La Sportiva Helios 20 Trail Running Shoe Women Size Reviews
Price: $125 List
Pros: Extremely light, very sensitive, form fitting
Cons: Very niggling foot protection, size runs modest, not suitable for all types of running
Manufacturer: La Sportiva
By Andy Wellman ⋅ Senior Review Editor ⋅ Sep 12, 2017
Our Editors independently research, test, and rate the best products. Nosotros only brand money if you buy a product through our links, and nosotros never accept free products from manufacturers. Learn more
The Helios ii.0 remains unchanged for 2017, although it seems like this shoe is due for an update. While we have reviewed the 2.0 here, information technology is worth noting that the Helios SR is nearly the same shoe, but uses gluey rubber on the outsole and costs $10 more. This shoe remains the lightest in our review, by a relatively wide margin. It incorporates a quick lace system, that unfortunately lacks a garage to stuff them into like the Salomon Speedcross. Nosotros found the actress lace tails to be long and annoyingly flappy. This is the only shoe in the review that didn't have a very supportive heel cradle and is probably where some of the extra weight savings came from. Nosotros have to admit that we didn't detect that the cradle was missing while out on the trail.
While we awarded it our Top Pick for Lite and Fast in a previous year'south review, nosotros noticed that compared to the contest, we felt that nosotros spent more than time existence careful about where we put our feet while wearing this shoe considering we were worried nigh damaging our feet. Increased awareness is not a bad affair, but compared to the feel of our best overall trail running shoe, the Nike Terra Kiger 4, we just weren't able to confidently charge over gnarly terrain in these shoes. We still like them as a short run choice, for uphill just running, and for scrambling, but no longer considered them seriously for long runs, or for rough downhill terrain.
Functioning Comparison
The new Helios 2.0, the lightest shoe in our review, by a long shot. These are uncommonly sensitive shoes for those who want to run fast and accept strong feet. We found that they fit quite modest, and then size upward or try them on in accelerate.
Credit: Andy Wellman
Foot Protection
Nosotros awarded the Helios 2.0 the lowest score for foot protection, ii out of 10 points. It is made with just a very thin 15mm of midsole cushioning underneath the pes and no stone plate. Non only that, but there are many cutting outs in the wave patterned outsole that leaves lots of the soft midsole cream exposed to blows from roots or rocks. Nosotros felt that we had to be very careful of where we stepped while running in these shoes, particularly after feeling the pain of taking a couple of rocks directly to the middle of our foot. The upper protection is a flake improved in this second version, adding felt overlays to areas of loftier chafe where we experienced rips in the mesh last year. The bottom line, however, is that these are very sensitive shoes with minimal protection for the feet. The second least protective shoe in our review, the Altra Superior three.5 has a lot more underfoot cushioning past comparing. Nevertheless, neither of these shoes allowed u.s.a. to charge the rough terrain as we could in a standard traditional trail runner like the Nike Air Zoom Wildhorse 4.
The upper on the new Helios two.0 (bottom) is functionally very similar to the older version on top, although it includes more than lightweight plastic overlays for support. The 2.0 is two ounces per pair lighter than the already exceptionally light offset edition!
Credit: Andy Wellman
Traction
We enjoyed the viscous FriXion rubber on the bottom of these shoes for a few things like scrambling and scurrying around on rocks, but in general found the depth of the lugs to exist lacking, and found that the safe was soft and relatively quick to wear down. While the moving ridge patterned outsole adds significant depth to the traction due to the deep cutouts, the actual lugs themselves are very shallow, and not designed every bit aggressively as on a shoe like the Saucony Peregrine 7. That said, they certainly shined on stone and even wet rock, which is why they still ended up scoring higher than Altra Alone Acme iii.five.
The outsole of the Helios 2.0 (left) compared to the older original Helios (right). Equally you can see, with the exception of color, the sole remains unchanged. The ridges of sticky rubber give surprisingly adept traction, although the many gaps where midsole foam is the but protection mean that it is much easier and more likely to take a sharp rock to the foot in these shoes than others with a rockplate and complete outsole.
Credit: Andy Wellman
Stability
With a very low stack height of only 15mm underfoot and simply 4mm of heel-toe driblet, nosotros found these to be a very stable ride. We likewise found that their narrow contour and extremely soft midsole allowed a ton of flex and movement of the shoe's platform. They hugged the pes amend than any other shoe, and this held our foot in place better than virtually any other shoe. Naturally, we ranked them near the top of this metric, on par with the Nike Terra Kiger 4 besides as the Altra Superior 3.5.
