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LA SPORTIVA PRODIGIO PRO - All Mountain Super Shoe??? FULL REVIEW
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Dec 24, 2024
Mike P tests the Prodigio Pro across Oregon and Idaho - from lush forests to the beach to rain to slush. Full details and review on the run as well as comparisons to other trail super shoes as well as the "regular" Prodigio model. LA SPORTIVA has a big hit here! 00:20 Oregon forest testing 00:40 First Impressions from Oregon 06:19 Back to Boise 08:01 Compare with regular Prodigio 09:38 Thoughts vs. other super shoes 11:11 Price & Value 12:30 Detailed comp vs. Prodigio 15:19 Flexing both shoes 16:31 Prodigio heel collar fixed (lowered) 19:29 Final thoughts Planned release: late February/early March ($195) Mike's other trail reviews- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU8zMeCLraQF1zi5EfGkWZVg1OdcjF9n8 La Sportiva Prodigio Review: https://www.roadtrailrun.com/2023/12/la-sportiva-prodigio-review.html
View Video Transcript
0:00
hello it's Mike P from Road trail run
0:02
today I'm going to be taking the
0:03
lasportiva prodigio pros out for their
0:06
final test run before my full review but
0:09
first I'm going to take you back in time
0:10
to my initial test run on my trip out to
0:13
Oregon so before I get too soaked let's
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go
0:36
[Music]
0:39
this is La
0:40
sportiva's Mountain Trail super shoe and
0:45
what I mean by that is they wanted to
0:47
make a super shoe that is not
0:50
specifically designed for flat runnable
0:53
moderate terrain as a lot of the carbon
0:56
fiber plated Super Shoes out on the
0:58
market are now they really wanted to
1:00
maintain the mountain Focus that they
1:03
have as a brand so the main feature or
1:07
should I say non-feature of the shoe is
1:08
that it doesn't have any plate at all um
1:12
there's a nitrogen
1:14
infused TPU midsole used here there's no
1:18
stroble board there's a foot foot liner
1:23
glued directly on top of the mids so
1:26
there's no stroll bolt board in between
1:28
they really want to maintain that that
1:30
ground feel especially without the
1:32
carbon fiber plate in the mix they're
1:34
using
1:35
their friction white compound here so
1:38
this is their tackiest rubber very deep
1:41
lugs here full coverage rubber here they
1:45
really wanted to maintain That Mountain
1:47
Heritage that they have in some of their
1:49
more Burly beefed up Trail models
1:53
another departure for L sportiva here is
1:55
the toe box these are not the L sport
2:00
TAA toe box that you're used to this has
2:03
plenty of width through here I'm I just
2:05
love this I love a wide toe box it
2:07
really enhances the ground feel I don't
2:10
feel squeezed at all I would say the
2:12
shape is almost perfect there's space to
2:15
the side of the big toe round it out in
2:18
the front great width across the for
2:20
foot I may even dial this in I left it
2:22
kind of loose this is my first test run
2:25
so I'm going to try to probably dial
2:26
this in a little bit um one thing to not
2:30
is I am wearing a US 10.5 in this so I
2:33
know lasportiva
2:35
sizing has run a little bit small short
2:38
um this is definitely the case here um I
2:41
was able to try on some samples at the
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running event 10 1 12 is the fit for me
2:46
it's perfect I'm typically a TR to size
2:49
9.5 so I would go up to a 10 for Ultra
2:52
sizing here 10.5 is perfect I would
2:56
consider these for kind of any distance
2:59
type of run
3:01
as far as the upper goes this is I
3:04
believe a TPU coated power wire what
3:07
they call here it's highly breathable
3:10
you could kind of see through it um I've
3:13
been running through some pretty muddy
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stuff here I haven't gotten anything
3:17
into the shoe itself so it's been pretty
3:21
great the ankle collar here one of the
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best that I've seen I mean the Catamount
3:28
agile is a good one of course the tecton
3:30
X comes up higher above the ankle bone
3:33
this one if you're gonna
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have if you're GNA have say an ankle
3:38
collar that's going to be on the lower
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side this is really stretchy I no
3:43
problems getting into this by the way
3:44
that's not a problem it's completely
3:47
sealed it's a knit collar it's highly
3:50
flexible I just love this in a trail
3:52
shoe it's amazing another standout
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feature that I'll point out is the
3:58
tongue this is a booty St upper um so
4:01
there's no separate tongue it's all
4:04
integrated into the NIT collar but
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you've got
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these vertical bolsters
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across vertical B bolsters running
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lengthwise along the tongue portion of
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this booty upper and they're pretty
4:20
thick um they're very thick they're not
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soft at all so that is just perfect this
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is one of the best designs I've seen
4:27
because I can really I like to to have
4:30
my ankle locked in I like to have my
4:31
heel seated I like to have this top of
4:35
the foot this part of the foot really
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dialed and sometimes I'll leave this a
4:40
little bit loose but with these bolsters
4:42
here man I could
4:45
really like lock it in and this is no
4:48
pressure at all on my foot um so you
4:51
could adjust that tension as you need it
4:55
uh I haven't seen this type of I've seen
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you know some tongues that have some pad
5:00
built in but this kind of vertical
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orientation and the way that it's really
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thick it is this is one of the best
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tongues I've seen no doubt in a booty
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design but even for any type of uh
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running shoe design this is really great
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I'm dialed here I love it so I think
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this shoe is just going to be an
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absolute hit for lasportiva if you're in
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the market for a trail Super Shoe but
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you're not crazy about carbon fiber
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plates you're not convinced about carbon
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fiber plates actually working on the
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trails this is just a spectacular shoe I
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think L portiva is going to kill it with
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this one this is only my first test run
5:43
I'm actually out in Oregon I'm out in
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some crazy rainforest type terrain over
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here not right at this moment I just
5:51
went through
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[Music]
6:07
[Music]
6:10
[Applause]
6:13
[Music]
6:20
[Music]
6:28
so the ride
6:30
very
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Dynamic very energetic the midsole is a
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core of super critical nitrogen infused
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TPU inside of a super critical nitrogen
