Ultra Raptor II Wide Mountain Running® Shoe

You undoubtedly know this already, but there's [a lot of variation in trail runners](https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/trail-running-shoes.html) that have their strengths and weaknesses in different areas. You want something that's strong or versatile for your particular use cases. For hiking, I use a trail runner with a grippy outsole and a protected toe box (La Sportiva Ultra Raptor II).

La Sportiva Ultra Raptor Mid II GTX or Salomon X Ultra would be your best bets. The Ultra Raptor is more narrow. The current X Ultra is a bit more generous in its toebox. They are both very light, but you still get some protection from water and debris because of the high(ish) collar. Note that the collar of these boots provides literally 0 ankle support, though that is the case with ***most*** modern synthetic boots. If you want ankle support, you're better off using a brace, or you have to take the weight penalty and go to a more sturdy, tall boot, such as the Asolo TPS 520 GV Evo, Scarpa Kinesis Pro GTX, etc., etc. Since you do trail running, I'm sure you'll be much more content with the Ultra Raptor or X Ultra than a backpacking boot.

Before I answer, please be aware that you don’t need to spend a fortune. That being said, I work to feed my mountaineering addiction and spend the majority of my spare time outdoors. At the moment, this is what I use. They cover almost every condition you will face in the UK (and below 3000m in Europe). The only thing I don’t do, is climb vertical ice. La Sportiva Ultra Raptor II They do both a low trail runner (more of a fast hike-I wouldn’t run in them) and a mid-boot. Amazingly comfortable and the grip is excellent on both rock and wet grass. La Sportiva TX4 The best scrambling boot you can buy. Grip on rock is outstanding. Rubbish on wet grass in my opinion. They have been replaced with the TX4 EVO which I haven’t tried. La Sportiva Aequilibrium Trek Super comfortable, light leather boot. Grip on all surfaces is good. My go to boot if conditions are bad in the warmer months. La Sportiva Aequilibrium LT Leather winter mountaineering boot for ice and snow. Take crampons and will cope with relatively steep ice. Salomon Speedcross (I have used 3 and 6-both outstanding). I love these. Amazingly comfortable, grip is good but there is limited foot protection. My favourite for trail running over muddy terrain or well worn paths. I wouldn’t take these up a mountain but I have friends that do. All of the footwear I use has a technical fit so they won’t suit everyone. I hope this helps you.

The old La Sportiva TX4 would be my choice. Good fit for most people, comfortable and the grip on rock is outstanding. They occasionally pop up on eBay in virtually unused condition. The TX4 EVO which replaced them might be worth a look if they fit in your budget. They are slightly narrower and stiffer than the old TX4. Reviews seem to be split over whether that is a good or bad thing. Ultra Raptor II are also worth a look. They run narrow but do a wide fit too. I have the wides and they fit slightly wider than average sizing. Definitely not a wide fit as the name suggests. Pretty stable on most surfaces. Not as sticky as the TX4 and they don’t have a climbing zone. Super comfortable and a good compromise though.

I have a pair of Ultra Raptor II and a pair of Aequilibrium Trek - both have been totally waterproof. I have done a fair few miles in the Ultra Raptor’s. Doesn’t help your situation, but La Sportiva aren’t all bad.

This is it! I made the swap from full boots to these last year for similar reasons, and honestly they’ve held up way better than I expected. I do a lot of mixed hiking and the occasional jog, and the grip has never let me down even on some sketchy scrambles. My feet are pretty narrow too and the fit has been just right. 

