LA SPORTIVA KARACAL & LA SPORTIVA CYKLON. When and how to bet on one or the other. Our TRAIL SHOES section reviews today the best of the Italian balcony catalogue. The new Cyklon and Karacal are already in stores. They join six veterans like this: Helios III, VK Boa, Mutant, Bishido, Kaptiva, Lycan, Jackal, Akasha and Ultra Raptor.
La Sportiva Karacal arrives as the Jackal’s daughter. More comfortable and friendly to roll long and soft during the training for your ultra trails. La Sportiva Cyklon is the granddaughter of the Mutant, designed to compete on soft ground.
Let’s go with analysis and comparison of each by Mayayo. 
LA SPORTIVA TRAIL RUNNING 2021
NEW CYKLON AND KARACAL + FULL RANGE REVIEW.
La Sportiva, an Italian brand born in Alto Trentino in 1928 by Narciso Delladio, a footwear artist dedicated to clogs and shoes for lumberjacks. After imposing itself as a leader in the world of climbing shoes from the 1990s onwards, it continues in this 21st century to progressively expand presence in mountain shoes, trail running and skimo material while maintaining the essence of a family business that has gone so well in almost 100 years of history.
La Sportiva Trail Running: As you can see in the official diagram below, the Italian brand for Mountain Running, as they called this sport (“Mountain Running”) is structured on two mayor axes or less volume, both long, short or medium distance.
At more volume, more relaxed and popular use. At less volume, more racing and elite. 
THE SPORTIVA TRAIL RUNNING 2021. RANGE STRUCTURE.
Today, the italian brand offer shoes from the VK Boa for short distance in vertical kilometers, passing through the Mutant, Bushido2 and UltaRaptor for any kind of mountain races. The range of the Sportiva 2021 is structured according to short, medium and long distance, according to its chasis/fit for narrow feet, width or regular, depending on its midsole in more and less reactive and according to its sole in soft terrain, ice, stone or all terrain and depending on duration and grip.
The La Sportiva range offers prices from Lycan2’s 119€ to 209.99€ of the Blizzard Gore-Tex designed for snow running, membranes and spikes.
LA SPORTIVA CYKLON: DATA SHEET.
- PRICE 170 euros. High end, because it carries a lot of new technology and is to compete.
- WEIGHT: 330grm.
- FIT: Medium
- UPPER: High-Abrasion resistant mesh / Thermo-adhesive TPU reinforcement / BOA® Fit System / Comfort heel with pull-tab / Internal heel counter / TPU toe cap
- LINING: Abrasion resistant micro-fiber
- MIDSOLE: Dual-Density Compression Molded EVA / Medial and lateral stabilizer inserts
- SOLE: Frixion® XF 2.0 “Mudguard” Outsole with Impact Brake System™ / 7mm lugs
- DROP: Drop 8mm
- STACK: Heel: 28mm / Toe: 20mm
- CUSHIONING: Midsole: 32A
LA SPORTIVA KARACAL: DATA SHEET.
- PRICE 130 euros
- DROP: Drop 7mm • Stack: Heel: 29mm / Toe: 22mm
- WEIGHT: 290 grm
- UPPER: 3D Seamless Mesh and No-Sew Upper / Cushioned Tongue / Thermo-Adhesive framework / Thermo-Formed toe cap
- LINING: Abrasion Resistant Micro-fiber
- MIDSOLE: 4mm Ortholite Insole / Compression Molded EVA / 1.5mm Dual-Density EVA Rock-Guard underfoot
- SOLE: FriXion® AT 2.0 with Impact Brake System / FLEX Inserts / 3mm lugs
- CUSHIONING: Midsole: 35A (Heel) & 32A (Forefoot)
- LAST • FIT: Tempo Ultra • Wide
LA SPORTIVA KARACAL VS CYKLON, CONCLUSION.
Two solutions for very different uses, within the same philosophy of the brand:
- KARACAL:Training shoe in long runs for daily traininig on firm ground. If you are a popular runner, you can also use it in competition, of course.
- CYCKLON: If you’re a fan of the Mutant and you’re looking for something tighter to get juice out of every race, this is your shoe. Or, if you come from other mud shoes and you are one of those who value having good grip and foot well held above a few grams or so.
In common, a “friendly” and related fit, at least in my case, to the usual size. Without reaching the extreme of comfort that I mark at the time that pioneering Helios, neither of them will be as demanding at the foot as has happened with some previous model of the brand, like the recent Jackal.
THE SPORTIVA TRAIL RUNNING 2021: DROPS SUMMARY AND GROUND HEIGHTS
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