La Sportiva - Prodigio

Haven’t tried the T1, but have 2 pairs of H1 and Prodigio Pro. Love the H1 fit and feel, ran a 50 miler in them on dirt roads with no issues. If the race really isn’t technical the H1 might be a good option unless you really want the lugs. The Pros for me felt great in store, and for the most part feel good but have only gone 14ish miles in them.

Two of my tops [La Sportiva Prodigio](https://www.lasportivausa.com/prodigio.html) - Nice comfortable wider toe box. Some have mentioned the Pro I have yet to try. [Salomon Genesis](https://www.salomon.com/en-us/product/genesis-li5372) - Would wear on more technical terrain, more snug fitting and plush than Prodigio. Want to try the [Nnormal Kjerag 02](https://www.nnormal.com/en_US/content/kjerag-02)

try the prodigio ultra la sportiva for everything

I would suggest the regular Prodigio. The Pros are awesome, but may have softer cushion than you're looking for. The OG Prodigio is fairly minimal for a shoe with enough cushion for ultra distances (I've worn them for up to 50M, and the back half of a 100k, and they were great and could have gone longer.) Bonus, you may be able to find them on sale.

They're great shoes. Fit is obviously the most important thing, but the newer LaSpo models fit a lot more people than some of the older models did. You'll want to try them on, but depending on your preferences, any of the three Prodigio models could be a good choice. The regular Prodigio are a great all-purpose shoe, the Pro are a great option for races or faster paced stuff, and the Max are nice for people who need or want more cushion.

I think the Pro actually drain really well. The upper material is constructed in such a way that it's great at letting water out. I live in a very muddy area and have put a lot of miles on my Pros in mud and with water crossings.

Bushidos are a good choice. It might take you a bit of time to get used to the lower stack height if you're used to a more maximal shoe. Consider the Prodigio. More cushion, but not enough to get in the way or lose precision. Outsole is a combo of Frixion Red and Megagrip so it's nice and sticky.

Consider the La Sportiva Prodigio or Prodigio Pro. I've gone up to 85k in the regular Prodigio and could have gone farther; I wore the Pro for a 100M this year and they did well. The regular Prodigio will probably be more similar to what you're already wearing. Both have good energy return but the Pro foam feels much "faster". Of course, none of this matters if they don't fit you well, so you have to try them on.

You have to try them on. All the ones you listed fit differently. The Prodigio is a great shoe and you may be able to find it on sale right now. Most people need 1/2 to a full size up from their usual.

La Sportiva. Multiple ≤100ks in the regular Prodigio, 100 M in the Pro, next one will be in the Max. So much depends on fit though. What works for others may not work for you.

I ran a 100M in my Pro Pros and they were great. The only caveat with them is that if your feet swell a lot, you can only loosen them so much because of the integrated bootie construction. For my next 100 I'd choose the Max simply because of that. I've run up to 50M, and the last 40k of a 100k, in the regular Prodigio and I thought they were plenty for that distance and my feet felt great. Of course, everyone's different. They handle mud better than you'd think (and I live in an area with heavy clay mud for much of the year) but of course they won't dig in quite as much as, like, a Mudclaw. For any of the Prodigio line (or La Sportiva in general) you'll want to size up 1/2 to a full size from your usual.

If you think the Agility Peak is too high stack, you'll probably feel that way about Hoka as well. Look at the La Sportiva Prodigio. Cushioned enough for long days but still has plenty of groundfeel. Good outsole for technical stuff, sticky and a good lug pattern for rock.

Reg prodigios and pros are the same size for me. If anything, there's more room in the Pros.

Oh man Catamounts were horrrrrendous for me. I used to run and hike in Cascadia 8s or 9s so when I found them on a good sale I decided to give the Catamounts a try for getting back into trail running after many years off. I could barely walk let alone run a mile and a half without getting the worst shin splints I've ever had. I used to always wear La Sportiva approach shoes for climbing so gave the Prodigios (regular, not Pro) a try and they've been amazing. To OPs question on other gear - no name Amazon shorts with a built in compression boxer 👌 no chafing and half the price of the name brands. Carefully husbanding my last two Arc'teryx Velox tees though - still to this day the best hot weather running/hiking/MTBing shirt out there imo and mine are definitely getting a bit threadbare after the 12 years or whatever I've had them. I hope when they give up the ghost I can find something else with a similar ultralight dotted/pucker weave.