In late June 2025, I completed an 11-day trip in the Brooks Range, exploring multiple rivers, valleys and watersheds in a northern corner of Gates of the Arctic National Park. Along with 6 other hikers and 2 guides (as part of a guided trip), we traversed a truly stunning and immense place, on some of the most difficult terrain I've ever hiked in. My full trip report [**is here**](https://medium.com/@OutdoorRadio/off-trail-in-gates-of-the-arctic-120-miles-in-alaskas-wildest-national-park-5904c39e4d79), featuring excessive details and several dozen beautiful photos. Below is a streamlined trip report, followed by gear reflections and more. **Where:** Okokmilaga River to Anaktuvuk Pass, Gates of the Arctic NP, Brooks Range, Alaska **When:** 2025-06-20 + 10 days **Distance:** \~120 miles, \~15K vert gain **Conditions:** Temps ranging from high 40Fs to low 60Fs **Photos**: [https://medium.com/@OutdoorRadio/off-trail-in-gates-of-the-arctic-120-miles-in-alaskas-wildest-national-park-5904c39e4d79](https://medium.com/@OutdoorRadio/off-trail-in-gates-of-the-arctic-120-miles-in-alaskas-wildest-national-park-5904c39e4d79) **Shortened Report**: **Day 0** Delta screwed me on my flights, offering zero customer service and next-to-nothing for their issues that resulted in me not making a connection. Spent about $1,300 booking a last-second flight to Fairbanks. (Booked 90 min before it took off.) Still worth it not to miss the trip. Fairbanks is a cool town. Neverending forests and lots of neat people. I really enjoy it, and I hope to spend time there again. We meet up with guides (Katie and Aaron) and fellow hikers (Conor, Micah, Noah, Jorge, Joe, Roman) for a shakedown, and I got a shakedown from the man himself! Andrew is very nice in person, and his enthusiasm to be back in AK was contagious. I may have gotten too excited about the amount of gear he said I didn't have to bring, and left a few things at home I wanted. Great Thai food in town for dinner. **Day 1** We flew from Wright Airfield aboard a Helio Courier, which is an absolutely sick plane. Katie, Noah and I flew directly into Gates of the Arctic NP (GAAR), while everyone else flew to Anaktuvuk Pass. Our pilot then shuttled them in. We start hiking around 5pm, immediately finding a violent caribou kill site. All that was left was viscera, some spinal stuff, a pelvis, and a tracking collar. Sobering intro to the Brooks. Our feet were soaked within 90 seconds of starting. Shoes would stay wet for 11 days straight. We camp with an incredible sunny view of the Okokmilaga valley, feasting on beans and rice to start the trip right. The midnight sun was epic, and I enjoyed falling asleep in broad daylight. **Days 2-4** These days sent us straight into the hardest terrain of the trip. Tussock-filled, ice-water-soaked, shoe-sucking wet walking that ate away at your energy with every step. Katie had warned us that we'd be extra hungry here. Unfortunately, I didn't heed her warning and ended up low on daily calories. I spend the trip mourning my high-carb, low-protein diet while portioning out each snack to last me til the next one. I'd have 1 peanut butter cup and 100 cal of cashews, then wait 90 min til I could eat the next one. We travers through half a dozen incredible watersheds and valleys, taking in the most-expansive views I'd ever seen. Reminders of death are scattered across the Arctic in the form of antlers, skulls, vertebrae, and chewed-off legs. Signs of climate change are rampant, with deep/vertical erosion scars called thermokarsts and degraded areas that have turned orange with over-mineralization that kills every thing it touches. Even the excessive willows, alders and bushes we traipse through are a sign of climate change, known as the Greening of the Arctic. (The warming temperatures are allowing brush and forest to move north, covering the range in an ever-growing sea of vegetation.) It's impossible to have any rational denial of climate change when on the ground here. Our breakfasts and dinners are delicious, a well-earned time to socialize and meet my companions. Each one of the guys plus gal were excellent companions, and we spent hours chatting about everyone's interesting and differing lives. With a starting weight around 37-38 lbs, I thought I'd notice my pack's weight more. Instead, I hardly noticed it until later in the trip when we started climbing real passes. My training seemed to have paid off, and I was thrilled to not have gone any more UL given how cold and hungry I was. There's no flat ground in the Arctic, but the most and grass is soft, so we were able to make body indentations into sloped ground where needed. 