Lotto Raptor EVO Women's Shoe Review

Comfort - Score: 3.8

Earning a respectable score in comfort, the Lotto Raptor EVOs provided enough padding and cushioning to keep a majority of the playtesters' feet happy. Karly said, "I once had a teacher who would always say, 'Your essays should be like a mini-skirt -- not long, but long enough the cover the essentials.' I thought the comfort of the Raptor EVOs was the perfect example of that. The padding wasn't excessive, but what padding was there felt exceptionally soft and plush. There was just enough to keep my feet comfortable."

Tiffani also found the shoes comfortable. She offered, "The Lotto Raptor EVOs were a good fit for me, although I was forced to wear a half-size larger because my usual size 6 wasn't available. I ended up wearing two pairs of socks to accommodate the extra length, but by going up a half-size I was able to enjoy the extra room for my wider feet. The comfort overall was excellent. I liked how the uppers were pliable yet supportive, and the cushioning was supportive yet soft."

Brittany appreciated being able to wear these shoes right out of the box. She said, "I was able to put these Lotto Raptor EVOs on, lace up and walk straight to the court without any issues. I could wear them comfortably from the very beginning. The cushioning wasn't thick, but I still got a gel-like feel when I slipped my feet into them. For me the cushioning was perfect; not too thick or too thin. I didn't have any rubbing or pinching throughout the entire playtest."

Michelle, however, experienced some discomfort because of how the Raptor EVOs fit her feet. She explained, "Unfortunately, I struggled with the overall comfort. I can't really pinpoint the cause, but the Raptor EVOs were a little too long and narrow for me. I didn't feel any discomfort when I first slid them on, however, as I played in them I had some rubbing and hot spots on both feet. The ReactiveArch was pretty prominent, which I liked, but it was hitting me a bit farther back than where my actual arch is. I think that issue created a hot spot on the top of my feet, which led to some tendon tenderness and pressure. I really enjoyed the previous version, so I was disappointed this update didn't work well for my feet. This really took away my overall experience in these shoes, and, unfortunately, was an issue whenever I played in them."

Ventilation - Score: 4.4

The playtesters made it clear that they enjoyed the temperature inside the Raptor EVOs. Brittany said, "The mesh uppers allowed air to circulate throughout these shoes. I never had any overheating issues when playing, and continued to wear them after matches without any problems. I even wore them in to the gym a couple times to workout in. My socks would stay dry throughout my entire tennis session."

Taking into account her sizing issue, Tiffani said, "Sure my feet got sweaty, but a lot of that is because I had to wear two pairs of socks, as I explained earlier. However, my feet were never overly hot. I liked the amount of mesh in the vamp. It effectively let the hot air escape."

"I had no issues with ventilation in these shoes," noted Michelle. "The lightweight material and mesh kept these shoes very breathable. I definitely felt this was one of the strengths of these shoes."

Karly praised their breathability as well. She offered, "The ventilation of the Raptor EVOs was great. The large mesh windows on the uppers let hot air out and fresh air in, leaving my feet cool and my socks dry. I was never distracted by the temperature and had no problem keeping them on after I was done hitting."

Arch Support - Score: 3.7

Most of the playtesters agreed that once the Raptor EVOs' arches loosened up they provided good support for their feet. Tiffani said, "I had an ever-so slight break-in period with the arch support. My feet settled into the support level within an hour. Although I have pretty flat feet, I prefer a good arch in my shoes. I liked the supportive feel, especially on the medial side."

Michelle had mixed feelings about the arch support. She explained, "This was a bit of a double-edged sword for me. Having higher arches, I loved that there was a prominent arch support in these shoes. However, the arch was hitting too far back on my feet and wasn't allowing me to put pressure on the balls of my feet. I felt like I was putting all my weight on the outside of my foot, which caused some pain on the top of my foot. So yes, there was a good arch support, but it just didn't hit my arches in the right spot."

Karly found the support worked just fine for her feet. She said, "The insoles were pretty soft and cushiony, so they molded to my arches after the first couple of hours playing in them. The support was more noticeable than in most shoes, but once they gelled to my feet I didn't mind the support for my flatter feet."

"My medium arches were plenty happy with these shoes," said Brittany. "The arch support was slightly lower than medium, but it hit my arches in the right location and at the right height. I found I actually preferred the support more the longer I got into the playtest, as they molded around my arches. However, there were one or two times in the middle of the playtest when I felt some pressure on the outer side of my arches, but it went away without any issues."

Foot Support/Stability - Score: 4.1

In addition to being soft and breathable, the Raptor EVOs' mesh uppers also gave the proper support and stability for aggressive cuts on the court. "Even though the uppers were soft and extremely flexible, I had no issues with their support," said Karly. "I thought they wrapped around my feet nicely for a secure fit. The uppers didn't have a really solid feel, but my feet were never sliding around within these shoes, and they provided enough support to keep me from being apprehensive about my movement. I was switching directions quickly, with no concerns about rolling an ankle."

Brittany was also impressed with the locked-in feel. She said, "I found my feet sat deeper in these shoes, allowing the uppers to completely wrap around them. My feet were held securely in all areas, and there was no movement inside these shoes when I was moving on the court aggressively. I never had any issues with ankle rolls. The ankle collars went up high enough and hit my ankles in the perfect spot."

