La Sportiva Spire GTX Men EU 47.5 / Slate/Tropic Blue

I am not sure what took me so long to write this review, but I must say that I absolutely love these shoes! I bought them in early 2019 for a hiking trip to Spain (the Camino de Santiago) and have since used them extensively for hiking through the mountains and hills of California. Even though the tread on the soles is a little worn at this point, they're still as comfortable as they were on the first hike I took in them. I use orthotics for my flat feet and bought them a half-size bigger and they've been great! No blisters or hot spots ever! This is especially important due to the fact that my wife bought another brand for our Spain trip and had blisters after day two. I am in the market to get a new pair of boots/shoes and will definitely get another pair since I ... MoreI am not sure what took me so long to write this review, but I must say that I absolutely love these shoes! I bought them in early 2019 for a hiking trip to Spain (the Camino de Santiago) and have since used them extensively for hiking through the mountains and hills of California. Even though the tread on the soles is a little worn at this point, they're still as comfortable as they were on the first hike I took in them. I use orthotics for my flat feet and bought them a half-size bigger and they've been great! No blisters or hot spots ever! This is especially important due to the fact that my wife bought another brand for our Spain trip and had blisters after day two. I am in the market to get a new pair of boots/shoes and will definitely get another pair since I know they work well for me.

I have had these for about a month and they a pretty good shoes. I use them as a hiking shoe and daily shoe. For hiking they have worked wel. They have plenty of grip and work well in loose stuff or mud. They are also light enough that I use them as a daily shoe. If I had to complain about anything, it would be that they feel loose around the heel. They don’t slip exactly they just feel loose. Could just be me, but I purchase la sportiva almost exclusively and this is the first shoe I have noticed it in. It has gotten better with time though. Anyway, happy with the shoe and brand. It would probably take some serious disappointments to let go of the brand.

I am not the most experienced outdoorsman, but I have put a few different brands through the ringer, from marathon training in trail running shoes to climbing the Grand Teton, for whatever that's worth. I have always liked La Sportiva, so I was thrilled to find these shoes on sale a few days before a trip I was planning to Mt Blanca.I only had time to put about 12-15 miles into the shoes, mostly on flat ground, before heading to southern Colorado. 10-15 miles doesn't seem like an adequate break in period to me personally, so naturally I was worried I'd end up with tape all over my feet by the end of the weekend, but I had to give them a shot. Again, I've had good experience with the brand.I have a relatively average size 11 foot, as far as I can tell. I would ... MoreI am not the most experienced outdoorsman, but I have put a few different brands through the ringer, from marathon training in trail running shoes to climbing the Grand Teton, for whatever that's worth. I have always liked La Sportiva, so I was thrilled to find these shoes on sale a few days before a trip I was planning to Mt Blanca.I only had time to put about 12-15 miles into the shoes, mostly on flat ground, before heading to southern Colorado. 10-15 miles doesn't seem like an adequate break in period to me personally, so naturally I was worried I'd end up with tape all over my feet by the end of the weekend, but I had to give them a shot. Again, I've had good experience with the brand.I have a relatively average size 11 foot, as far as I can tell. I would have liked the arch to be a little higher in the shoe, but then again no other competitive brand suits my weirdly high arches. I tried putting a high arch insole into the shoe, ended up putting the factory one back in. The only other La Sportiva shoes I've owned were climbing shoes and approach shoes, which both had somewhat cramped toe boxes, and I assume that's by design--for the intended purpose. I noticed my toes were snug in the toe box, not cramped, but far more snug than other brands of trail running/hiking shoes I'd tried. This, I noticed later in the steeper parts of the easy class 2 parts of Blanca, made me feel even more secure in my footwork, as if I were wearing climbing shoes that some how hadn't felt like climbing or approach shoes during the miles of hiking to get near the peak. An exquisite balance of comfort and performance in rocky, steep terrain. Also I should mention they lace up very well. There's probably some industry terms to describe the engineering of grommets or whatever that reduce the backslide of laces while attempting to tighten up your boot strings but I lack the jargon. Suffice to say, it's good.The only negative things I can mention, I can just as easily rationalize away, but here they are. Obviously the "Spire GTX" are constructed using Gore-Tex. Gore-Tex may be breathable, but you're feet do get warm. This was noticeable in the late Texas summer, but not much of a problem at 11,000-14,000 feet in the Southern Rockies. Also the narrow toe box made down hiking a little uncomfortable, despite these shoes being sized appropriately to my feet. That being said, I didn't have a single blister by the time all was said an done. Just some slightly tender pinky toes that I had the sense to tape up when they started feeling hot.All in all, I consider these to be excellent shoes. Again, I got them on sale, but knowing what I know now, if these shoes got carried away tomorrow by a pack of wild dogs (which did happen to me and a different pair of shoes three years ago in Taos) I would absolutely buy them again at full MSRP.Pictures show shoes covered in dust from 20 miles of stomping around the Blanca Massif, minor wear expected.