2/3 nights were spent in the tents due to rain-storms, including camping in a field surrounded by bear scat. Despite enjoying the beauty and being thrilled to be there, my mind rebels often. The thought of 'why am I doing this do myself?' was omnipresent. I mention to Katie that I hadn't had a 'fun' moment in 3-4 days, and she agrees that the Brooks really only gives you challenge. It's afterwards that you get hooked on this. Not much wildlife, other than a mesmerizing encounter with an Arctic fox! **Days 5-8** Deep into the Brooks at this point. The creeks we cross are bigger than most rivers I've seen in the Lower 48, but nameless. The valleys are the same. We visit [Agiak Lake](https://www.nps.gov/gaar/learn/historyculture/landscape-archaeology-at-agiak-lake.htm), marveling at its views and its deep human history. Micah snaps a pole while tripping in the mud and somehow manages to nail Joe in the face with a spritz of bear spray. We spend one morning crossing a river 10-20x while I'm shaking in every rain layer I own and fighting to stay out of hypothermia risk. Our high mountain plateaus are stunning and magical, our low valleys heinous but beautiful. Anything that looks like it will be firm or solid footing in the Arctic is a lie. If it looks like grass, it's tussocks or mud. If it looks like solid boulder-hopping, it's loose and filled with ankle-breakers. My Ultra Raptors protect my feet well but still slide around wildly. I feel like an idiot at how much I stumble and hang off my poles. Compared to everyone else, I look like I'm drunk off my ass and stumbling home through the Arctic. We descend one of the most beautiful grassy couloirs I've ever seen. One of the walls we find looks like a miniature Chinese Wall (in the Bob Marshall Wilderness). The group manages to startle a Golden Eagle, who buzzes our heads so closely that we hit the deck. They sometimes kill sheep and goats, which means it easily could have merked any of us. The eviscerated hawk spine nearby is evidence to the majesty of these birds. Camps are all beautiful and I'm sleeping pretty deeply. Unlike everyone else, this is the best sleep I've had in 10 months (new father) and I'm more rested and recovered than ever. I miss my wife and child, but the fact that I *can't* bail on this trip early makes it much more tolerable. Slowly, my body has adapted to the calorie intake (3,100 cal/day, mostly carbs and sugar). I promise myself that I'm done eating a thruhiker's diet on future trips. Despite how miserable the walking is, I'm still marveling at the enormity of this place. I wanted to be as far from civilization as I could be -- and we did it. We move out of the lower valleys and start climbing mountain passes on the northern edge of the park. The terrain becomes slightly less swampy, giving firmer footing (albeit with loose or slippery rock). We bag a 4,900 ft. peak, which has stunning views but is literally one of tens (hundreds?) of thousands in this mountain range. And, finally, the moment of truth: we encounter a mother grizzly and her 3 yearling cubs. It's exhilarating and terrifying and uneventful all at once. We watch each other closely for 10-15 minutes as we slowly move past one-another. The adrenaline dump afterwards is ridiculous. It's the most magnificent animal encounter I've had since...the Golden Eagle 2 days beforehand! **Days 9-11** Finally, I start to hit my stride. This corner of the park has sparser vegetation, more gravel braids or rock hopping, bigger views. We climb a few more passes and another peak, each climb paying off in obscenely-beautiful views. From high points, we stare out onto the Northern Slope, a neverending horizon of tundra and swamp that stretches hundreds of miles to the Bering Sea. This is everything I could have imagined the Brooks Range to be. I talk with Katie about solo traverses, asking her details about her theoretical plans while secretly starting to formulate some of mine. The list of partners I'd bring to Alaska is small, but I'd love to share some miles with