Fit - This is how La Sportiva Akasha 2 feels
La Sportiva Akasha II offers plenty of comfort. The mesh offers plenty of ventilation around your toes and the complete upper feels overall soft and comfortable. The upper offers plenty of great mesh padding for the heel cap and the tongue around the instep and you´ll find the lacing is also soft.
In terms of size, La Sportiva Akasha II is average in size, although it feels a little shorter than usual – However, not to the point where I felt I had to change size, and I also didn´t have any problems with the length of the shoe on my workouts. In terms of width, it has a great fit and offers superb support.
The La Sportiva Akasha II midsole
La Sportiva Akasha II feels insistent and resolute - so it doesn´t offer a soft feeling during takeoffs and landing. On the other hand the resolute midsole provides a stable and firm sensation, which works really well in rocky terrain where you could run into trouble with a soft trail shoe.
It has slightly more foam around the heel than in the forefoot and consequently you end up with a shoe with the following stack height:
- Heel: 31 mm
- Forefoot: 25 mm
- And thus a drop of 6 mm
The outsole – ”FriXion” Red
La Sportiva produces different outsoles and La Sportiva Akasha II is equipped with their ”FriXion Red dual-compound”. As the name suggests, this outsole is a combination of different mixtures. The target has always been to design a versatile outsole which not only offered great grip but also great durability.
In practise the outsole performs really well; I certainly felt a great grip on all surfaces. The shoe is equipped with 4,5 mm lugs which means that its not specifically suited for mud but in spite of that I think it performs quite well. In other words, the outsole is very versatile but it performs especially well on uneven and rocky surfaces.
Conclusion - La Sportiva Akasha II´s best features
Basically La Sportiva Akasha II is a very stable shoe. You shouldn´t expect a soft and bouncy landing, on the other hand you get plenty of stability.
The upper is firm and the lower equally so which means that the shoe provides a great and comfortable experience on unsteady surfaces. The shoe wraps itself comfortably around your foot and at no time did I experience "sliding around" - neither forward nor to the side.
In addition La Sportiva has produced a great rubber mixture to the outsole which provides a great grip on most surfaces.
You can use La Sportiva Akasha II for most trail runs, and as long as you aren´t faced with muddy conditions, the shoe will deliver every time - especially if you prefer a firmer midsole.
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