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infused Eva bouncy Dynamic there's no
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plate here there's no
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firmness there's no stiffness 6 mil drop
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works
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great especially as I'm going up a
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little bit of an incline here I think
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they do a 6 mil drop across the prodigio
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line this one the regular one and the
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max coming out later in 2025 the width
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and the toe box works perfect for me I
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love it especially with the
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foothold booty upper is
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great I definitely
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prefer a wider spacious toe
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box could be problematic If a shoe
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doesn't have good foothold this one does
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so it's great if you have a narrow
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foot I would
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say it could be a bit wide for you if
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you thought the regular
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prodigio was wide this one does have a
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little bit more width
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Las fortiva was nice enough to send me a
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test pair of the regular pijio I'd never
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running that one before I know it's been
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out for a while we've even reviewed it
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but they send me a test pair for
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comparison sake so thanks for that but
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with that shoe feels more like a regular
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shoe I would
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say in the sense
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that you feel like you're standing on
8:29
top of a
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midsole you know and the uppers holding
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you on to it and this one midso sidew
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walls come up a little bit it wraps
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around the foot a bit more so I more so
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have the sense
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that I'm kind of in the shoe versus you
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know riding on top of the
8:55
[Music]
8:58
Mido part of that is
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definitely the booty upper also the lack
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of the stroble
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board compared to the regular prodigio
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and for that matter most other trail
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shoes as far as flexibility and Agility
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especially moving uphill there you saw a
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lot of flex in the foref foot I was able
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to kind of pick my way through some
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rocks a bit of slush um puddly sections
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pretty easily felt very confident even
9:31
though it's not icy but it's it's it's a
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little bit slick U so I felt really
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confident picking my way through there
9:38
as far as stacking up against the other
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Super Shoes the three that I've kind of
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talked about and called out recently the
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Adidas speed Ultra The North Face
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vective Pro 2 3 is coming out Hoka tekon
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X3 those are the three top Trail Super
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Shoes in my mind right now so as far as
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how does this Stack Up
10:00
all three of those shoes have some form
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of a plate the Adidas has energy
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rods this shoe doesn't feel quite as
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fast as those shoes it certainly has the
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best fit the best and most secure fit so
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if you're thinking of this shoe in terms
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of all Mountain allterrain Ultra race
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and you highly valued the fit and the
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security of the upper and don't
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necessarily value the stiffness of a
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carbon plate maybe it's not as runable
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able as some of the typical Western us
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races maybe you don't need that
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explosive
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propulsion this is definitely in the
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ballpark like I said the TPU is highly
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energetic it feels fast it feels quick
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on the run you just don't have that
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extra oomph you know from the carbon
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plate that's definitely a thing in
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plated Super Shoes so that's not there
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you have a much better fit you have a
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much better feel the outsole is probably
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superior to the outsa is definitely
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Superior to all three of those shoes if
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you're in an all Mountain environment
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Ultra race scenario and traction is
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Paramount this would be the one to pick
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for that price is definitely a
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consideration too I believe these are
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$15 the other shoes are in the range of
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250 plus so you're taking out that
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carbon fiber plate but you have a stout
