Customer Reviews La Sportiva Kaptiva

I am on my third generation of this shoe and it has proven to be my favorite for the trails. However, the latest generation in the Hibiscus color is failing meI have already shipped back and received a warranty pair but the warranty Pair is doing the same thing and that is that the toe area starts coming apart when the shoe gets any water on it. It's like whatever glue was used just dissolves with water. This is still my favorite shoe for comfort and performance on the trail. I would even love to have the last model to replace the most recent pair. La Sportiva, Help!

Please don't discontinue the Kaptiva's, La Sportiva! Having narrow feet and high arches, I have struggled to find a proper fitting trail running shoe for over a year, and these are the winner. I was on the Bushido 2's for a few months, but they did not have enough support, and I found myself severely pronating on my right foot. The fit was a little small, since sizing up made my heel slip, and I found them to be very warm. I researched a similar shoe and came across the Kaptiva. Same heel drop but a far superior fit. I followed the other reviews and purchased a full size up, from a 7.5 to an 8.5, and they are perfect. The toe box is roomy, but not overly large, allowing adequate room to spread my toes. The heel cup is high and keeps my heels in place. The tongueless gaiter-like wrap around the foot is fantastic; holds my foot in place but stretches for uphill and downhill terrain. The lacing is simple and doesnt dig into my feet or come loose. The construction is robust and holding up really well on knarly, rocky terrain. Shoes are responsive so you can feel the ground underfoot, but are stiff enough to support the inner foot from pronation. The toe construction is awesome at protecting, and seemless design has no weaknesses to wear down. Breathable, but doesn't sacrifice any durability. I feel nimble and efficient on these. If I had to be picky, I would ask for more color options. I think this shoes would be great as a racing shoe, but think it can be promoted as an excellent daily trail runner. Please keep this shoe!

Bought this at Australian Ultra. Fell in love! Wish they were sold in SA too

I've loved the Bushido I and Bushido II, but heard good things about the Kaptivas as a lighter, more race-oriented shoe and wanted to try them out. These shoes are awesome! They just felt fast from the minute I first put them on. No blisters thanks to the sock liner. I have very narrow feet, so it is tough to find shoes that don't cause my forefoot to slide around - a very unnerving feeling when running on very technical, rocky trails in the mountains. The only downside is that they seem to run a tad smaller than other Sportiva shoes and I should have paid more attention to reviews here. After several runs in them, I purchased a second pair a 1/2 size larger and they fit much better. If you are on the edge of sizes, size up a little bit.

After running in various other trail shoes, the Kaptiva is my new favorite trail shoe for short to mid distance trail runs. It is light, comfortable and very responsive, with fabulous traction on wet rocks. With plenty of space in the toe box, yet snug fit in the heel cup, this shoe is comfortable from kilometre 1 to kilometre 20!

Just received my 6th pair of Kaptiva's in anticipation of having a fresh pair for an upcoming race and I still love them just as much as my first pair!

I love my Kaptivas! They are so light and they have excellent traction that makes you feel very stable on technical trails. I use my Kaptivas for trail races, and they make me feel extra speedy on the trails. I just ordered another pair. A great shoe.

Kaptiva's are my first La Sportiva running shoe and I LOVE them! They are a great fit and so comfy on the trails! I did have a to size up a shoe size but that helped my toes have a little more room for those downhill runs!

When I first purchased the kaptiva's I was a little worried I had oversized them. During the fitting I had noticed some slight heel slippage, but eventually decide to go with a bigger size as I knew I was going to be spending some time in them and wanted to allow for foot swell during my runs. The heel slippage went away after about a week of running in them and packing them out a little bit. I love these shoes. I wore them through fall and some winter running. They worked great on ice and snow without spikes and I think that was due to the sticky rubber on the bottom. They are lightweight and low volume, with a very comfortable "sock-like" fit that eliminated any chafing I might normally experience when breaking in new running shoes. Will definitely continue to choose Kaptiva's as my running shoe moving forward!

I'm normally a big fan of "rotating" my running shoes, never wearing the same pair two days in a row. I usually have a pair that I like for trail, one for pavement, one for the track. This summer has been different - I got my new Kaptivas early in the summer, and I find myself wanting to wear them every day for every run. I have worn them for my last four races - one road, one flat, non-technical trail, one track mile, and one highly technical trail with steep ups and downs. I was never disappointed. The fit and feel of the snug sockliner is secure and prevents slippage and the heel blisters to which I am normally very prone! I appreciate the high arch support, which enabled me to leave my insoles out - good thing, as I don't think I would have had space. I've never had a pair of trail shoes that were this light, yet still so protective and grippy. I'm looking forward to buying another pair.

For several years I have been wearing the Bushido of La sportiva that I really like, but I wished them to develop a lighter shoe model for trail running. Finally the Kaptiva arrived. A shoe that provides the support I need for technical terrain, but is lighter and less hard when used in neutral terrain. Thank you La sportiva, I was waiting (and the consumer market too) this new model for a long time! Only suggestion, add an insert for the laces on the tongue to protect the laces from unlace during more chalenging races.

Love these shoes!! They fit like a glove, in a good way. Can't wait to race in then this weekend!

After testing for a year, this baby is it. Will wear for Western States. Wore the gore-tex version at a VERY wet Way Too Cool 50k this past spring and it completely dominated. Fast, but also has great traction. Lightweight. Feels like a road shoe, but performs like a competent trail shoe.

Kaptiva offers very nice features and an agressive grip. I usually wear size 7 in my trail running shoes. But with la Kaptiva, i had to return and order a size 7,5. Also, this shoe is made for narrow feet, wich didn't let my toes spread while running and the feel is a little less stable.

It's a really comfortable shoe, it just feels really small. If I was able to return them (I ran in them) then I would have gone up half a size.