La Sportiva Prodigio Trail Running Shoes Review
versatile, all-around trail runner for everyday training
June 8th, 2025
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Our verdict
The La Sportiva Prodigio is an excellent choice for trail runners looking for a shoe that combines high cushion comfort with grip, speed, and overall performance.
Almost all of our testers found this shoe to be a favorite they’ve ever tested.
In fact, it’s the Best Overall winner in our Best Men’s Trail Running Shoes guide, and is featured in our Best Women’s Trail Running Shoes guide.
The Prodigio has a responsive nitrogen-infused midsole that offers great performance and speed on the trail. La Sportiva’s sticky rubber outsole inspires confidence on tricky trails.
And the mesh on the upper is both incredibly breathable and quick drying while also hugging the foot just right to give an excellent amount of support and stability. While we wouldn’t call this a budget shoe, we think it offers a lot of value, versatility, and performance for the money.
We think most trail runners will find the Prodigio to be an excellent, versatile choice for everyday training—just note that La Sportiva sizing can be a little odd, and if you’re unsure you may want to try these on before you buy.
La Sportiva Prodigio
Men's
Women's
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Specs
Weight: 1 lb 3 oz (men), 1 lb (women)
Drop: 6 mm
Stack height: 34 - 28 mm (heel to toe)
Cushioning: High cushion
Stability: Mid-foot wrap system for stability and power transfer
Protection: Dense supercritical foam midsole, Flowfilm PU-coated mesh insert in midsole, thermoformed toe cap
Stiffness: Stiff
Fit: Medium-wide
Available sizes: Women’s 36-43 / Men’s 38-49.5
Suitable for vegans: Yes
Materials: Nitrogen-infused supercritical foam midsole, recycled mesh upper, dual rubber compound outsole
Intended use: Made for fast and efficient trail runs
Comparison table
| TRAIL RUNNING SHOE | WEIGHT MEN'S (PAIR) | WEIGHT WOMEN'S (PAIR) | CUSHION | HEEL DROP | STACK HEIGHT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Sportiva Prodigio Men's Women's |
1 lb 3 oz | 1 llb | High | 6 mm | 34 - 28 mm |
| La Sportiva Prodigio Pro Men's Women's |
1 lb 1.8 oz | 15.8 oz | High | 6 mm | 34 - 28 mm |
| La Sportiva Prodigio Max Men's Women's |
1 lb 4.8 oz | 1 lb 2.2 oz | Maximum | 6 mm | 37 - 31 mm |
| La Sportiva Bushido III Men's Women's |
1 lb 5.0 oz | 1 lb 1.5 oz | Moderate | 6 mm | 13 - 19 mm |
| Altra Lone Peak 9 Men's Women's |
1 lb 6.3 oz | 1 lb 2.6 oz | Moderate | 0 mm | 25 mm |
Who is it for?
The Prodigio is an excellent daily driver for runners who want an ideal blend of cushion and stability on the trails. Photo by Tom Callaghan.
The Prodigio is an excellent shoe for an all-around, everyday trail running shoe for runners who want a responsive and moderately cushioned shoe without sacrificing speed or weight. It’s comfortable, responsive, and good overall on technical terrain.
It’s not as high cushion as some models, and we wouldn’t consider it a true race shoe or a super shoe, but it’s an excellent choice for a daily driver for runners who want balanced performance and versatility overall. We also think this shoe offers decent value for the money. It’s not the best or highest performing shoe we’ve ever tested, but we think you get very good performance for the money.
How we tested
Treeline Review writer Sam Schild tested the La Sportiva Prodigios in Arizona and New Mexico. Photo by Sam Schild
Three different Treeline testers used this shoe over the course of a year with hundreds of miles spent testing.
Sam, our men’s tester, used these shoes on trail runs in the desert and mountains of Arizona and New Mexico and found them to have a great fit for his wider-than-average foot and loved their performance overall.
Becca, one of our women’s testers, used the Prodigio on runs around the foothills of Colorado’s Front Range and throughout northern Arizona, and while she liked them overall, felt the shoes had some room for improvement.