I have a pair of Prodigio low shoes. One is the most comfortable shoes I have worn. Breathable yet great in water, nitrogen infused foam is highly shock absorbent and not at all squishy, with great traction. These are primarily trail shoes. I am a heel striking supinator and the shoes fit like a glove and are light, neutral yet supportive and the uppers are durable. My only regret is that the outsole wears out rather quickly if you plan on walking on pavement for a long time.

I have had similar experiences with the Prodigio. Great fitting, very good cushioning while not being sloppy, and much stronger than they appear. My only regret is that if you walk a lot of kilometers in the street, the outsole which is designed for trails, is not durable. The shoes are so comfortable that I wish I could wear them for the streets. I guess I could with the expectation of replacing them more frequently. I really like the feel of the nitrogen infused mid sole.

They have an authorized distributor and re-soling shop in Chonburi but they don't respond to emails. Poor service. I wrote to Italy letting them know their distributor customer service sucks but they didn't get involved.

I wouldn't trust them. I no longer wear Solomon shoes since they were acquired. I find the quality is poor. I would recommend La Sportiva for comfort. If you want a quality product made in China try the Kailas Fuga Ex series. I have a pair of the EX3s and have worn them on numerous hikes. Some of the hikes were very steep on slippery mud in tropical jungle . The traction is great. On rocks and hard trails they are light, highly protective, and dry relatively quickly. The fit is similar to Solomon's but the quality is another level. I can't speak for others but my experience had been that they are excellent. P.S I still love my La Sportiva Prodigios but the Kailas are tougher and weigh only slightly more.

I have used Zamberlain, Solomon Ultras, La Sportiva Prodigios, Arc'teryx Norvan, Topo Ultraventure, Altra Lone Peak, and I am currently using Kailas Fuga EX. Zamberlain - sole delaminated La Sportiva Prodigios - most comfortable yet not durable Solomon Ultras - too hot, heavy, fit was bit sloppy. Decent traction Topo Ultraventure - good toe box but not durable Altra Lone Peak - not for me Kailas Fuga EX - Best Grip, most durable, one of the lightest, took a bit of break-in and is now very comfortable (La Sportiva still is most comfortable), great on mud yet durable on pavement, runs narrow but they have a wide model with plenty of room. https://preview.redd.it/6l8apbqae0gg1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e3631376751409ad88a8d3d4b91bc11f1133c8e6 sum of the attributes make it my current favorite I am a westerner living in Asia so availability may matter depending on your location. Most use cases are softer trails or mud with roots. Some pavement. Have used them in Southeast Asia and Nepal.

I tried the non-max versions at REI the other day. They aren’t as crazy narrow as some LS models, but were still a bit too snug for me — ended up grabbing the Bushido III wide. One consideration is what sort of routes he’ll be on. Something with a big stack of cushioning could be good for cranking out miles on maintained trails, but may lack stability and ground feel for scrambling.

The Prodigio Pro is designed as their race shoe. So it’s designed with running fast in mind, not walking. Most of its best features wouldn’t be noticeable at walking speeds - you’re not getting the bounce from the nitrogen-infused foam, the rocker isn’t helping propel you into the next step, the precise fit is just going to leave less room for your feet to swell. If your BF was getting into trail running and was looking for a shoe for a race, or even a shoe for faster runs I’d say absolutely go for it. My non-pro Prodigios are awesome and I’ve been drooling over the fancier ones now that they’ve been released. But why pay extra for a premium race shoe when you’re not going to benefit from any of the premium race features?

Oh that makes a lot more sense, my bad. I dunno why my brain misread that one (probably because I’ve been drooling over the Prodigio Pros).

The ogs were soooo good and grippy and fast but the pros def for like 50 mile and up are sooo light fast and responsive… def the best released shoes for a few years imo