Dan or Bites here. I chat with Jorge about the ITI350, and feel real surges of confidence in my chances, despite the differing terrain. We hike up valleys choked by rockslides, cross amazing passes, and drop down into riverbeds -- then repeat. Meals are more and more delicious, and my sleep is slowly degrading. I notice how glued to the Inreach I am compared to everyone else, but I also love to have a little connection. We spend more and more time in the tent as the thunderstorms are kicking in around 4pm now. On our second-to-last day, Katie leads us up a gasp-inducing climb onto the Continental Divide! Astonishing views as usual, and I marvel at how a scary, tiny ridgeline on CalTopo is actually 5+ football fields wide. Never underestimate how weird the 1:62,500 map scale can be. We're ready to be done by the end of day 10, where we spend all afternoon sidehilling tricky, grass rocks and crossing an awfully loose talus pile. The sun comes out on us as we make camp, and I roast so hard in it that I dehydrate quite a bit. Instead of raining on us, the skies warm us during dinner and we spend a lovely last hour talking through everything that has been so positive and affirming on this trip. Perhaps most fortunately, everyone feels strongly that they'd do another trip with anyone in the crew. It's unusual to get this type of camaraderie from strangers. On Day 11, I lead the charge down Contact Creek Valley to Anaktuvuk Pass. My town legs are moving, and we cruise 2-3x as fast as anything on the trip. Anaktuvuk Pass is a Native-owned village just outside of GAAR. It's hundreds of miles from the Dalton Highway or any civilization, accessible only by plane or snow machine in winter. It's a strange mix of entrancing and sobering, and I think to myself how all the mountain towns we have in the Lower 48 are really just pretending to exist in wilderness. We visit the town store to celebrate, and I crush an intoxicating mix of Vienna sausage, lime-twist Fritos, jerky, ice cream and more. As we sit by the dirt airfield, I'm filled with such a deep sense of pride and satisfaction. My wife messages me that my Sister-in-Law has started labor. Before the plane even picks us up, I'm already a new uncle! We watch village life proceed around us, as our 9-seater plane approaches from Fairbanks. Surprisingly, the plane lands and deposits [Darwin](https://www.youtube.com/@DarwinOnthetrail) and a 2-man camera team. I chat briefly with him, remembering that he'd been planning a hike/float traverse of the Brooks. I think to myself how floating in the Brooks is the optimal form of travel. And then we're in the air, flying across these beautiful, mysterious and unknowable mountains. I get a strange feeling of 'I'll never be back here again' as we fly away, and I hope that this isn't true. Regardless, there's something about 11 days in the Brooks that I'll never be able to explain. Alaska is everything they say it is, and more! **Gear Thoughts**: This was my best-packed trip. As silly as it sounds, it was very satisfying to nail my kit and packing so well after 10+ years and thousands of miles hiked. I wasn't psyched on filling out Skurka's custom packing sheet, but it made me focus on details that I've ignored over the years (recycling lighterpacks) and resulted in a tight list. One thought on packing for AK: you can get too UL. This sounds funny given my 9,000g skin-out weight, but it's true. I left a few things out that I would have liked (eg 32F tights for sleeping) and forgot a few more things that were important. The safety margin in AK is significantly thinner than the Lower 48, and it's better to be prepared. I would have been much more comfortable with another 1-3 lbs of gear and food, and I wouldn't have noticed the weight difference. My main 'gear' issue was my food packing. I under-packed by at least 500 calories per day, and my usual diet of thruhiker sugar and carbs wasn't satiating. Moving forward, I'll be bringing a fat block of Parmesan with me, and possibly a daily protein shake. The Snickers are still hitting but they need to be followed with protein and fat. The below are some gear items that stood out for being great, surprisingly mediocre, or terrible. **The Good** * **Gatorade 1L Sport bottle**: these are the bottles that football players use during games. I heard Nick Fowler raving