Stasia, our primary tester for this story, tested the shoes primarily on trail runs in the mountains around Summit County, Colorado. She also has relatively wide feet and found an excellent fit with the Prodigio. She used them to train for and run a half marathon in the desert slickrock landscape of Moab, Utah.
Our primary tester, Stasia, used the Prodigio to train for and run a half marathon on technical trails in Moab. These are some of the best trail runners she’s ever worn (though she admittedly likes the Prodigio Pro even more). Here, she’s all smiles on race day with her son. Photo by Jon Stockwell.
Overall, our three testers used these shoes over a wide variety of terrain, from technical slickrock scrambles in Moab to smooth packed dirt trails and even some runs on paved rec paths. All three testers found the shoes to be versatile across different types of terrain for short and mid-distance runs.
What we liked
Versatile performance over varied terrain
Wider (but not too wide) fit, especially for La Sportiva which typically runs very narrow
Responsive midsole
Stable upper
Grippy outsole without bulky lugs
What could be better
La Sportiva sizing is weird
More ground feel and less cushion than some runners may like for longer distances
Some issues with rubbing on ankle
Some folks have had issues with rubbing at the ankle, but La Sportiva made an in-line update to solve the issue. Photo by Sam Schild
Features
Upper material
The upper material on the Prodigio is a high-tenacity engineered mesh that is both highly breathable and very quick drying while maintaining durability. The thermoformed toe cap helps with this durability, while also helping to keep dirt or sand from sneaking in through the mesh.
Our primary men’s tester, Sam, says that these are some of the fastest drying trail runners he’s ever worn. (You can read his review in our Best Men’s Trail Running Shoes guide.) Stasia, our primary women’s tester, agrees that the Prodigio offers top-notch breathability and quick drying performance.
The La Sportiva Prodigios offer top-notch breathability. Photo by Sam Schild
On top of moisture management, the design of the upper on the Prodigio also does an excellent job at stabilizing the foot for runs on technical terrain. The tongue is attached to the upper with an elastic nylon that wraps snugly around the midfoot. This creates a snug yet comfortable fit that wraps the foot all around, adding stability.
Two of our three testers had an issue with the upper, though, and it was also something that was an issue with customer reviewers, too. The ankle design had a strong tendency to cause rubbing and pain for many folks, including our men’s tester Sam and Becca, another one of our women’s testers. Stasia, our primary women's tester, wore these shoes for nearly a full season of training and then ran a trail half marathon in them and never experienced this issue once. Nonetheless, La Sportiva made an in-line update to the shoe and this issue has reportedly been fixed (though we have not tested a new model post-update).
Midsole and cushioning
The XFlow nitrogen-infused foam that La Sportiva uses in the midsole of the Prodigio is impressively responsive and well cushioned—it’s one of the most responsive trail runners both Sam and Stasia have tested. This compression molded foam is dense yet very springy and feels great in stride. But the shoe remains relatively lightweight and nimble, too.
Outsole and traction
La Sportiva is, after all, a climbing brand known for making footwear with sticky, grippy rubber outsoles. The Prodigio has a. Sticker rubber compounds often wear out fast, so La Sportiva strategically placed the stickier rubber in the center of the outsole for maximum grip, and used a more durable rubber on the sides of the sole, which is an area that typically sees the most wear.
The Bi-compound FriXion XT 2.0 outsole is grippy across a wide variety of off-road terrain. Photo by Sam Schild
Lugs
The 4mm lugs are grippy without being obnoxiously big. This is part of what makes these shoes so versatile. They’re not cumbersome on hard packed surfaces and are even suitable for some time on the pavement on the way to the trailhead.The grip is still great when the terrain gets tricker. Our primary tester, Stasia, wore these shoes on loose, rocky runs in the mountains near her home in Breckenridge, and scrambled across sandstone ledges in them in Moab. The grip on the Prodigios was confidence inspiring through it all.
The dual rubber compound outsole on the Prodigio and 4mm lugs have great traction. Photo by Tom Callaghan.
