The La Sportiva Mutant. All shoe photos: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
When it comes to long days in the mountains that involve both on-trail and off-trail travel over a variety of surfaces, it’s hard to argue against the La Sportiva Mutant ($185) for its grip, comfort, and durability. Equipped with relatively widely spaced 6.5-millimeter lugs, the brand’s FriXion XF 2.0 rubber outsole, and a unique wrap-around upper and lacing system that holds the foot securely, this shoe is confident whether moving over solid rock, duffy forest trails, kitty-litter gravel, mud, and anything in between. The deep lugs and sticky rubber have landed this shoe a spot in our Best Trail Running Shoes for Mud guide. The only surfaces this shoe isn’t comfortable on are pavement and hard-packed trails.
As someone who admittedly doesn’t like to get pavement on her shoes and feels most at home on long mountain runs that frequently include some sort of scrambling over steep rock or sliding down loose trail, I’d probably choose the Mutant as my single shoe if I weren’t allowed to maintain a multi-shoe quiver. I’ve worn through at least four pairs over my mountain running career and continue to return to them even after testing countless other shoes.
This isn’t a pure running shoe. The 10-millimeter drop is high in the trail running world, but a bit of rocker helps make it reasonable for running. The stack height of 26 millimeters at the heel and 16 millimeters at the toe is less than many of the ultra-cushioned shoes on the market, but it allows for a close-to-the-ground feel while still providing enough protection from rocks. That said, there’s no rock plate, so if you land on a sharp rock, you’re going to feel it. With an actual weight of 11.3 ounces (321 grams) for a U.S. men’s 9, it’s not a light shoe, but it’s durable with a thicker upper that will stand up to scrapes against rocks, roots, and other fabric-destroying trail obstacles.
The Mutant blurs the line between a true approach shoe and a trail runner. It has the stickiness and snugness of a shoe meant for use on technical terrain and the structure, rocker, and flexibility to allow for comfortable running as well.
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La Sportiva Mutant Upper
A lateral view of the La Sportiva Mutant.
The La Sportiva Mutant wrap-around upper was unique when it first came out, and remains so in a world where built-in gaiters and sock-like uppers are becoming less of an anomaly. Instead of a tongue, the medial side of the upper simple wraps over the top of the foot and slides underneath the lateral side. The lacing system brings the two pieces of material snugly together, comfortably securing the foot. Extra structure is provided around the midfoot with overlays that connect directly to the lacing system. With a firm and structured heel and solid toe bumper, this shoe protects the foot well.
The upper is made of AirMesh material and is quite thick. Surprisingly, even when I’ve run in hot conditions, I’ve never felt my feet overheat, and the shoes don’t dry much slower than most other trail shoes. As someone who regularly puts holes in uppers before destroying the rest of a shoe, I’ve found that these last longer than most.
The wrap-around style naturally creates somewhat of a low gaiter around the ankle. It’s not as efficient at keeping debris out as some of the modern built-in gaiters, but it’s also not as hard on the aesthetic sensibilities of most people. I find I have to stop and empty my shoes out far less often when skiing down scree fields or traversing otherwise loose terrain than the people with shoes with more traditional ankle collars.
It’s worth noting that this shoe is harder to put on than most, so it’s unfortunate that the heel loop is the only part of the shoe that lacks durability. Especially when wet, it can and will rip if yanked on too hard when trying to put the shoe on. If you’re looking for a shoe you can slip in and out of easily, you should steer well clear of these.
La Sportiva Mutant Midsole
A medial view of the La Sportiva Mutant.
In my mind, there’s nothing exceptional about the La Sportiva Mutant midsole. It’s made of an injection-molded EVA foam with TPU stabilizers around the sides of the heel. It’s not super squishy, it’s not super firm, but it strikes the balance of providing enough structure to confidently move over off-camber and technical surfaces while still having enough cushion to make running comfortable.
The 26-millimeter stack height at the heel and 16 millimeters at the toe also threads the gap between a more technical approach shoe and a running shoe. It’s a good balance of cushion and ground-feel and low enough that the shoes never feel tippy. While I’m also a big fan of the La Sportiva Askasha II for its similarly grippy outsole, the thicker midsole makes it more difficult to control on off-camber terrain, especially if it’s overgrown and I can’t see exactly where I’m putting my feet and am staying upright more by microadjusting feet on the fly than planning on where I’m stepping.
The 10-millimeter drop may seem extreme to some, but it doesn’t feel like too much on the foot. I’m a fairly average mid-foot striker when running, and I’ve never found it difficult to roll through my gait with these shoes. This might have something to do with a bit of rocker at the front end of the shoe. It has less of a rocker than the more run-specific shoes from the brand — think the relatively new La Sportiva Prodigio Pro — but more than the La Sportiva Bushido III, which really does err more on the side of a hiking or approach shoe.
La Sportiva Mutant Outsole
The outsole of the La Sportiva Mutant.
If I consider the La Sportiva Mutant midsole nothing to write home about, I’ll sing the praises of the outsole from the mountaintops I reach with them. Made of the brand’s FriXion XF 2.0 rubber with relatively widely spaced 6.5-millimeter lugs, these shoes stick to everything. As is expected with a proper mountain shoe, the rubber covers the entirety of the bottom of the midsole, providing both durability and traction.
The tread pattern consists of middle lugs that resemble the ghosts in Pac-Man, and the lugs around the edges of the shoe are wider laterally to provide more grip when pushing off or braking going downhill. The rear lugs are oriented in the opposite direction from the front and dig into loose surfaces well. On a recent trip to the mountains, my adventure partner remarked that whenever she saw me slip a little bit, she knew that she was probably in for a fall, and the scenario proved true multiple times over the course of a weekend.
To provide such outstanding grip, the outsole rubber is quite soft, which also makes it less long-lasting. The lugs wear relatively quickly, especially when worn on rough, rocky surfaces. Granite and sandstone are the worst offenders for quickly wearing out these outsoles. I suspect that if I were to wear these shoes on extended runs on pavement, they would have a short life.
In addition to thriving on rocks, the outsole also performs well on softer surfaces like damp trails, mud, and sand where the lugs can dig in.
La Sportiva Mutant Overall Impressions
A top view of the La Sportiva Mutant.
If I know I’m going out for an outing that will involve running, scrambling, off-trail and on-trail travel, and everything in between, I reach for the La Sportiva Mutant. Whether I’m wading through boggy marshland, clambering up steep rock, or running on actual trail, I count on these shoes to provide traction and keep me upright. Its versatility finds it in our Best Trail Running Shoes for Mud guide, and it’s hard to find a better shoe for big mountain adventures.
The unique upper provides a secure, locked-in feeling that I appreciate on off-camber terrain, and I never worry about my feet sliding around. The outsole is one of the grippiest that I have worn and would, and do quite regularly, trust it with my life. Finally, the midsole is a piece of EVA foam that does exactly what it needs to by keeping me low to the ground while still providing enough cushion to let me do long days on my feet.
For those mountain outings where the actual running motion is important but plays second fiddle to all the other different types of motion possible in the hills, I can’t seem to find a shoe better equipped to do it all than the Mutant.
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Call for Comments
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Our Favorite Trail Running Shoes
Learn more about our other current favorite trail running shoes in our Best Trail Running Shoes guide!
Author Eszter Horanyi tests the La Sportiva Mutants during a fastpacking trip in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado. Photo: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
