First Impressions
La Sportiva is one of the pioneers in trail running and invented the term Mountain Running, which they trademarked. La Sportiva brought a range of experience to the Wildcat and made them lightweight and low to the ground. The company also made the Wildcat very good looking thanks to the inner booty screened with the La Sportiva logo and perforated mesh that allows the logo to show through. They picked great color combinations as well. Men’s comes in either a green/gray/black or yellow/gray/black. Women’s are available in plum/white or mint/white.
Features
There is no shortage of trail-running-specific features on the Wildcat. The aforementioned perforated mesh aids in breathability. The interior boot includes a built-in gaiter that keeps mud and debris from getting into the shoe.
The heel uses a plastic brace to improve stability on uneven terrain. The sole is constructed out of a proprietary FriXion rubber compound to improve grip. And the sole wraps up and caps the toe to protect your feet.
Although not the lightest in the test, the Wildcats are still respectable at 690 grams per pair.
Fit
The Wildcat is a great fitting shoe, comfortable right out of the box. It runs true to size with the medium-width toe box provides plenty of room for your forefoot. I did find, however, that this allowed for a little too much side-to-side movement when running on uneven terrain. Adding an aftermarket insole – like those from Superfeet – could solve the problem.
The lacing system ensures that there’s no heel lift in these shoes at all. In fact, the Wildcats were the best of the test in that area. Unfortunately the lacing system (and inner booty) also made these shoes tough to get on and off, a minor inconvenience when you consider all the shoe has going for it.
Final Verdict
La Sportiva created a great shoe for enjoying the sport of mountain running. It’s best for medium-width feet, has excellent grip, a cleverly engineered multi-layer upper and an extremely comfortable fit. Definitely check them out.