Akasha II Mountain Running® Shoe

I was having ankle pain from over pronation and needed a shoe with stronger support, I ended up going back to my Sportiva Akasha’s and the pain started the let up right away. They’re a heavy shoe and may not fit your needs based on where you are but I like em! I also just got a pair of Sportiva prodigio pros that seem to be super cushiony but still supportive, but I only have 1 run on them

I found a pair in Italy when I was there a few weeks ago and they’re objectively the best shoes I’ve ever felt, however they don’t work with my feet-I get ankle pain in shoes that don’t have a super stable/supportive arch and heel. I wish I could use them but I can’t. Does anyone have any suggestions that feel like a blend between the Prodigio Pro and the Akasha? I love my Akashas, but my feet run very hot and they melt in them. A more breathable version of the Akashas with the same fit, cushion and support is what I’m trying to find! If anyone wants to buy my Prodigio Pro’s in a 45 EU worn twice for a total of maybe 10mi, let me know!

La Sportiva mountain runners are great. My favorite right now is the Akasha II's. Trail runners with rubber I'll trust on low 5th terrain. I even soloed a pitch of 5.6 in them recently. Bushidos are also great, cheap, but a little more minimal. That being said I used them for a long time. If you need high top shoes they have a couple high top trail runners with the same rubber. Unfortunately though, features don't matter if it don't fit so try them on

VJ Maxx 2 or La Sportiva Akasha II, depending on the goal.

I’m walking 100km later this month and swear by La Sportiva Akasha ii. They fit small so go up a size.

La Sportiva Akasha ii are my do it all shoes. Bushidos just don’t last very long for me, maybe 200mi before the outsole is worn almost flat and there is no grip. Akasha lasts forever.

I have run 10+ hours on trabuco 13s. In very technical high altitude terrain. Wide, cushioned enough without being soft so they work well on technical terrain, rock plate, and one of the best grips in the market. The upper is quite poor, in 250km in rough terrain the shoe looks awful, but still in use. Asics sent me a replacement pair. I tried lots of pairs looking for that long technical race. Nothing really was so confortable so I ended with my trusted trabucos. Maybe a v11 or v12 will work better in high mountain races, more durable upper and better lug pattern for rocky terrain, but less runnable. Pairs I tried, and ditched for not being wide/confortable enough to my foot: Mafate 4 speed, Topo MTN racer 3, Sportiva akasha 2, Salomon génesis (and slab genesis), Hierro v9, Zegama 2 (wide enough, but doesn't work for anything really technical, I use them for easy runs), Tomir 2.0 (weird sensation with the insoles)

Lowish stack, good grip outsole and not too soft. I have a quite difficult foot and not much shoes fit me well. I use to take for this kind of races trabuco 11 and 13. I would try tomir 2.0, akasha 2, trabuco, mafate speed 4/speedgoat, slab genesis, Topo MTN racer. This year im running 45km +4.000m in high mountain very technical terrain and im thinking to try the mount to coast T1. Last year I did a similar one, 43km +3.700m/-4.000m with the trabuco 13s and quite happy with them, i ended with "fresh" legs.

I had same problem with speedgoat 6 wide and Topo mtn racer 3, among other lot of shoes. Mafate speed 4s are a little wider/more volume than the speedgoats if you want to try hoka. I dont run on them more than 3 hours because they still feel narrow to me and cant size up more. Shoes that fit me well and could work for runnable with some technical sections: Asics trabuco 13s: My do it all shoe. From runnable to really technical, the upper gets ripped of easy. Not tall, not too soft but still cuishioned. I have run on them 10+ hours race in very technical high altitude terrain. Asics fujilite: If you are not heavy they could work. I use them for shorter racers and high intensity workouts. Very confortable, but dont have a rockplate and you could feel too much ground if the terrain is rocky. Merrel agility peak 5: Easy running and can handle some technical sections. Dont know if the 6 fits in the same way. Nike Zegama 2: Confortable for easy to moderate terrain. Too soft for really technical stuff in my opinion. Fits nice. Sportiva Akasha 2 and tomir 2: Maybe not the best for the runnable sections, but nice on the technical ones. They are roomy and confortable. I havent tried them but thinking of getting a pair of mount to coast T1 for this years big objetives. They are supposed to be roomy and confortable for long races.

I never liked the Bushido, but have run in the Akasha and Mutant a fair amount. The Prodigio Pro fits my foot a lot like the Mutant but with a much more responsive midsole and more forefoot room. The Prodigio Pro isn't an evolution of any existing LaSpo shoe, though -- it's a much bigger forward leap. Responsive, sticky like the Mutant, nimble, and far more stable in the heel than the Akasha. Would I scramble low 5th Class in the Prodigio Pro like I do in the Mutant? Probably not on purpose... But long runs are a dream in them.