about this on a podcast (maybe [this](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/81-nick-fowler-arizona-trail-fkt-overall-and-self-supported/id1616882162?i=1000677849576) one?), and I've been hooked since. Built-in sport cap doesn't get lost, wide mouth for pouring in powders, insane fill rate if you're using aquamira as filtration. Really happy with such a cheap, small kit improvement. * **LL Bean Men's Insect Shield Field Hoodie**: I was surprised at how little a synthetic hoodie smelled at the end of 11 days with no showers. It smelled significantly better than one of my Patagonia hoodies after 2 days of backpacking. Plus, it has a very cozy skin feeling, and kept the bugs off. Normally, I'd treat gear at home but I decided to spring for real insect shield given Alaska's notorious bug pressure. * **Eddie Bauer ‘fleece’** ([link to different product](https://www.adventurealan.com/product/backcountry-highliner-fleece-review/)): Bought this because of this comment from a[ Redditor](https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/1j7lb5r/backcountrycom_highliner_primaloft_active_evolve/), but I think EB has canceled it. This uses Primaloft Active, which is incredibly breathable and light. I’ve been using this layer for winter racing because ‘normal’ fleeces put me in sweats with even a mild effort. Not very durable, but the best active layer I’ve tried. * **Sealskinz Waterproof Socks**: I have a couple pairs of these, so I wasn't willing to shell out money on neoprene socks. They turned out to be the best camp shoe fix I've found. My bread bags tore the first night, and I ended up using these exclusively. Burly enough to walk in just the socks on moss, and very warm when paired with my disgusting, slimy, wet shoes. Too heavy but worth it. * **Rain gear**: I've been a die-hard Anti-Gravity Gear sil wearer for years. Paying for real three-layer GoreTex was an excellent upgrade for this trip. I'll continue with a sil jacket for most summer/fall backpacking trips, but real rain protection is critical for safety and comfort in AK. * **La Sportiva Ultra Raptor II**: This is probably an optimal off-trail shoe for travel in places like AK or the PNW. ([Just ask Climber Kyle](https://climberkyle.com/2023/09/24/high-route-gear-in-the-cascades/).) They're burly and super protective. I was surprised at the lack-of-traction in a few areas but it's unlikely that another shoe is much grippier. I'd also consider a Bushido since it's more stable, but the tradeoff in foot cushioning makes it a wash. Boy, these things hold odor and slime like you wouldn't believe... The Mid-iocre * **MLD Solomid XL**: This tent *feels* dated. It works well and is bomb-proof, but it just reminds me of 2017 UL vibes, where gear was finicky and not sleek but worked. Given modern gear improvements, I'd have taken another tent if I owned a 1P tent. * **Outdoor Research Ferrosi pants**: Insanely comfortable and quick-drying (maybe 2x faster than anyone else on the trip), but these $90 pants started pilling within a day of use. Worst pilling I've ever seen on gear. They probably aren't designed to be soaked with icy water for 16 hours a day, but still was frustrating. * **ULA Circuit**: An amazing pack that has > 5K hard miles on it. This thing got me through the PCT, my CDT LASH, and countless other trips. Alas, 2 of 3 buckles have snapped, some of the straps just slip through the plastic bits, there's abrasion holes, and there's too many water-resistant materials to justify continuing to use it. Looking forward to my newly-ordered SWD in Ultra 400. **The Terrible** * **Thermarest X-Lite (old crinkly version):** This one’s on me. I’ve got my wife’s size S from the PCT, before Thermarest updated their materials to not sound like your cat is rolling around in potato chips while chewing gravel. It’s too small for me and doesn’t work for side-sleeping. I will be putting it in the ‘spare parts’ bin in our garage in favor of a new one **Gear List**: Apologies for the weird formatting (Medium doesn't allow section-linking afaik). Gear list screenshots are [here](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:676/format:webp/1*XMWRQ_gcYc8PaSvL4Xl2LA.png), [here](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:660/format:webp/1*Lt7gIGKZK4SEcc0DdzdvtA.png), [here](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:666/format:webp/1*kAes35k0ljtCHoRjW6EFLg.png), [here](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:702/format:webp/1*il4PkqAyWZNujaZ1ZFHMJw.png), [here](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:702/format:webp/1*grDnZagaIcFxIWbB5T7jQA.png) and [here](https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:598/format:webp/1*G_ScsIKETr5QxomX0wO3KQ.png). Below are 'totals' but the weight was likely a bit lower, as I dropped \~1 lb of gear the night before the trip. **Worn Weight**|2054.3g **Base Weight**|7849.5g **Skin-Out Weight**|9903.8g **Fitness**: I've been working with a [running coach](https://www.scienceofultra.com/) since December. Shawn is excellent, and it's really helpful to outsource my brain for training to someone who's infinitely more-qualified than me. We had 7 weeks from when I signed up until the trip. Shawn quickly worked in a schedule of weighted pack hikes, max vert accumulation sessions, bike intervals, and a variety of aerobic longer days (e.g., 2 hour ruck followed by 1 hour Z2 run). I've learned that running alone does not work for my preparation to pursue high routes or off-trail trips, and Shawn crafted great programming in a shorter timeline. Unfortunately, with 3 weeks to go, I experienced the worst stomach flu of my life, followed by multiple days of travel. I missed about 2 weeks of final training, but managed to recover enough before arriving in Alaska. I only noticed this missed training on 2-3 climbs towards the end of the trip, when I was already fatigued from days of tent sleeping. I have some serious long-term goals, which make coaching a no-brainer. If you're a runner or pursuing tough or fast trips, I'd highly suggest using a coach if it's financially possible! **Thoughts on Guided Trips**: There are plenty of posts about guided trips on r/Ultralight, so I won't be long-penned. I loved the guided environment, felt like I got more than money’s worth, and would whole-heartedly endorse a trip with Andrew’s company. The most-impressive aspect was how well they matched our ‘Hard’ fitness level participants together. While I think any one of us could have finished the ‘Ultra’ trip, we were all remarkably similar in pacing and disposition. Given potential variances of self-evaluation via a Google Form, I give serious props for matching us together so well. The guides were excellent.[ **Katie**](https://www.instagram.com/katiegerber/) is someone I’ve wanted to meet for a long time after reading her blogs and various TRs. She was kind, thorough, extremely knowledgeable, and fun.[ **Aaron**](https://climbalaska.org/classic-agency/why-ams/our-team/aaron-divine/) is the same, but brings a mountain guide + professorial flair. This was their first time guiding together, and it was fun to see them getting to know each other while operating like seasoned partners. Their knowledge of flora and fauna was perfect, and added a layer of depth I'd never get on my own. The value of coordinating bush flights alone is worth the cost of a Skurka trip. Adding a safety net of experienced guides and a friendship aspect of men/women who are just as stoked as myself were bonuses. With my previous lack of Arctic experience, I likely would not have convinced myself to spend the requisite money to for an initial solo trip to the Brooks. This trip gave me enough experience to be confident doing a solo trip to the range now. **Thoughts on Alaska**: There's nothing else like it. You can devour all the memoirs, field guides, ski movies, Instagram Reels, and stories, and you’ll get an understanding. But you won’t get truly get it until you go there. edit: forgot to mention bugs! We got extremely lucky with an unusually-late spring melt and cold start to summer. I think we slipped in there right before blood pressure really exploded. Never put on my head net, only got a few bites per day.

I blew through a pair of ultra raptors on one mountain hike. Got a full replacement warranty.I did love the traction but the durability against the terrain I was on didn’t hold up. I switched to la Sportiva prodigio pros, by far the best shoe I’ve ever worn.

I have hiking boots for rocks and snow. Trail running shoes for anything else. Hoka was good shoes but it's kinda bulky. Merrel Moab 3 as affordable choice, La Sportiva Ultra Raptor II as expensive one.