La Sportiva Bushido Trail Running Shoe 9.1 oz. $125; sportiva.com

The Good: Killer traction and plenty of protection in a minimalist design.

The Bad: Way to stiff for road running. Stick to trails. 

The Awesome: Great drainage for creek crossings. 

If you want a shoe that gives both confidence and performance on the trail, the La Sportiva Bushido is knocking on your door, ready to run. The Bushido is light, agile, and stiff in all the right places, perfect for most any distance on the gnarliest of trails, right out of the box.

Two of us took these shoes out on some of Redding, California’s rockiest trails. The very first thing one of our testers noticed was the traction. Being formerly a roadrunner, the tread on these shoes caught her attention. These shoes dodge, hop, jump, and grip like nobody’s business. For me, the less than graceful tester, I appreciate a little protection. The Bushido has a very conveniently placed TPU toecap. This piece of highly resistant thermoplastic urethane is not only able to be reprocessed at the end of its life, but it was the perfect protection for, well…tripping. The midsole has even more protective material, helping the experienced trail runner as well as the rookie take on the whole trail: rocks, roots, and all. The air mesh upper shoe was a great feature for running through puddles and creak crossing with water flowing in and out, retaining very little in the shoe.

We tried these animals out on the pavement and it just wasn’t the same. The grip was there but after about 2 miles our feet started to shout out some expletives.  Needless to say, these shoes are built for trail. Thankfully, La Sportiva, a company that specializes in exceptional outdoor footwear, builds the Bushidos. The price is competitive with other running shoes but you can be confident you’re getting as many miles as possible in these as well as superior product quality.

For serious trail runners who need and love a lightweight shoe that stays out of your way and keeps you solid on the trail, the Bushido is where it’s at. This shoe is ideal for any runner looking for exceptional performance on the most technical of trails.