Let me preface this gear review by saying that I am by no means an expert trail runner.  I am, however, an avid and obsessed trail runner who tries to run as often and as many trails as I possibly can.  When my job took me to Wyoming, I would frequently find myself the only person around for miles period, let alone the only person on the trail.  This, of course, would routinely freak my husband and my mother out.

I am also someone who has tried numerous trail shoes and could never find one that truly fit my narrowish, mildly pronating feet well until …. I met the La Sportiva Crosslite 2.0.

This shoe has revolutionized my trail running.  This trail runner meets and exceeds all of my expectations.  Many of the trails I run are loose, technical trails.  This shoe has had great traction in every terrain in which I have found myself … including wet and slippery.  The shoe is extremely light weight and comfortable.  It feels almost weightless yet is rugged enough to protect and support my feet.  Running with this shoe is the first time my feet haven’t hurt after long periods of time running on trails.  There is a great toe bumper that has protected my tootsies many times.  La Sportiva

I have to admit that, at first, I was very skeptical of the integrated lacing system.  I thought I would forever be losing the laces under the material and not be able to fish them out easily.  Quite the contrary, this system may be my favorite feature of them all.  Instead of losing my laces all the time, this has been the easiest, quickest lacing system I have ever encountered.  With other shoes, I was constantly having to stop my run to retie my shoes.  With the Crosslite system, I never have to retie them.  As an added bonus, you can tuck the laces under the upper material so you don’t have the loops catching on branches and other pointy things which could potentially cause some nasty spills.  The Crosslite is also quite impressive in its ability to dry quickly after getting soaked.  I have run through streams and snow and the shoe always dried immediately and without causing blisters.

So, the next time you find yourself on a trail you have discovered while on the Life Bus, I hope you will be giving these trail runners a test run!!

As I said in the beginning, I am not an elite trail runner … but these shoes make me feel like I am.