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kind of racing shoe here and you're
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coming in at under $200 so it's
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definitely a great value as far as every
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day running if you don't mind spending
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that little bit of
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extra compared to say some other daily
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trainer shoes you're getting a lot of
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bang for your buck so if regular trail
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running shoes are coming in in the $130
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to $160 range and this one's coming in a
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little shy of 200 and you're getting the
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performance of almost on a super shoe
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level if not at a super shoe level in
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certain conditions this would be a
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fantastic training shoe honestly if I
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was in a position where I didn't want to
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reserve this for racing I would love to
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use this as an everyday training shoe I
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don't really like the carbon fiber on an
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everyday basis I tend to reserve those
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for racing so having almost that level
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of performance with the flexibility I
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really think that's helpful for
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day-to-day running to not be in a carbon
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fiber plated shoe these are kind of in
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the middle ground as a high value high
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performance training shoe or high value
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almost as performance Super Shoe all
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right I'm back at the house dried up
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warmed up had a cup of coffee I wanted
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to wrap this up by doing a little
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compare and contrast between the regular
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prodigio and the prodigio pro so looking
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at both of these shoes the Midol specs
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are the same you've got 34 under the
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heel 26 under the 4T for a 6 mm drop the
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difference here is you've got what they
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call xflow speed here and xflow foam in
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combination
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this one has their regular xflow which
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is a nitrogen infused Eva here like I
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talked about in the ride and on the run
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that explos speed is a TPU nitrogen
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infused within an Eva carrier which is
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also nitrogen Infuse so on the run this
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one definitely feels a bit more
13:21
energetic softer a little bit bouncier
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the TPU gives it generally a lot more
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energy than the regular prodigio the
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regular prodigio feels of course nice
13:33
and stable the toe box is wide relative
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to other lasportiva models I do think
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the prodigio pro is even a little bit
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wider I didn't have any issues with
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either of these shoes they both felt
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comfortably wide I generally like the
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fit of this upper better though one
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other difference that I did talk about
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maybe you could see a little better here
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is this midso does seem to wrap up above
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the foot a bit more so I feel like I'm
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really connected and in this shoe as
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opposed to with the regular prodigio
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riding kind of on top of it which is
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fine um I have no issues with the ride
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on this shoe I really like it I think
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it's a really comfortable easy day shoe
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with range for some real mountain
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running due to the outsole that they
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have on here uh but this one I just feel
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a little bit more connected I feel like
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I'm seated inside of the shoe as I put
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my hands in here I can feel
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the kind of sidewalls wrapping around
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really love the fit and feel of the shoe
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I talked about this a lot on the Run
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quickly comparing the outsoles here
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we've got the friction White Version
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here this is Los bivio stickiest
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compound I don't know if there's any
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difference between the outside lugs and
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the inside lugs it feels the same to me
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here you've got friction Red version and
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they specifically say that you have a
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more durable
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ring of exterior logs and on the inside
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is stickier for traction you'll also
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notice that the outo does wrap up around
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a little bit more here on the ball of
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the foot and also on the medial side
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something of a difference between this
