La Sportiva Crosslite trail running shoes

I became interested in La Sportiva Crosslite over a year ago, when I read Jared Campbell's Blog about running UTMB 2008 wearing these trail shoes.

Crosslite has now finally replaced TNF Rucky Chucky as my favorite trail running shoe. Honestly Crosslites are so much better than any TNF (or Salomon) trail shoes I've tried in the past that I feel like an idiot not to have done this a lot sooner. I simply had no idea that trail shoes could feel so fast and comfortable.

Anyway I felt the difference right away in the shop, and grabbed them for 99€ - not the cheapest shoe out there, but not too expensive either when you consider what you get for the money:

• low profile and neutral shoe
• relatively light weight, my Crosslite (size EU44, US10.5) weighs about 340 g (TNF Rucky Chucky was about 425 g)
• snug fit with a unique scree guard design that protects the upper (above laces)
• good traction with its well-spaced rubber lugs that simultaneously provide nice cushioning upon impact.

One thing these shoes are not so great is running on ice. That's normally not an issue, but this winter it seems to be that way. You can get Hobnails for ice running, but I haven't tried them yet. The Norwegian dude in the video below seems to be doing well with them.

Summary: these shoes are awesome, I wear them all the time now, not only for trail running. Don't make the same mistake as I did and wait until it's too late - go get your Crosslites now for your next trail races!