Ultra Raptor alternatives

I have worn Ultra Raptors for years.   Most of what you say doesn’t correspond to my experience at all.   I wear size 12 in most brands of hiking/running shoes & boots, and that’s exactly what I wear in the Ultra Raptor (Euro 45.5).  They are not “grossly undersized”.   They are available up to Euro 47.5, which will be equivalent to US size 14 or 14.5.

All I can think is that maybe you didn’t get the size you thought you did?   Or maybe you have unusually long and narrow feet?   That would seem to accord with what you say about Salomons.   The Ultra Raptor last shape fits me pretty well, but I can’t wear Salomon shoes, they are far too narrow for me in the front, a very different last shape to La Sportiva.   It sounds to me like you should be looking for alternatives from people who wear Salomons, rather than from people who wear La Sportiva, then you’ll be more likely to find a last shape in another shoe that fits you well.

And as for durability on the Ultra Raptor?   I do a lot of off trail hiking, much of it in the Grand Canyon, some the roughest terrain on footwear you’ll find anywhere.  Shoe failure would be disastrous, and I’ve never had a failure in several years of use with Ultra Raptors.  The soles do wear down fairly quickly, but that’s a trade-off I accept for  a grippy sole.   I go through 3-4 pairs a year from wearing down the soles.   But I’ve never had them separate from the uppers.

My Ultra Raptors were size 47, and most definitely were not the equivalent of US 12.5, they were somewhere between a US 11.5 and US 12.  I would attach pics of my blue toenail that will fall off in a few weeks to illustrate my point but that would be gross :-)

If you check the customer feedback at REI, Backcountry,com and other high volume retailers you will see that the consensus is “Runs small” or “Runs slightly small”.  In my estimate they run slightly over US half size too small.  Admittedly my use of the word “grossly” was too emotional.

I never said that the shoe had failed after 75 miles, but that it had “started coming apart”.   A section about 3/4 inch in length near the toe, on the inside of the left foot had started separating. Unfortunately the shoes are already in the trashcan so no photo evidence.

Not all shoes fit all feet – by now you should know that?

From your rant it’s unclear what you want to hear.

Further, rather than complain about how much you dislike the Ultra Raptors I’d suggest making your way to a decent store that carries a few different kind of shoes and try several. Keep the ones that work for you.

I’d even offer suggestions but your preferences seem quite different than mine so I won’t waste your time.

It’s not rocket science…..

My Ultra Raptors were size 47, and most definitely were not the equivalent of US 12.5, they were somewhere between a US 11.5 and US 12.

But this contradicts what you then say yourself, that they run maybe a half size small.   47 is about 13.5, so if they are a half size small then 47 would be a 13.

Again, I wear a 12 in all other shoes, and a 45.5 in Ultra Raptors.   And I have worn probably 20 pairs of Ultra Raptors over many years.  I don’t know what happened for you, maybe you got a mislabeled or misboxed pair, but from a lot of experience with these shoes you are wrong in this.

So the sun rises in the East… Duly noted :-)

My “rant” laid out the fairly specific parameters of what I am looking for – construction/weight similar to the La Sportiva Ultra Raptor or Salomon X utra, but normal laces.  Not everyone lives within 10 miles of 5 stores with wide selection of shoes.  One of the consequences of ecommerce is that most brick and mortar stores have had to significantly cut the inventory they carry and are often a shadow of their former selves – REI comes to mind.  None of the REI’s within 50 miles carry the Ultra Raptor, and only two of them carry the Salomons.  And REI has the largest selection of hiking gear in San Diego, by a fairly large margin.  The point of the “rant” was asking for help to narrow down the list which hopefully avoids having to order half a dozen pairs only to return most of them.

I have a pair of the salomons. It looks like you could just cut out the quick lace system and put in your own regular laces. If they don’t fit into the plastic inserts inside the webbing you could just lace through the webbing itself (I believe my old ultra raptors had webbing-only eyelets).

But this contradicts what you then say yourself, that they run maybe a half size small.   47 is about 13.5, so if they are a half size small then 47 would be a 13.

Good point.  La Sportiva’s own sizing chart says that

https://www.sportiva.com/sizing-technology/

There is a good amount of scatter in this translation on various web sites and I don’t remember which chart I got my numbers from.  But the undersizing relative to the La Sportiva chart is indeed gross.  A size 13 in Salomon and every other hiking shoe I have bought fits me generously, sometimes too much so.

