La Sportiva Raptor

I’ll admit it: this one surprised me.

When I was first introduced to the Raptor last summer at Outdoor Retailer, I immediately thought of it as Wildcat’s Evil Twin. The similarity between the two shoes was obvious. It seemed like the Raptor looked a bit meaner than the Wildcat and, as I became familiar with the details of the Raptor’s design, I expected it to act a bit meaner than the Wildcat. Still, they look so much alike and have so much common DNA I wondered how different they could really be. You might say I expected the differences between the Raptor and the Wildcat to be more than cosmetic, but not much more. That isn’t really how it turned out.

The Same Platform
(Full Wildcat review here.)

The Raptor is built on the same last, called the Tempo, as the Wildcat. La Sportiva accurately calls out the fit of this last as medium/wide. As a point of comparison, both shoes are considerably more spacious, especially in the heel and midfoot areas, than Sporties built on their Racing last (i.e. Skylite, Crosslite, and Fireblade). So both the Raptor and Wildcat are better choices for runners who have wider feet and/or like to provide for more in-run foot swelling.

The Raptor and Wildcat also have the same basic midsole specs, in terms of both thickness and density. Neither of these are low, flat shoes. Rather, they are built to absorb plenty of shock, especially in the heel. This level of shock absorption can come in handy for some of us all the time (heel strikers), and for pretty much all of us some of the time (during descents, especially long, steep ones).

TPU Heel Stabilizer

The final similarities worth noting are relatively minor: both the Raptor and Wildcat have a TPU heel stabilizer cup and a debris guard between the laces and tongue.

Things Get Interesting

The Raptor differs from the Wildcat in three significant ways.

Upper (f/ TPU Lace Cage)

1.  Instead of a very airy (and somewhat delicate) mesh upper, the upper of the Raptor is made of a more rugged mesh with synthetic leather overlays along the sides of the shoe. These changes add significant protection and durability while sacrificing a bit of breathability. The overlays also provide a solid anchor for the TPU lace cage.

2.  The Wildcat has a 2.4mm EVA cushion in its footbed, which is one of the main sources of the shoe’s relatively plush ride. In designing the Raptor, La Sportiva dropped this element. The result is a significantly firmer, and slightly lower, ride. (Click here to view a cross-section of the Wildcat midsole, including the layer of EVA cushion.)

Outsole

3.  The outsole of the Raptor is made of Frixon XF, whereas the Wildcat — and the rest of Sportiva’s mountain running lineup — features Frixion AT. What does that mean? If you are familiar with any of Sportiva’s other trail running shoes, you already know that an outsole made of Frixon AT equals a very sticky shoe, befitting the company’s cross-disciplinary expertise in climbing shoes. Well, the XF compound is even stickier. It is the same compound Sportiva uses in their approach shoes, and is just one category short of what they use in their flat-out climbing shoes. In other words, the Raptor outsole is seriously sticky.

Trail Manners

In many respects, the Raptor actually behaves a lot like shoes in the “tank” category: its chassis offers a very firm, stable ride, while its upper offers enough protection for even the nastiest trail conditions. The medium-wide fit provides plenty of room for swelling, which the TPU lace cage balances out by enabling a very snug fit all the way around the mid-foot.

This profile is (obviously) very different from the Wildcat, which is more of a plush, lightweight cruiser that really shines on fireroads and other lower-leverage terrain. Where the Wildcat is one of the more pavement-friendly trail shoes around, you won’t really appreciate the Raptor’s virtues until you put it through the ringer. The hairier the trail, the happier these shoes are.

And then there’s this: unlike most tanks, the Raptor is a very, very light shoe, weighing nearly the same as the Wildcat, which is roughly the same as the racy Fireblade and only slightly more than the even racier Crosslite. Interesting twist.

My Opinion

Under most conditions, I personally prefer “less shoe” to “more shoe.” As in, relatively flat and relatively firm. But sometimes I want a bit more heel cushion for long, hard descents. And sometimes, when the outing is likely to include a serious dose of bushwacking, I like a bit more protective upper. On those occasions, the Raptor is quickly becoming my shoe of choice: it’s everything I want from a burly shoe, but significantly lighter and more nimble than what I usually expect from such a rugged shoe.

The Raptor has the same roomy foot environment as the Wildcat, but the lace cage allows me to all-but-eliminate any squirreliness that might come from quick, twisty steps over very technical stuff. Adding considerably to the confidence-inspiring feeling of the Raptor is the XF outsole compound. The Raptor is easily the stickiest trail running shoe I’ve ever laced up — an absolute joy on any trail surface where grip is at a premium. If you’re like me, you’ll find yourself wondering if it’s possible to literally climb walls in them.

My go-to “test lab” includes a semi-long, extremely technical descent on slickrock. In the Raptor, I find myself throwing caution to the wind and taking dicey sections faster than I’ve ever dared before. I just point ‘em downwards and hang on tight!

Wear Note

This was not a long term test (only about 50 miles) so I cannot say anything definitive about the Raptor’s durability, which has been one of the few criticisms I’ve heard of the Wildcat with any consistency. (This should really not be terribly surprising, since the Wildcat design is optimized for relatively low-leverage terrain.)

There is little doubt in my mind that the upper of the Raptor will withstand serious abuse. Less clear, in my mind, is how the midsole will hold up.

Generally, a less dense midsole like that of the Raptor/Wildcat will break down noticeably more quickly than shoes with very dense midsoles (e.g. Fireblades). Less dense midsoles feel “cushy” out of the box, but lose that feeling with the lost “dead space” that comes from repeated impact. This phenomenon is especially noticeable with most road shoes.

So it might seem the loss of “that cushy feeling” should occur with the Raptor at about the same rate as it does to the Wildcat. However, remember that the Raptor does not have a 2.4mm EVA footbed, as the Wildcat does. It’s entirely possible that the breakdown of this particular feature represents a significant part of what Wildcat owners experience when they notice a loss of cushion as the miles accumulate. For that reason, I suspect that the Raptor midsole will retain, over time, more of its cushion (or lack thereof) than the Wildcat. But it’s too soon for me to say for certain.

Manufacturer’s Specifications

Price: $110
User: Unisex
Claimed Weight: 12.28 oz/ 348 g
Last: Tempo 2
Fit: Medium/Wide
Upper: AirMesh/ Synthetic Leather/ TPU Lacing Harness/ TPU Transkinetic Heel Stabilizer
Lining: Mesh (back half and tongue only)
Midsole: MeMlex/ Nylon Molded Flex Transfer shank
Midsole Height (MM): Heel: 28 mm Toe: 16mm Delta: 12mm
SOLE: FriXion®XF/ Impact Brake System™ X-Axis™

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Raptor Store Page (Unisex) >>

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