La Sportiva

Bushido II Trail Running Shoe - Men's

Precise and stable trail machine

The Bushido is a master of steep and technical trails. I bought a 43.0 which is my standard size to keep the precise fit, but you can definitely upsize a half if you like the fit a bit roomier. It's a race fit and built for precision on trails so there' s not a lot of space in the shoe if you buy your standard size. The upside is it's crazy stable and the traction is supreme due to being low to the ground with a narrow profile. If you want a light and fast shoe for steep and techy terrain it's hard to beat the Bushido. I've tried more cushioned shoes which are great on smooth trails but not the same when you take them on rockier trails with tight footwork.

Solid Update to a Great Trail Runner

Familiarity:

I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions

I've been in Bushidos for a couple years now; the new Bushido IIs are my fifth pair. 3 pairs of the black/yellow originals, one pair of the updated gray/yellow/green ones, and now the black/yellow/red 2nd gen shoes. The new iteration retains most of the qualities that made these a great shoe for me, and try to improve Overall fit is low-volume and narrow. For me it's true to size: fits my narrow foot as predicted, and I wear a 46 just like my other La Sportiva shoes and boots. If you're coming from, say, Wildcats, these will seem very narrow and low-volume. It's hard for me to imagine someone with a normal D width foot even getting into these, but for me the fit is great. I will say that the forefoot has width for toe room, but the height feels rather low, which some people may find uncomfortably compresses the top of the foot. In my case, it's a bit of an issue for one foot but not the other. Could have to do with my orthotics not seating properly in the shoes. Something to watch out for. The heel fit was supposedly redesigned, and I find it quite narrow, even narrower than the original, which was already pretty narrow. In fact, the heels are narrow enough that the orthotics I had made for the old Bushidos do not seat properly in these heels, which is an ongoing problem for me. This is especially a problem with the left foot; I'm hopeful that some trimming of the orthotic will resolve this problem. It's a shame, because overall the heel fit is what I like with the socks I wear for hiking - minimal slippage or drift side-to-side. Nice. One interesting factor is that the new version feels "harder", less springy than previous versions. Part of that may be because I don't use the LaSpEVA footbeds that came with the shoes, favoring my own orthotics. But overall the new shoes feel supportive but less springy than previous versions. Also, the new shoes feel distinctly lighter; I have no idea why that would be, but I've switched between these shoes and earlier versions, and the feeling is pronounced. As for construction, there seems to be a bit more rubber/synthetic overlay along the sides and around the toes, a chevron of some protective slippery stuff over the end of the tongue, and a more pronounced heel support overlay. Nothing dramatic. One small annoyance: the supplied shoe laces are shorter than I've received with earlier versions. Overall, subtle changes to a pretty fine trail runner, overall an improvement. As often as I wear these I already need another pair.