La Sportiva Crosslites – What Do You Know?
May 11, 2008 by Bryon Powell · 7 Comments
An anonymous reader of iRunFar’s review of the La Sportiva Raceblade asks,
Has anyone tried the crosslites? I train solely on a pair of slingshots, and wondering how they compare to these. I have heard many rumors of them being even more cushioned than the fireblades? anyone heard?
While iRunFar hopes to review the La Sportiva Crosslites in June or July (fingers crossed), anyone care to offer their thoughts on the Crosslites in the mean time?
La Sportiva team member, Derrick Spafford had the following comment regarding the Crosslites when iRunFar first solicited opinions regarding La Sportiva’s Fireblade and Raceblade.
Another shoe worth checking out is the new Crosslites….just awesome traction in snow and mud. Same sort of sizing as Raceblades, but less overlays on the upper.
The following sources have previously offered their take on the Crosslite elsewhere:
- Anton Krupicka when Tony was still on the La Sportiva team;
- Outside Magazine (clip from La Sportiva media coverage site); and
- My Wasatch Speed Goat teammate, Tim Barnes.
This article is way out there. There are no related articles on iRunFar.
Filed under Shoes ·
Bryon Powell is the Editor-in-Chief of iRunFar.com, which he founded five years ago. Also the author of Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons and a contributing editor at Trail Runner magazine, he's quickly approaching 10 years as an ultrarunner and 20 years as a trail runner. These days he calls Park City, Utah and its trails home.
All posts by Bryon Powell
I’ve not run in them, but they look like NASCAR meets Pimp.
I’m pretty sure that the goal off many a trail shoe out there is to be as ostentatious as possible (e.g., Brooks Cascadia, Montrail Highlander). I hear that in some locales Nascar pimp is the prominent mode of ostentatious style. Hey wait, Mason, don’t you live in central North Carolina? I think that is one such locale. ;-)
Can you please assure me that when I pace you this weekend at MMT you will be decked out in your full and finest Nascar pimp apparel?!
WSGMRTmate Tim Barnes has been known to bust a move in the Crosslite. They make your Moonwalk look slick, but do nothing for your pop ‘n’ lock. Check out his bloggedy blog for a review, fo’ sho’.
Hey Goat,
Just got back in from a run in my Crosslites, so thought I’d chime in.
In comparing Crosslites to Slingshots they are certainly a different feel, while even though in the catalogue they are listed at roughly the same weight. In terms of the cushioning, the Crosslites use molded EVA which does have a slightly softer feel than the sheet EVA that was used on the Slingshots. The Crosslite also has a rock guard that adds more forefoot protection, which the Slingshot does not. Another thing that does add to a slightly softer feel in the Crosslite is the aggressive lugged outsole. The lugs are placed a little wider apart to prevent mud buildup. This gives great traction in snow, mud and grass, but also seems to provide the added benefit of a slightly softer ride on firmer surfaces too, from the lugs acting as independent shock absorbers. I was really surprised with this as I found it had a lot of protection for the one mile section of road we have to run to get to our trail system.
I have only used the Slingshots for up to 2hrs of running/racing at a time, but have gone up to 8 hrs comfortably in the Crosslites. For me, I found that I needed just a little more rock protection, cushioning and support compared to the Slingshot and got all of that in the Crosslite; and with a shoe that is similar in weight to the Slingshot. Even with the aggressive sole, I found that the shoe had a very agile feel to it when running at faster paces and on technical trails.
As I mentioned last time, the fit of the upper on the Crosslites is really nice too with less overlays. I tend to not wear socks, or wear really thin socks, in them and have never had any issues.
Also, just a side note…
The new Skylite will be another great addition to the La Sportiva line in the summer as it’s even lighter and with a less agressive tread than the Crosslites. It has a really sticky sole that grips great, even on wet rock. This is probably a little closer feel for people who have worn the Slingshots.
OK, I really need to get back to work now. Take care!
They also got a mention in Outside Magazine’s Summer Buyers Guide that just came out (page 25). Though the comment above give more detail.
Thanks, Travis. I don’t get Outside Magazine so I hadn’t see that. Thought the article’s not online, I found it from La Sportiva’s media coverage website and added it to the main post.
Thanks again,
Bryon
Derrick,
Thanks as always for the great information regarding La Sportiva’s shoes.