La Sportiva Helios SR

I bought a pair of La Sportiva Helios Shoes for the 2014 Pomona King of the Mountain race. This is a super steep up and down event on a sketchy trail so I was after a light shoe that had lots of grip but also plenty of responsiveness – The Helios performed superbly!

I have since continued to use them for other trail races and they’ve been great over distances from 4 to 42 kilometres. The only time I have felt that they lacked something was on really rocky ground when moving at speed. You occasionally would feel a rock more than you would like to. But on terrain like that the solution was to wear another shoe like the La Sportiva Bushido.

But now La Sportiva has released the Helios SR. The SR model retains the same qualities I was so happy about in the Helios but with the added protection of a sole stone guard. They are still super-light and responsive but the rock plate gives you more protection on rocky ground. So for most rocky trails you encounter the Helios SR’s are a superb addition to the La Sportiva range. They should be available soon so let a retailer know you are keen for them. I have been training in them lots and these are my new “Go to” shoe for trail running and racing.

Review by Aaron Knight