need more arch support.

I got myself a pair of inov-8 285

So far so good, can’t wait to try them on a trail :)

Thank everyone