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one gives you a little bit more
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protection probably a little bit more um
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control I'll Flex both of these shoes
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here the
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website says that the prodigio has a pu
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coded flow
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film whereas this prodigio pro has a pu
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speed film it does feel noticeably Flex
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in this one I don't think either one of
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them would be in the category of a full
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Rock plate or anything like that they're
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both quite flexible but as you can see
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the prodigio pro is very flexible um so
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that's film maybe something um in terms
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of just bonding the two layers of foam
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maybe between the TPU and the Eva could
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be what that's for here I did notice of
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course on the run more firmness in this
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shoe it could be due to that flow film
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plate being a little bit thicker perhaps
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a little bit more
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protective um also this is full Eva you
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don't have that
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TPU uh in the middle of the foot it's
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going to feel a bit of a firmer ride one
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thing to call out here and I've heard
16:34
this personally from Runners not just
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online people have complained about this
16:39
collar being a bit High I was told in
16:42
person at the running event by Los
16:44
fortiva that they've lowered this ankle
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collar from some of the initial versions
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I also followed up with them they told
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me it was an inline update it was done
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pretty early on all of the models that
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are for sale anywhere right now should
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have the lower collar so if the high
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collar was something that bothered you
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and that's something that definitely I'm
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sensitive to in my testing I've had
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plenty of shoes where I've literally
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hacked out this collar or hacked out the
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heel area literally with a razor blade
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to make the shoe runnable So and I've
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had no issues it actually feels quite
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low to me so I none of this has bothered
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me at all so if that was an issue maybe
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you got a very early pair when it first
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came out obviously the shoe's been out
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for a while it seems to have been
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remedied so just quickly
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recapping the weights and the prices of
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these shoes this regular prodigio comes
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in at 9.9 o 280 G and this one comes in
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at 9.6 Oz 272 g you have a lighter
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version here a little bit more energetic
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this is more this is really a racing
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shoe with some range to be a really fast
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training shoe and if you don't mind
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paying the extra price this one comes in
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at $195 and this one's listed at $ 155
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now that's a $40 difference and
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personally I think this is a
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$195 Super Shoe that punches very close
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to the high-end Super Shoes on the
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market that are in the range of 225 for
18:23
the Adidas shoe 250 for the North Face
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shoe and 275 for the Hoka ton X you're
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getting very close to these shoes at a
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lot lower price and in comparison to
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this one at 155 if you were thinking of
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perhaps a racing shoe or even just for
18:39
training I I would spend the extra $40
18:43
because I think the shoe is so good the
18:46
TPU is really really great it feels a
18:50
lot more energetic than this shoe this
18:52
shoe is great it's solid it's stable the
18:56
rubber is probably more durable you'll
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get lot of miles out of this one I don't
19:00
see this out soole being a problem at
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all they both have 4 mm lugs by the way
19:05
the fit of this upper is just for me
19:08
impeccable this is probably the best
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booty fit that I've ever had in a trail
19:14
shoe it just wraps my foot perfectly
19:18
probably the best knit collar out right
19:22
now love the Hoka version but of course
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it's higher in terms of low just at and
19:27
below the ankle this one is the best on
19:29
the market so that's a wrap on the Las
19:32
fortiva prodigio Pro I think they have a
19:36
big winner on their hands here a
19:39
mountain shoe borderline Super Shoe
19:42
competitive with those runnable terrain
19:45
Super Shoes on the market but far more
19:47
stable far more secure probably better
19:50
performing in true mountainous rugged
19:53
terrain here across the board lasportiva
19:55
just crushed it with this shoe so I hope
19:58
you enjoyed this review stay tuned to
20:00
Road trail run for more reviews check
20:02
out my playlist of Trail reviews I'll be
20:05
doing the written review on the road
20:07
tril run.com website there'll be
20:09
additional comps let me know if there's
20:12
something you'd like to see specifically
20:13
or if you have any other questions about
20:15
the prodigio pro fantastic shoe again
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