Damn. I wished these worked for me, I love the OG Prodigios and still run in them and love them. Tried these in multiple sizes and they made my feet ache like hell even just walking in them and I have never had that experience in any shoe before.
So very strange, esp considering all of my climbing and trail running shoes have always been Sportiva and never had any issues like that!
Damn. I wished these worked for me, I love the OG Prodigios and still run in them and love them. Tried these in multiple sizes and they made my feet ache like hell even just walking in them and I have never had that experience in any shoe before.
So very strange, esp considering all of my climbing and trail running shoes have always been Sportiva and never had any issues like that!
Two of my tops
[La Sportiva Prodigio](https://www.lasportivausa.com/prodigio.html) - Nice comfortable wider toe box. Some have mentioned the Pro I have yet to try.
[Salomon Genesis](https://www.salomon.com/en-us/product/genesis-li5372) - Would wear on more technical terrain, more snug fitting and plush than Prodigio.
Want to try the [Nnormal Kjerag 02](https://www.nnormal.com/en_US/content/kjerag-02)
Can’t beat the rubber on the mutants, but I’ve never ran in bushidos as they didn’t fit my feet. I also have the original Prodigio and the Pro’s. Mutants are more cushioned than the original Prodigios and the original Prodigios aren’t bad, but the stiff outer on the ankle brim would sometimes jab into my ankles on the downhills. The Pro’s are fun to run in, but not sure how they would be scrambling anything harder than 4th class.
Here's my video where I go through all the Prodigio's
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPTkQUDUmJ0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPTkQUDUmJ0)
OG Prodigio is going to be a bit less cush, less softer, and narrower.
If you look at the new Prodigio 2, it's a lot more like the Prodigio Pro, just not as racy.
I would suggest the regular Prodigio. The Pros are awesome, but may have softer cushion than you're looking for. The OG Prodigio is fairly minimal for a shoe with enough cushion for ultra distances (I've worn them for up to 50M, and the back half of a 100k, and they were great and could have gone longer.) Bonus, you may be able to find them on sale.
They're great shoes. Fit is obviously the most important thing, but the newer LaSpo models fit a lot more people than some of the older models did.
You'll want to try them on, but depending on your preferences, any of the three Prodigio models could be a good choice. The regular Prodigio are a great all-purpose shoe, the Pro are a great option for races or faster paced stuff, and the Max are nice for people who need or want more cushion.
The Mutant and the Prodigio Pro are very different shoes. The Mutant is quite firm, and fairly rigid, heavy, and narrow with deep lugs. The Pro Pro is much lighter, has a more accommodating fit, and uses a great new midsole that's much more responsive and bouncy. It uses the brand's stickiest rubber compound, so no need to worry about grip. The lugs are shallower and flatter but that's a good thing on rock, for the most part.
Most people that have tried the Pro really enjoy it, but the fit is different and trying them on will tell you a lot.
Consider the La Sportiva Prodigio or Prodigio Pro. I've gone up to 85k in the regular Prodigio and could have gone farther; I wore the Pro for a 100M this year and they did well. The regular Prodigio will probably be more similar to what you're already wearing. Both have good energy return but the Pro foam feels much "faster".
Of course, none of this matters if they don't fit you well, so you have to try them on.
You have to try them on. All the ones you listed fit differently.
The Prodigio is a great shoe and you may be able to find it on sale right now. Most people need 1/2 to a full size up from their usual.
La Sportiva. Multiple ≤100ks in the regular Prodigio, 100 M in the Pro, next one will be in the Max.
So much depends on fit though. What works for others may not work for you.
I ran a 100M in my Pro Pros and they were great. The only caveat with them is that if your feet swell a lot, you can only loosen them so much because of the integrated bootie construction.
For my next 100 I'd choose the Max simply because of that.
I've run up to 50M, and the last 40k of a 100k, in the regular Prodigio and I thought they were plenty for that distance and my feet felt great. Of course, everyone's different.
They handle mud better than you'd think (and I live in an area with heavy clay mud for much of the year) but of course they won't dig in quite as much as, like, a Mudclaw.
For any of the Prodigio line (or La Sportiva in general) you'll want to size up 1/2 to a full size from your usual.
I wear my Prodigios (original version) as my primary road to trail shoe. They seem to do a great job at this, but admittedly they see a lot more trail than road. I use a newer pair for the long trail runs and an older pair when I’ll be mostly on the road. Have a few pairs because was training for some long (for me) races last year.
My techy running shoe is the La Sportiva Bushido. They feel very stable and built like a tank. I use the La Sportiva Prodigios for longer runs and they do fine on technical terrain but the Bushido feels more stable due to the less cushioning. I feel cushioning is the tradeoff for longer runs run comfort at the expense of some stability, but either seem to work in technical terrain.
Top Trail Running Shoes on Reddit
1
Mount to Coast
H1
85% positive of 177 users
Versatile road-to-trail, but struggles on wet, technical downhills.
Bella_Climbs
