Thanks for tuning in today we're going to be reviewing the La Sportiva Cyklon trail running
shoes. Developed in collaboration with BOA the La Sportiva Cyklon are a high performance and
innovative trail running shoe. They've been designed to provide lightweight and durable
construction to inspire confidence when running on challenging trails with high elevation change.
For packaging you have a simple cardboard box with La Sportiva's distinctive coloring on here.
Basic information on the side
a little bit branding on the other side as well as a sizing chart printed here. We definitely
recommend checking out the brand sizing chart to make sure you get the right size.
What we have here is a 43.5 EUR which translates to a 10.5 US.
It's not available in any wide just standard offsets. Lets go ahead and take it out of the box
and we'll go over the specs. So retail price on these are 160 dollars they're developed for racing
or medium distance trail running to provide a lot of traction and precision. They have a dynamic cage
construction which is very unique so you have this wrap around upper material with a single
l6 BOA dial so it provides a lot of control and micro adjustments to really get the fit.
You have a shock proof tpu toe cap here to prevent again from injured off the trail
and then also a lot of traction with the FriXon XF 2.0 outsole with the seven millimeter lugs
along here specially designed to provide a lot of confidence on loose gravel
or challenging terrain. In terms of what comes in the box you simply get these shoes and that's
about it. There is a simple tag on here with a little information as well as the little stuff
in here to hold the form. Now let's take a look at the weight of the shoes as with any running shoe
the more durable it is the more heavy you can get so it's definitely a balance there.
So we take the left shoe that comes in at 324 while the right shoe again this
is a euro 43 and a half right shoe comes in at 326 so fairly light for the combination.
Now let's go over the fit and finish of the Cyklon shoes well sportiva offers these both
in a men's and women variation with only one color option for each we have the men's version here and
it's this black and yellow so bright you can see the black and yellow stands out.
You have a black soul with the yellow side it's a very distinctive coloring scheme and then
La Sportiva written loud here on the outer part of the shoes. They have nice little details
like this little cuff as well that prevent any debris from getting in the shoe. The women's
variation of these shoes is a gray and blue which supposedly is a little more feminine.
Now for trail running shoes you want a lot of precision and control and because these
are designed for a medium length run they're less tight so they have a little bit more
flexibility so a little bit wider so you can your feet can actually expand yet they still
have the precision you need with this wrap around design. So rather than having a traditional tongue
and lace they have a boa dial system with this full wrap around upper material so you can see
this actually wraps around and as you tighten it pulls it up so very custom like fit.
You have a little toe protection up here so if you stub your toe you're not going to feel it
and reinforce tpu material on top to provide the durability you need especially on rough terrain.
Now the closure system is probably one of the most unique aspects of these shoes so this is
the highlight of the shoe and this is developed in collaboration with BOA it has a dynamic cage which
is what they refer to as the top material and you can see the lace actually wraps inside this
and really wraps around so this actually comes in if we loosen it again you can see it pulls
in so as you tighten it it really provides this kind of wraparound feeling for really precise
and tight fit. It's very flexible as well so you still have the comfort without the
bulk of traditional running shoes. Some of the details of the shoes are the TX4 laces
so these are very durable lace that run through what they call the FormTX guide.
These are low friction material here that wraps inside provide really smooth operation
you have a single L6 BOA dial. If you're not familiar with BOA dials they are in a lot of athletic
shoes. These L6 dials are pretty commonly used a lot of shoes and they provide micro tightening so you
can see about one millimeter to tighten you need as you ratchet it down. To loosen it you simply
pull up and then you can see full release there's no micro loosening adjustment as
you get with the other BOA dials though you get a nice little detail like this little plastic loop.
This little fabric loop and you can pull that up to help put the shoe on because this is a
tongue-less design it's a little less comfortable to put on and take off. You also get this nice
elastic cuff here and that prevents any gravel or debris from getting inside your shoe. Now in
terms of the sole these have what they call the frixon xf 2.0 mud guard with impact brake system.
Marketing jargon aside you can see it has seven millimeter lugs and this provides a lot of control
so a lot of traction the last thing you want to do is slip or slide when you're on the trail
especially when you're challenging terrain . So you can see these have really been
designed orientated to maximize your traction the front pieces are actually oriented forward while
the side ones have a wider profile to help you stop, accelerate or decelerate. You can see it's
really flexible too so the tongue here goes up nice and easy and then tighter when you go down.
It's a lightweight construction that provides good impact resistance as well. In terms of the
insole go ahead and pull this out you have a nice wrap around insole and you can see really molded.
Typically these are flat but with this actually wraps up and around that prevents
you from feeling the seam inside the shoes and also has a nice form fit to bolt around your
arch support or anything else you need easily swap out you can easily swap these out too if needed.
Here you can see the shoes on the trail after doing a little bit of breaking in
I found to be quite comfortable the boa dial makes it really easy to adjust the tension with
that wrap around design. It really locks your feet in for that precision you need for trail running
you can also see that they're quite flexible because of that dynamic cage construction.
The upper material is nice and soft so that means when you're going up and down gradients
and you're flexing the toes you don't have any pressure points which is a really nice feature
and something that you find in a lot of hiking shoes or bulkier shoes.
We also found the lugged soles to be quite comfortable and provide good traction
so even going around sharp corners or steep climbs. We never felt like we were gonna slide
or lose traction and one of the best parts about the shoes is it has a low to medium cushioning
so that means you still feel the rocks and debris under you and that gives you
the confidence to know what you're running on without sliding around as well. Also the rebound
is about a medium rebound it does help you jump up a little bit but it's not like a spring
something you'd find in more heavily cushioned shoe so it still feels natural when you're running.
Now let's do a quick comparison between the popular ASIC Nimbus running shoes versus the
Cyklon shoes. The nimbus are designed for road running and you can see the profiles are
quite different as well. Where this one has deep lugs on these soles while the nimbus shoes are more
designed for concrete rather than having the lugs it also has more arch support here and a lot more
a foam here to absorb impact while the Cyklon has it more concealed inside the actual outsole.
The upper is where the Cyklon really shines where this has traditional lace that can
become untied while you're running. the BOA dial provides precise and quick adjustments
and also has a wrap-around design so you don't have this traditional tongue
and that really keeps your foot in place. It's quite comfortable as well you can see they're both
very soft they have the little toe coverage here but obviously with the Cyklon it's a
lot thicker and wider as you have more debris or chance of stubbing your toe on the trails.
Otherwise the heel support is also a little more
tight on the Cyklon you can see it's a little more narrow here to hold your heel
in place and prevent it from rising and with this nice little elastic cuff here
that'll also prevent the debris that you wouldn't get when you're running on the road.
Now let's go over the scorecard for the La Sportiva Cyklon shoes we're going to grade on
four different categories: design, closures, comfort and value. For design we'd give it a B+, it's
only available in one color for men and women and the graphics are pretty bright it'd be great to
have more options there. Closure would be an A, the BOA system with the dynamic cage is really impressive
it wraps around your feet and gives you that nice high precision feel that you need for
a trail running. Comfort would be an A-, the upper material is nice and flexible
but still gives you a nice secure feel especially for longer runs where you need to
kind of expand your feet. Value-wise we would give that A- it's certainly not cheap at 200
but it has the high performance characteristics you need for trail running
or longer distance runs. Thanks for watching this review don't forget to like and subscribe. You
can see more content from us on our website at thesweetcyclists.com as well as follow us
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