These shoes are up there among some of the grippiest we’ve tested. They can’t quite match the truly strong grip of the HOKA Speedgoat 6, but while the outsole on the Speedgoat is grippier, the Prodigio is both more stable and more responsive. The La Sportiva Bushido III uses the same rubber as the Prodigio, but has a different lug pattern (still 4mm) and more groundfeel and stability, making them better for highly technical trail runs. Overall, the Prodigio offers an excellent level of grip balanced with stability and speed.
Toe cap
There is a thermoformed toe cap on the Prodigio which helps with both durability and mitigates dirt and sand from getting in through mesh in the toe. This coating is still quite minimal, which helps the shoe maintain its light weight and breathability.
The Prodigio has a thermoformed toe cap that adds durability to the upper. Photo by Tom Callaghan.
Fit and sizing
The Prodigio fits notably wider than other La Sportiva models. While we wouldn’t call it a true wide fit, it is on the wide side and can accommodate a variety of foot shapes (whereas many other La Sportiva models, like the Bushido or Jackal, are better suited to narrow feet). Both Stasia and Sam have relatively wide feet and found a great fit with the Prodigio.
The sizing for La Sportiva, however, is funky, and this is often the case with Euro brands (we’ve had similar issues with Dynafit trail runners). You’ll want to consider going a full size up from your regular running shoe size with these.
We love the secure and comfortable fit of the Prodigio. Photo by Tom Callaghan.
Insole
The Prodigio features an OrthoLite Hybrid insole, which adds to the shoe’s overall comfort. The Hybrid insole includes eco-friendly materials, like recycled rubber and it’s made with 15% production waste foam, which essentially means they use small unused scraps from production to make the foam.
Ride and rocker design
The Prodigio has a progressive rocker design, which helps to make this shoe feel fast and efficient on the trail. The rocker isn’t the most exaggerated out there, but it’s plenty to give this shoe some speed without losing stability. This isn’t the most cushioned shoe out there for ultra distances, but for short and relatively long runs, we think the Prodigio has a great ride overall.
The Prodigio has a progressive rocker design, which helps to make this shoe feel fast and efficient on the trail. Photo by Sam Schild
Protection
The FlowFilm nylon mesh insert is intended to help minimize ground feel and protect your feet from rocks on the trail. We think this does a good job overall at accomplishing that, though this shoe has more ground feel than more cushioned shoes, or shoes with a carbon rock plate. Becca, one of our women’s testers, found the Prodigio to have a little more groundfeel than she’d usually prefer. But, our other two testers, Sam and Stasia, felt that there was plenty of cushioning and a good balance of features overall with the Prodigio. On rocky high-alpine trail runs, Stasia rarely noticed the rocks under her feet—but she likes more groundfeel in her trail runners than Becca.
One of our testers thought the Prodigios offered more groundfeel than most maximum cushion trail shoes, while our other testers thought they had plenty of cushion and stack to avoid much groundfeel. Photo by Becca Downs
Sustainability and materials
La Sportiva includes some sustainable materials in the Prodigio. As mentioned above, the OrthoLite Hybrid insole contains recycled materials. The liner is made of 100% recycled mesh material, the engineered mesh in the upper (but not the entire upper) is made of recycled material, and the laces are also made with recycled materials. These shoes are also vegan friendly.
The insoles, liners, mesh uppers, and laces of the Prodigios are made from recycled materials. Photo by Sam Schild
Performance in the field
Cover traction (FriXion)
The Prodigio has excellent traction for a high cushion trail runner. The sticky rubber outsole performed well on a variety of trails and all three of our testers liked the grip on these shoes. Stasia, our primary tester, wore these on high alpine trail runs with lots of loose rock and scree, and also wore them for a race in Moab where she scrambled through slickrock for a good section of the course. She thinks the Prodigio is a very confidence-inspiring shoe when it comes to grip.
Breathability
Both Stasia and Sam used these shoes in some toasty conditions on runs in the desert, and both testers found them to be exceptionally breathable. It helps that the upper is also incredibly quick drying, so our testers’ feet never felt swamped out in these shoes.
Midsole rebound
These are some of the most responsive trail running shoes we’ve tested to date. The dense but light foam in the midsole is very springy and it’s noticeable the minute you put the shoes on.
