Initial Report – La Sportiva Rajas Trail Running Shoes

Tester: Andrew Claus

December 2, 2005

Tester Information:

Age: 48

Gender: Male

Height: 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)

Weight: 150 lb (68 kg)

Shoe size:  44 European (10.5 US)

Email: andrewclaus@yahoo.com

Home region: Evergreen, Colorado (Front Range foothills of the Rockies)

Backpacking Background:

I live and play in the Colorado Rockies.  I have been backpacking, backcountry skiing, and bicycle touring for over twenty five years.  I have recently begun through-hiking and fast-packing.  I through-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail in 2004.  I’m not quite a fanatic ultra light packer yet but my pack base weight is as low as 10 lb (5 kg) if I don’t bring a stove and pot.  I use a tarp, a bivy, or no shelter at all.  I get out year-round on day-trips in all kinds of weather, especially weekly backcountry ski trips.

Product Description: 

Manufacturer: La Sportiva

Product: #304 Rajas trail running shoe

Color: Gray/Orange

Weight as listed: 28 oz (790 g)

Weight as tested: 30.8 oz (870 g)

Year of manufacture: 2005

MSRP: US$90

URL: www.sportiva.com

The shoes are predominantly gray, with black toe and heel pieces and a black stripe, and with a few pieces of orange trim.  They look pretty good, I think.  They’re not too gaudy for my middle-aged tastes.  The orange isn’t too much.

The uppers and the tongue are mesh construction.  The heel area is reinforced with solid material.  There is a hard plastic short shank in the instep area of the shoe.

The soles are made of Frixion, a black rubber material (see the website for more details).  There are two deep grooves in the tread pattern running across the width of the shoes.  These grooves are just behind the toe and right at the ball of the foot.  There is what appears to be a short piece of cord at the depth of each groove.

The shoes have conventional laces and are tied in the old fashioned way.  The laces pass through six pairs of fabric loops before reaching a pair of eyelets at the ankle.  There are no catches, latches, or hooks.

The website is full of technical language on materials and construction.  As an aside, I found an alternate website, www.lasportiva.com (the translated Italian version, I think), showing a listed weight of 630 g (22 oz).  

The attached hangtag is in English and is a warrantee/product registration card. 

Initial Report:

My first impression on the shoes was that they are light enough to please my through-hiker sensibilities.  I’m very pleased with the weight.

The Frixion soles are listed on the website as “sticky”, which concerned me a little.  To me, “sticky” means “fast wearing”.  But the soles seem to be hard to the touch and look like they will wear well.  I don’t plan on needing “sticky” soles for trail use—I’m not engaging in technical climbing, after all.  The tread pattern looks fairly aggressive.  It looks like something I’d readily take in all conditions, from sand to snow.

I really like the way the shoes bend at the grooves in the soles mentioned in “Product Description” above.  The toe area is very flexible and the grooves look like they will provide for excellent traction.  I don’t know why there is cording material in the grooves.

The plastic shank provides substantial stiffness in the instep area of the shoe.

The uppers appear to be very well ventilated and they look like they will dry quickly.  I can see light through the mesh in the toe and instep areas.

When I put them on, after the initial relief of having ordered the correct shoe size (always a risk in mail-order shoes), I realized that they’re a little narrow for me.  In a shoe store I would probably try other brands to find a better fit.  But I think these will work okay for the test period.  The good news with these shoes is that the sizing seems to match other manufacturers I’ve worn lately.

Initial pluses are: a) the shoes feel quite light, b) they look like they’re well ventilated and quick drying, and c) the sole design looks and feels versatile, soft enough for traction, hard enough to wear well, and d) the price seems competitive.

The only initial minus I can find is that they feel a little narrow.

Testing Strategy:

I do not engage in trail running as a sport, but I have been using nothing but trail running shoes for my last two years and nearly 3,500 mi (5,600 km) of backpacking.  I normally hike over 20 mi (32 km) per day on backpacking trips.  Shoe comfort, weight, and fit are of utmost importance.  Up to about 15 mi (25 km), it doesn’t seem to matter what I wear, but after that, shoe comfort is critical. I will exceed that threshold as often as possible during the test period.

I will use this shoe for backpacking and day hiking trips in the Colorado Front Range area.  I hope to get several hundred miles (up to 500 km) on these shoes.  I will try to get out on one desert backpacking trip in the American Southwest.  I will try the shoes on steep dirt trails and roads, fresh and hard-packed snow, some ice, and some asphalt and concrete.  I will try to find some spring snow pack near the end of the test period, but that’s unlikely.

I will evaluate the shoes for comfort, ventilation, traction, flexibility, protection from desert debris (seeds and thorns), ease of drying in various conditions, and ease of lacing and re-lacing.  I will pay attention to heel problem on long descents, and toe and ball problems on ascents.

I will evaluate wear on both visible and non-visible features.  In my experience, the material in the midsole tends to collapse under heavy use.  I will try to find a new pair of these shoes at a local retailer at the end of the test period to compare with the tested shoes.  New shoes always feel so cushy and the change is so gradual, it’s hard to detect.

I will also keep a close eye on foot health anomalies—odor, skin disease, inordinate blister problems, etc.

I will not use any supplemental or replacement insole products.  I will use athletic tape to cover any “hot spots” that may develop. 

I will generally use lightweight wool hiking socks (SmartWool or equal).  I may try some vapor barrier socks this winter if warmth becomes a problem.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to test these shoes.