As part of my discussions I double checked the receipts and the situation I conveyed is actually an understatement.  I initially purchased this

Ultra Raptor – Men’s Black / Yellow 47 (Euro)

It felt very tight and then I exchanged it for this

Ultra Raptor – Men’s Black / Yellow 47.5 (Euro)

The above are direct copy/pastes from the confirmation emails from Backcountry Gear.  That felt less tight but still not comfortable and I contemplated returning it.  Over a matter of a few days I wore the shoes inside the house for a few hours at a time and managed to convince myself that they are OK.  Alas, that ended up costing me $100 or so and a couple of toenails, as I ultimately had to throw them away – both because they were small and because they started coming apart.

Size 47.5 is the largest they make, and there is no way it is anything even remotely close to a size 13.5.  It feels like size 12 in every other sneaker or shoe I have.

Thank you for pointing out the inconsistency of my initial response

I have a pair of the salomons. It looks like you could just cut out the quick lace system and put in your own regular laces. If they don’t fit into the plastic inserts inside the webbing you could just lace through the webbing itself (I believe my old ultra raptors had webbing-only eyelets).

Thanks, let me see what the nearest store is that has them, and I will check it out. If I can swap out the quicklace for traditional laces I will get the salomons.

La Sportiva ultra raptor sizing is about one size smaller than other brands, if you use US sizing.  i take 11.5 in every conceivable shoe but a 12.5 in la sportiva and a 13 for their goretex ultraraptor.

I have a 12.5 ultraraptor and an 11.5 salomon x-ultra sitting right in front of me.  They fit the same and the salomon is visibly longer.  Ultra raptor does have small sizing.

But, numbers make no difference to the shoe as you just try them on until they fit irrespective of what the size number says. Unless you are buying online, of course

Salomon running shoe fitment has become increasingly narrow since they changed their fitment a few years ago. Since then i moved to Ultra Raptors but the old salomons were just about as durable, and lighter, for off track walking. Sportiva have grippier soles IMHO but i find the ultra raptors a little looser in the heel and a little chunky underfoot.

I just got some salomon xa elevate which are just wide enough, pretty light and if previous salomons are any guide very durable.

For the quicklace haters, Salomons do a lace version of x-ultras called ‘prime’, i believe.

X ultras are built about as robust as the ultra raptors and are a pretty similar fit i think.

That is pretty consistent with my experience. If you need a  size 13 equivalent shoe there is no way to get in from a Raptor.

I went to my local REI, they had the X ultra but only up to size 12. Managed to squeeze my feet in there for the sake of getting a sense of width and fitment, and I agree that the heel is tighter and the toebox looser than the Raptor. I also took at look at the quicklace thingies and it looks like you can break off the plastic inserts inside the webbing loops with needle nose pliers and then get regular laces. Will look into the prime model.

I’m wearing Ultra Raptors as I type this on my way to the high Sierra (pray I don’t get carried off by mosquitoes).  I’m on my third year wearing the Ultra Raptors (one pair a year) and wear a size 43(10) and wore size 9 Salomon XA Pro 3D’s which I wore for a decade (8-9 pairs).   I find the UR narrower than the Solomon’s at least in the heel, which is good for me.

I find them narrower in the heel but wider in the forefoot and higher volume overall then theLa Sportiva Bushido’s which I also have.

Had to go up north to Orange County for business today and stopped by a local REI that had both the Raptors in 13.5 and the Salomon Ultra X 3 in 13. As others have noted the Salomons were visibly longer, and also noticeably larger size. When my toes were touching the front of the shoes I could comfortably get a full finger into the back of the Salomons while it was a very tight fit into the Raptor. Bottom line, in comparison to the Salomons at least the Raptors run around a full size small, as others have noted. I did find the Ultra X to be a better fit for my narrow foot, the 13.5 Raptors felt kind of loose. I have ordered the older Ultra X Primes in size 13 from Amazon (one of the few places that still had them this large) and if they fit similarly I will keep them. If not I will return and mail order the Ultra X 3 in size 13 from REI, and then figure out how to replace the quicklace with standard laces.

Thanks to everyone that chimed in.

I recommend the Salomon Odyssey Triple Crown (used to be called “Odyssey Pro” till last year). It has a rugged sole that should last longer than the typical trail runner (it’s actually classified as a hiking show). It has a mesh upper that allow air flow just as well as a typical trail runner. The footbox is roomy – roomier in the Triple Crown than in the previous Pro model. I had the Pro before and have the Triple Crown now – they are excellent shoes, for me at least.

Try the La Sportiva TX3. Can’t say enough good about them, except the colors.

Nike Wildhorse.  Amazing.

K2

Wouldn’t discount the Salomon quick-lace system

I’ve been using this system daily on all my shoes (it’s that good i fit the system to all my other laced shoes) for the last 15 years, it’s reliable and works great

For hiking i usually take a spare lace and plastic tensioner, not needed to use it yet