It’s worth noting that La Sportiva has now released the Prodigio Pro (men’s and women’s), which is even more springy and responsive, with more cushion, too. We think the responsiveness of the original Prodigio is great—but the Prodigio Pro is even better, especially for fast trail racing.
Comfort on long descents
Some runners would argue that the descent is sometimes the toughest part of a trail run. Thanks to the very secure upper, wider fit in the forefoot, and springy cushion in the Prodigio, these shoes were comfortable even on steep and technical downhills. The snug and secure fit in the upper is probably the most crucial factor in this. Our feet didn’t slip around or ram into the toe of the shoe on even very steep downhills in the mountains.
Performance on rocky/technical terrain
The grip on the outsole of these shoes is great for longer distances across rough terrain. Our primary tester ran a desert trail half marathon on fairly rowdy terrain and felt that the Prodigio was the perfect shoe for it. Something like the La Sportiva Bushido III (see our review here) will offer even more precise handling in particularly technical or scrambly terrain, but it won’t have the same level of cushion, spring, or speed as the Prodigio.
Sam tested the Prodigios on a variety of rocky and technical terrain types, and found these shoes to perform well across them all. Photo by Sam Schild
How does the rocker shape and wide platform affect gait and stability?
For a high-cushion, rockered shoe, we think the Prodigio offers great stability overall. Compared to another high cushion, high grip trail runner like the HOKA Speedgoat 6, we think the Prodigio is notably more nimble and stable. The platform is wide enough to provide ample cushion and support without negatively affecting running stride.
The Prodigios have great stability and performance in technical terrain while maintaining speed and responsiveness. Photo by Tom Callaghan.
Sustainability
La Sportiva uses a lot of eco-friendly materials in the Prodigio. There are recycled materials in the liner and laces. And, the OrthoLite Hybrid midsole uses both recycled rubber and production waste foam in its design.
Other models
La Sportiva Prodigio Pro
Weight: 1 lb 1.8 oz (men), 15.8 oz (women)
Cushioning: High
Outsole: FriXion XF 2.0 dual compound rubber
Drop: 6 mm
Fit: Medium-wide
The Prodigio Pro is not simply a “better” version of the Prodigio. Really, it’s a different shoe altogether. The Prodigio is a great all-around shoe for racing and daily training on trails of all types. The Pro has more cushion, a wider platform, and a totally different design in the upper. And, it’s even more responsive than the Prodigio. The upper is one uniform piece with TPU-reinforced webbing for a stable and precise fit. This shoe is also lighter than the Prodigio while offering more comfort and performance overall. We think that the regular Prodigio is great for everyday runs and training, and the Pro is a high-performing long distance trail race shoe.
La Sportiva Prodigio Pro
Men's
Women's
La Sportiva Prodigio Max
Weight: 1 lb 4.8 oz (men), 1 lb 2.2 oz (women)
Cushioning: Maximum
Outsole: FriXion Blue rubber
Drop: 6 mm
Fit: Medium-wide
The Max version of the Prodigio is available on La Sportiva’s website and a few retailers before a full release in the fall. This shoe has a wider fit and more cushion than the original Prodigio. We’re in the midst of testing this shoe and look forward to sharing a review soon. For folks who like the Prodigio but need extra cushion for ultra distances, this shoe could be a good fit.
La Sportiva Prodigio Max
La Sportiva Prodigio vs. similar trail running shoes
The Prodigio is a favorite among our testers for a high cushioned trail runner. It’s more stable and responsive than the HOKA Speedgoat, though we think the Speedgoat has better cushion and better traction. Overall, our testers prefer the Prodigio to the Speedgoat. Other high cushion trail runners, like the Altra Olympus, offer notably more cushion and less ground feel than the Prodigio. But, the Olympus is far less nimble and stable than the Prodigio, especially given the extremely wide platform of this shoe—we think it’s better for long distance hiking than fast trail runs.
Should I buy the La Sportiva Prodigio?
