La Sportiva Bushido Trail Running Shoe review - Jessica Collins

La Sportiva Bushido Trail Running Shoe

La Sportiva Bushido Trail Running Shoe

Lasportiva bushido trail running shoes

Technical information
Drop: 6mm
Stability: Neutral 
Weight: Light
Rock guard: Yes
Grip: Sticky and Aggressive
Designed for: Performance on technical trail 

 

Comfort and Feel: The Bushido is a light, neutral trail shoe, with a low heel-to-toe drop. Despite being a neutral shoe, the Bushido’s midfoot construction provides a firm but comfortable cradle-like feel for the foot. This results in these shoes feeling super stable and results in minimal movement of your foot inside the shoe. These shoes provide a good balance between comfort and the essential ground feel feedback required to negotiate technical trails.

 

Terrain suitable for: The Bushido’s have a sticky and aggressive grip which is great for technical terrain. This was the shoe I chose to run the Trail World Championships this year because when they mean trail running in Europe, they mean technical. I found they provided excellent grip on wet logs and rocks, which I expected of the aggressive lugs, but surprisingly also felt great on firmer, less technical bits of trail (I often find aggressive lugs can feel a bit like being on high heels on firmer ground, but not the Bushido’s). Therefore, the Bushido’s are a great all-round trail running shoe. 

 

Wear and Tear: Over the years I have run in many different trail shoes and I have found that the trails in Tasmania can be quite brutal on the uppers of the shoes. I often develop tears down the sides of the uppers of my shoes before the shoes would otherwise need replacing. The Bushido’s seem to have the toughest upper of any shoe I have ever run in. They have survived the trails of Tasmania and Portugal’s tough World Championships trails and still have no tears. 

 

Recommended for: I would recommend the Bushido’s to all trail runners, but specifically to people that enjoy a neutral, lower drop shoe that still provides structure and support to the midfoot. I believe they would be perfect for trail runners with a relatively unstable midfoot or ankles but don’t want a super supportive stability shoe. 

 

Final Thoughts: The Bushido is honestly the first trail running shoe I have truly fallen in love with and will remain my go-to shoe for training and racing.

Australian ultra marathon runner Jessica Collins competing in Ultra Trail Australia

La Sportiva have just released the brandnew Bushido II! Check them out in-store, or follow the link: https://findyourfeet.com.au/products/la-sportiva-bushido-ii-trail-running-shoes-womens?_pos=3&_sid=8c7986892&_ss=r&variant=29178109395021

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