Comfort
These shoes are pretty darn comfortable, correct upwardly there with the superlative contenders in our review. Worth noting is that this model runs about a one-half size small-scale, and then be certain to size up. Even with a half size larger shoe than we normally article of clothing, these shoes were the nearly snug of any that nosotros tested. Initially, this was snug in a good mode, but afterward many days out running in these shoes, we started to feel like the snugness acquired a few more rubs and friction points than in the all-time shoes we tried. Nosotros didn't experience blisters or discomfort, but couldn't charge per unit them upward in that location with the best. As such, they concluded up ranked a tier below the Terra Kiger 4, roughly on par with Inov-eight Roclite 290 and the low to the basis New Residue Vazee Acme v2. Like in past years, they also struggled in our h2o examination. While they were eye of the pack regarding amount of water absorbed, they were the worst shoe in the test for chop-chop shedding h2o after the five-minute jog. We still notice this odd because that La Sportiva advertises them every bit quick drying, but nosotros think is due to the type of cloth used inside the upper.
The Helios two.0 now sports a quick lace organization with a cinch buckle and keeper loop. While we beloved quick sure-fire laces, we found that a lace garage would accept served these shoes improve, as the actress cord was always a bit too long to fit snugly in the keeper loop.
Credit: Andy Wellman
Weight
Weighing in at a featherweight of but 17 ounces for a pair of size men's 11.5 (we had to size upward half a size for these shoes), the Helios 2.0 are past far the lightest shoe in this review. It is noticeable when you put them on and get for a run! They are two whole ounces lighter than the previous version and are close to three ounces lighter than the next closest competitor, the New Residue Vazee Top v2. Where lightness is the most important gene, like running uphill, these shoes are the ones to grab.
The Helios 2.0 are far and abroad the lightest pair of shoes that we reviewed, making them a fantastic choice for fast running. They excel on shine trails similar this one where their lack of underfoot protection is not an issue.
Credit: Elizabeth Riley
Sensitivity
Without a doubt, these are the about sensitive low-profile shoes in our review, with only the Altra Superior 3.5 fifty-fifty coming close. With no rock plate and only 15mm of soft EVA foam as cushioning nether the forefoot, at that place is less between the ground and your foot than whatever other shoe. In short, y'all can feel every lilliputian twig, root, or rock on the trail. This certainly gives one an incredibly natural feel, simply at the same fourth dimension requires feet of steel to be able to withstand running at high speeds on rougher terrain. x out of ten.
The Colorado Trail is almost 500 miles long and journeys between Denver and the town of Durango in the far southwest corner of the country. It is popular for thru-hikers and mountain bikers, and for the near office provides fantastic trail running. This part of the trail is in the remote Cochetepa Hills on the edge of the San Luis Valley.
Credit: Elizabeth Riley
Best Applications
The Helios two.0 is advertised as a shoe for all conditions, but we feel like it will serve i better as a part of their quiver and not as an everyday option. It would especially shine at uphill just running and races and does a pretty skilful job of scrambling. We don't call up information technology offers plenty protection for full speed running on technical, rocky terrain, or off-trail downhills. By the end of the review period, we will acknowledge that we enjoyed it the nearly as a very minimalist, natural feeling hiking shoe.
Due to the extremely lightweight nylon mesh upper that sheds h2o exceptionally well, too equally the glutinous rubber outsole, we found the Helios 2.0 to exist the perfect shoe for line-fishing missions into the depths of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.
Credit: Peter Dever
Value
The Helios two.0 will price you lot $125 retail, and this makes information technology about average for the pick of quality trail shoes this twelvemonth. Since we feel similar it is such a specialty contender, nosotros are not sure that this presents a great value compared to bombproof everyday trainers like The North Face Ultra Endurance. For those who can drop the money for the perfect shoe to run the Pikes Peak Ascent, then yous will be happy with your purchase, but for other uses, we don't think the value is super great here.
Conclusion
The Helios two.0 is a unique shoe considering it is far lighter and more than sensitive than whatsoever other shoe in this review. It does not have much protection for the feet, and therefore does not lend itself well to hard terrain or very long runs. Simply for those who love a minimalist, low-drop shoe that allows your feet to feel the trail, this is a worthy pick to check out.
The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a fantastic, but very hot, place for mid-summer trout angling. For hiking in on steep trails, scrambling over huge boulders, and standing in h2o almost of the day, we found the Helios ii.0 to be a great shoe.
Credit: The Trout Man
Source: https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/reviews/shoes-and-boots/trail-running-shoes/la-sportiva-helios-2-0
Post a Comment for "La Sportiva Helios 20 Trail Running Shoe Women Size Reviews"