Consider the La Sportiva Prodigio if you’re a trail runner looking for an excellent all-around trail runner with plenty of cushion for longer distances. There’s a lot to like about this shoe, and it’s a standout for versatility and performance across a variety of terrain. While we wouldn’t call this a budget shoe, we do think it offers a lot of value and performance for the money.
Skip this shoe if you want little to no ground feel and consider something with even more cushion or a rock plate. And, if you want a shoe with even more rebound and responsiveness for racing on trails, consider the Prodigio Pro or a carbon-plated shoe instead.
Where to buy the La Sportiva Prodigio?
REI
Pros: 100% satisfaction policy for 1 year; 10% dividend for members.
Amazon
Pros: Free 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime membership
Similar trail running shoes
La Sportiva Bushido III
Weight: 1 lb 5 oz (men), 1 lb 1.5 oz (women)
Cushioning: Low
Outsole: FriXion XF 2.0 dual compound rubber
Drop: 6 mm
Fit: Narrow (also offered in a wide version)
The Bushido is another popular trail runner from La Sportiva, but different in a lot of ways from the Prodigio. The Bushido and Prodigio have the same rubber compound on the outsole and both have 4mm lugs, but that’s where the similarities end. The lug pattern is different, with the Bushido being more grip oriented and the Prodigio being better for speed. The Bushido is a low cushion shoe, ideal for shorter runs in particularly technical terrain where traction and ground feel are a top priority. The Prodigio is a high cushion shoe best for longer distances on trails, and can even be a good race shoe (though we would recommend the Prodigio Pro for ultra distances and more rebound). Read our long-term review of the La Sportiva Bushido III for more info.
La Sportiva Bushido III
Men's
Women's
Altra Lone Peak 9
Weight: 1 lb 6.3 oz (men), 1 lb 2.6 oz (women)
Cushioning: Mid
Outsole: MaxTrac
Drop: 0 mm
Fit: Wide
The Lone Peak 9 has long been popular among both trail runners and thru-hikers. This zero-drop shoe is very different from the Prodigio. It has a much wider toe box, no heel to toe drop, less cushion, and a less responsive midsole. We think the Lone Peak is great for more casual runs and hikes, whereas the Prodigio is a much higher performing shoe for running. Learn more in our in-depth review of the Altra Lone Peak 9+.
Altra Lone Peak 9
Men's
Women's
HOKA Speedgoat 6
Weight: 1 lb 3.6 oz (men), 1 lb 0.4 oz (women)
Cushioning: Maximum
Outsole: Vibram Megagrip
Drop: 5 mm
Fit: Regular (also offered in wide fit)
The Speedgoat 6 has been another longtime favorite for many of our testers and is a top-performing trail runner. We even named it Best Overall in our Best Women’s Trail Running Shoes guide. This shoe has the best traction of any trail runner our primary tester, Stasia, has ever used. But, it is a little less stable and not as responsive as the Prodigio. The combo of traction and cushion on the Speedgoat make it a great daily trainer for long runs on tough terrain. But the Prodigio offers more speed and agility. Learn more about the HOKA Speedgoat 6 in our in-depth review.
HOKA Speedgoat 6
Men's
Women's
About the Author / Why you should trust us
Stasia Stockwell on a trail run in Colorado.
A true mountain dweller, Stasia feels far more at home on a high alpine ridge than on a busy city street. She’s worked as a backpacking guide in Southeast Alaska, has held WFR, AIARE 1, AIARE 2, and Avalanche Rescue Certifications and is working to become an avalanche education instructor. She’s now a full time writer and editor in the outdoor space and has been testing and writing about gear for over a decade.
Stasia has been a runner for over half her life. Something she despised as a high school athlete, it eventually became a hobby and passion in college.
She started running on the road and did a few short distance races and half marathons before realizing the trails were her jam.
She’s since run a mountain marathon in the San Juans of southern Colorado and other trail races throughout the West, including the Moab half marathon.
Though in recent years mountain biking and gravel riding have taken up most of her summer days, she still runs regularly as cross training and loves long trail runs in the high alpine near her home in Breckenridge. She tries to sign up for one trail race each fall to get her out of the saddle and keep her honest with running.
You can see all her Treeline Review articles on her author page.
