La Sportiva Ultra Raptor II Mid GTX Hiking Boot – Lightweight and Comfortable Hiking Boot

Kate Agathon

I live in the mountains, and therefore have plenty of casual trails nearby to explore. However, after a few casual hikes, I realized that my regular hiking boots were too heavy and over the top for hikes where I wasn’t carrying a heavier load on technical terrain.

 

In short, I needed a capable, lightweight hiker.

 

Enter the La Sportiva Ultra Raptor II mid GTX hiking boot. The Ultra Raptor II is a lightweight, comfortable hiking boot that does not require a break in period and evolved from La Sportiva’s highly popular Ultra Raptor running shoe line.

 

I immediately liked them as soon as I put them on.

The heel gaiter had a pull tab that allowed me to slip into the boot effortlessly. During the hike, the socklike collar provided comfort and helped prevent any abrasion or chafing.

 

Light and flexible, the Ultra Raptor II hiking boot kept many of the features of the all-terrain shoe. It felt and moved like a shoe across gravel, up rocks, and through streams (the Gortex membrane kept my feet dry).

 

Ultra Raptor II features that I really liked:

 

• Comfort layer (heel gaiter) kept my feet nice and snug.

• Midsole injection EVA provided additional comfort.

• Eye-stay laces reinforced with the TPU skeleton that allowed for lace pull force to be distributed equally. I appreciated how the laces stayed in place and didn’t require readjusting.

• Mudguards kept mud where it belongs and not all over the upper half and laces.

 

Finally, in an industry saturated with hiking boots, it’s surprising how difficult it is to find boots for women with small feet.

 

La Sportiva has that issue taken care of too, and offers the Ultra Raptor II in a range of sizes in both regular and wide fit. Note that the Ultra Raptor II runs about a half size small. I wore a size 5.5 boot and it fit perfectly.


La Sportiva Ultra Raptor II Mid GTX Hiking Boots - Women's | REI Co-op

 

A great boot for day hikes, the Ultra Raptor II is light, flexible and offers stability over varied terrain. It’s a multi-tasking boot that feels like a shoe and gets you where you want to go without feeling weighted down.


La Sportiva Ultra Raptor II Mid GTX Hiking Boot

 

Kate Agathon

Dr. Of Stoke

Freelance writer, bicyclist, outdoor recreation enthusiast, social justice advocate, and mom to her furbaby, Utah the Adventure Dog.

 

A Colorado native, Kate considers the outdoors her mother ship. She brings her passion for bicycling, the environment, and issues of diversity to her writing. Her primary outdoor recreation activities are mountain biking, fat biking, snowshoeing, camping, peak bagging Colorado’s 14ers, road cycling, and Nordic skiing. After suffering two major knee injuries within four years, Kate hopes to return to alpine skiing next season.

 

Kate earned a bachelor’s degree in History from Colorado State University and later an MSEd and Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Purdue University. In addition to her education, Kate’s background serving on the Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee and experience working for non-profits and bicycle sales well position her to bring depth and understanding to the complex changes currently taking place in the outdoor recreation industry.