La Sportiva  Ultra Raptor 3 Hiking Shoes - Men's

I wore these for a hike of the Sierra High Route. The shoes were brand new when I started and pretty thrashed by the end. The trail is about 200 miles and involves a fair amount of off-trail hiking on talus and scree, so the hike is hard on shoes. I expected the shoes to take a beating. Even so, like others who reviewed here, I experienced the thin ripstop fabric wear through badly on both shoes where the foot bends within about 100 miles. The soles also wore down much faster than I expected. There was still tread at the end of the trail, but it had own down more than I expected. The Ultra Raptor II (which I have used for years) seemed to last much longer. These were still comfortable (although I had some blistering on the side of one heel that I had not previously experienced with other iterations of the U.R., the issue may have been fit of the insoles I was using) and the sole had great grip on rocky terrain.

I love the new colours for this iteration, but after having both the first and second versions, this shoe is simply not the same. The Canadian Rockies are notorious for loose, crumbly choss and scree and with my flat feet this LaSpo model was the only thing that worked for 4th+ class terrain where I felt like the shoe held up. The tractions is still amazing with this version, but both previous versions lasted me around 500km of absolute bashing in the mountains. Some wear was unavoidable, but this new version ripped the upper on my first day out. The foam midsole also seems much less durable with multiple gouges already. I do not want to baby these shoes, they are bought for mountain adventures. Please fix this new version!

Very poor quality. The front material if falling apart.

Update to initial review. Sadly after a couple months of weekend warrioring my shoes are ripping like others are describing here. The ripstop fabric is separating from the TPU side panels as well as tearing at the forefoot creases. Simply put - it’s the wrong fabric as it’s too brittle for anything apart from nature walks and doesn’t breath well enough for a non-GTX upper. Adding Aquaseal/Freesole preventatively only slightly delays the problem but does not fix (once it dries it starts to peel at flex points). I’d give this only one star but the midsole is holding up well and the Frixion White sole is trying its hardest to cope. As per my first review LaSpo really should move to a more durable compound at the expense of stickiness. If any LaSpo folks see this - happy to chat. I doubt you want my Frankensteined shoes with Aquaseal back but I’ll probably just go back to Aku and Scarpa till something changes.

Well.. I thought I was moving up in the world going from Salomon to La Sportiva with this shoe but it has been a major let down. The top lace is routed through the inside of the shoe vs an external loop or rivet on the outside. This causes the laces to dig straight into the upper ankel and make it very painful to walk in let alone go for a long hike or backpacking trip, terrible design on that portion on the shoe. As for durability, after my first hike, the shoe showed heavy wear on the outside front below the small toe. On the second hike, I tripped on a small branch and fabrick on top of the toe shredded like wet paper. With 30 years of hiking and backpacking in the high sierras, Ive never had any experiences remotely close to this with any other shoes. Ive submitted a warranty and have yet to hear from anyone, hopefully I can get these warrantied so I can try something else or wait until a diffrent rendition of this shoe is released. Total bummer!

This is my second pair of Ultra Raptor 3. I used my first pair to hike the French Pyrenees on the GR-10. This is a 955km traverse. The soles have great traction. The soles do show some wear as expected. The midsoles do not show signs of compression. The uppers have minimal wear. Two small areas were worn thru the outer material only on one shoe. The inside of the shoe held up very well. I replaced the factory insoles at about the half way point. This is normal for me to do. The shoes ran true to size and width. I found the shoes very comfortable to wear 14-16 hours a day.

After the Ultra Raptor II, I thought UR III would be the same or better. It is not. Same size, but not same last or fit, leaving room to rub in a blister. A disappointing start after high expectations.

Just bought this last week and took it out on my first hike today. I’d definitely say these are more hiking shoes than trail runners, as these wouldn’t have enough padding for running. Even for hiking the insole is a bit thin - wish it was a bit thicker for more shock absorption, which is why I’m giving it 4 stars instead of 5 (might try an aftermarket insole to improve the comfort). Otherwise the outsole is very grippy on rocks and fallen trees, and the lugs are fairly deep so you can have a lot of traction on muddy trails. The lacing system works great, didn’t come loose at all during my hike. Sizing wise, I usually wear a size 12, sometimes 12.5, and for these I needed to get the size 13 (47), so I’d say they run a bit small. I have narrow feet so these worked really well for me. Overall highly recommend it for hiking, just confirm that the insole provides enough comfort for you.

Not up to real outdoor use. Uppers ripping apart after 200 miles on the PCT. Best use is for the Mall. Disappointed, the Ultra Raptor IIs were great.