La Sportiva Jackel 2 GTX Waterproof Trail Running Shoe Review

By Sarah Seads, Mind & Body Running Coach, Kinesiologist and Clinical Hypnotherapist.

Wow Wow, Yes Yes!! I do sure love these GTX trail running shoes!

Derek Kauffman, of Foveo Running in the Comox Valley, on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada invited me to take these new GTX versions of the Jackel 2 Trail Running Shoe from La Sportiva, for a test run. And man, am I so happy I did so!! Here is my personal experience and review.

Note: Here are a few things that you may wish to ponder before purchasing your next pair of running shoes:

1. Why am I shopping for these shoes? Be specific and be honest with your intentions and ensure you look ahead to see what type of running precisely you will be doing while in your next pair of shoes. Is it to be a trail only experience? Or are you heading for the open road? Or will you be running a mix or both?

2. Who do you want to support with your running gear purchase - is it possible for the money in your pocket, that you are ready to exchange for running footwear, to stay within your community??

3. What do you love about your relationship with running - close your eyes and remember your highest experience with running…. This could be a past experience, a future idea, or something you have seen online that someone else was participating in. What is occurring in this real or imagined scene that creates appreciation? Enjoy this experience and feelings of appreciation for a few moments…. Next, take this envisioning experience with you so you can pull it out “of your back pocket” and fill yourself with these feelings while you are shopping!! Let your powerful subconscious body & mind help you choose the right shoe for you by focusing on the highest experience possible as your outcome. Merging intuition with reason is the best way to make the highest investment for your running future!

4. Listen to your feet! Well, listen to your body :). Take a test run in the shoes and do not compromise in comfort. Trust your initial feel and compare many different varieties to get a clearer idea of what shoe fits you.

La Sportiva Jackel 2 GTX Waterproof Trail Running Shoe Review

By Sarah Seads, Mind & Body Running Coach, Kinesiologist and Clinical Hypnotherapist.

The La Sportiva Jackel 2 GTX Trail Running Shoes are awesome.

Over the past two months, I have worn these trail runners on 90% of my runs.

I have had a chance to run these shoes in all sorts of conditions including heat, cool and cold, rain and even one day in the snow!! It is really fun to run in these GTX shoes in both rain and snow because, well, your feet stay dry, but there’s more. For some reason wearing these shoes just increases my levels of joy when I think about going for a run in the rain. I think, “This is going to be fun!”, because my feet are gonna be dry lol. And if you aren’t looking forward to going for a run, it gives you that little extra jolt of enthusiasm. After two months the novelty still perks me up!! I call that a thumbs up bonus.

The only disadvantage to these water resistant shoes, would be wading through streams or rivers that are deeper than the than the shoe itself. Then you are carrying sacks of water, which stay wet. But so far, I've avoided that mishap.

I haven't worn these in the summer yet, but there have been some really warm days this fall, and so far my feet have been very comfortable and not overly hot.

I tend to get cold easily, so in really temps I actually really do like having the extra barrier to keep my feet that little bit warmer.

Typically waterproof shoes can be feel stiff and bulky but these actually feel quite flexible. I can notice a bit more stiffness than a non waterproof shoe. With a plush sock that sense is really negligible and I feel that it is definitely worth it to keep your feet dry.

The best part? Running in the snow! My feet are warm and dry!

The Grip

The grip in mud, dirt and loose surface material is amazing. I love the tread on these shoes for technical, wet, muddy and snow conditions. It's on the monster truck side of things and I really really love a good outsole with solid tread for muddy and technical or snowy terrain.

Personally? I like to be able to just not even think about my traction and bomb down the hills without thinking about sliding. The Jackel 2 GTX shoes have allowed me to do just that!

The Fit

These shoes are just a bit wider, in both the forefoot and heel cup, than most shoes that I've worn.

I have a fairly neutral width foot.

There's a bit of overlap in the fabric when I pull them tight, so that they fit the width of my foot. So it does work for me, but it would be a little adjustment for some feet.

That being said, someone with a wide foot would really, really like these because I know it can be a pain to find wider shoes in a range of options.

Stack & Drop

I personally like the stack height and drop. Not bad at all. The stack is pretty minimal and not too much. So, I would say the height, at 22-29, it's middle of the road and a wide range of runners should feel pretty happy in these, height wise. When it comes to heel to toe difference, or drop, these shoes do not have “high heels” that are going to get in the way ;) At 7mm, heel to toe, the drop works for people who haven’t progressed to zero drop shoes, so there's no real “break in” or adjustment period which is a bonus for runners ready to hit the ground, running:).

Specs

UPPER: Recycled Sandwich Mesh / Recycled Laces / Breathable Mono-burr Nylon inserts / No-Sew Thermo-adhesive TPU Reinforcements / TPU Toe Cap
LINING: Gore-Tex® Invisible Fit w/ Gore-Flex® / Abrasion Resistant Micro-fiber
INSOLE: Ortholite® Hybrid with 5% recycled rubber + 15% production waste foam
MIDSOLE: Compression Molded EVA w/ Infinitoo™ PU Inserts / 1.5mm Dual-Density Compressed EVA Rock-Guard
SOLE: FriXion® XT 2.0 w/ Impact Brake System™ / FLEX Inserts / 3.5mm Lugs
CUSHIONING: EVA: 35A & 32A (heel/forefoot) / Infinitoo™ PU Inserts: 30A (heel/forefoot)
DROP: 7mm
FIT: Wide

Womens Specifics
SIZES: 36 - 43 (half sizes)
WEIGHT: 8.9 oz / 255 g

Mens Specifics

SIZES: 38 - 48.5 (half sizes)
WEIGHT: 10.7 oz / 305 g

All in all I give the Jackel 2 GTX trail running shoes a 5 out of 5 on the trail run star-o-meter!

Thanks for reading! Have you worn the Jackel 2s in waterproof or regular model? If so, what did you think of them? I would love to hear a bit a bout your experience!

Looking for other, high level gear reviews and test runs? Let me know what you would like to hear about!!

XO,

Sarah

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