Tiffani offered, "After a few playtests in a row in which I struggled with toe jamming, my feet were rejoicing to be back in supportive shoes. The Lotto Raptor EVOs always supported my feet even though I went up a half-size. I was moving aggressively again and feeling confident enough to make quick changes of direction. I also used these shoes to get back onto the court after turning my ankle in another pair of shoes. I really am happy with both the support and stability of these shoes. They managed to be supportive and quick."

Michelle wasn't quite as impressed with the stability and support of the Raptor EVOs, but she still thought they offered enough to keep her feet safe. She explained, "There was decent support and stability in these shoes. However, because I was struggling with overall comfort, it was hard to feel completely confident in them. There was a bit of room in the toe boxes, and I never really found a perfect fit. However, I can say I never felt like I was going to twist an ankle or fall and I could move relatively easily in them. I also felt like I couldn't lace up my shoes as tightly as I normally would, which affected my stability and support score."

Overall Sole Durability - Score: 3.9

While the Lotto Raptor EVOs weren't necessarily the toughest shoes, the six-month outsole durability guarantee was a big bonus in the eyes of our playtesters. Michelle said, "The outsoles look fairly similar to the previous Raptor outsoles and held up pretty well for me. I will admit, because of my comfort issues I didn't put in my usual 20 hours on the court in these shoes, so I don't think I put the outsole durability completely to the test. However, the outsoles seem to have held up well, and with the warranty there should be no problems with wearing them out too fast."

Although Michelle wasn't able to wear the Raptor EVOs as long as she would've liked for an intensive durability test, Brittany made up for that time by putting in extra hours. She said, "I put a ton of hours in these shoes during the playtest, more than I normally would. I chose to play a tennis tournament and picked these shoes as my tournament shoes. I probably logged more than 25 hours in them preparing for the tournament. I did start to notice some wear under my big toes, where I was starting to wear down the tread. However, I still feel like I have plenty of hours left. Plus, this shoe comes with a six-month outsole durability guarantee."

It's a good thing for Tiffani that these shoes come with a sole-warranty since she experienced faster wear-and-tear than the rest of the team. She said, "Considering these shoes carry a six-month outsole durability guarantee I was expecting more out of the outsoles. I saw smoothing of the outsoles after about 10 hours of play on our indoor hard court. The tread under the big toe is smooth after this playtest, so with repeated wear I think I would be taking advantage of that guarantee."

Karly, however, was pleased with the durability, saying, "The outsoles held up well. After the playtest I only saw a little bit of smoothing, but overall there wasn't any significant damage. I'm not very hard on my shoes in general, so the durability of the Raptor EVOs worked just fine for my style of play."

Toe Durability - Score: 3.5

Our toe draggers weren't too excited about the toe durability of the Raptor EVOs. Tiffani said, "I scraped up the left toe quite a bit, so the outer color of the upper in the toe is gone. It's no longer silver, rather a dark grey/black color. It seems mostly cosmetic at this point since the integrity of the upper material is still intact, but give me a few more weeks and I'll likely be grinding through the next layer. So while toe durability isn't terrible, it wasn't outstanding either."

Brittany said, "I'm not an extreme toe dragger, but I can do some damage on the toe bumper if it's not protected. I started to see some wear on the silver part of the uppers above the toe bumper. While the damage isn't extensive, it'll continue to wear down over time."

Traction - Score: 3.8

The traction offered more give than grip, yet our playtesters still found enough tack to keep their footing in these Raptor EVOs. Brittany said, "One of the differences I found was that the Raptor EVOs felt lower to the ground than the previous version. I felt more connected to the court when I was moving aggressively. The traction was more on the giving side. I wouldn't say it was slippery, but it did give just a little extra. I actually found that I liked that little extra give versus being stuck to the court."

Tiffani echoed Brittany's thoughts by saying, "It took me about an hour of court time to get used to the give of these shoes. These Raptor EVOs allow for a bit more movement than I'm used to. However, the extra movement is controlled in nature. It wasn't slippery in the way that I was worried about falling. They just seem to be designed to allow the most aggressive movers to slide on hard courts."

"I had no issues with the traction of these shoes," said Michelle. "I felt like the outsoles were pretty similar to the previous version in terms of durability and traction, which was a positive for me. I enjoyed the blend of give and go on the outsoles, and I was never worried about slipping or losing my footing."

Karly experienced an increase in sliding as the test went on. She said, "I thought these shoes lost their traction faster than usual, although by the time the playtest was over there was still enough grip to prevent too much slipping. I started noticing the decrease after about five hours, and from then on I was sliding a tiny bit when I made aggressive pivots, but never enough that I actually slipped too much. I was confident enough that these shoes wouldn't give out, although I was also aware of the loss in traction the longer I played in them."

Weight - Score: 4.3

There wasn't a single complaint from the playtest team about the weight of the Raptor EVOs. Tiffani said, "Lotto found a great way to make these shoes feel really light and fast while still keeping my feet and ankles supported. There are so many factors that can affect my opinion of weight, and these Raptor EVOs just got it right in every aspect. The fit was sleek, not clunky. The cushioning wasn't overwhelmingly bulky, and support wasn't sacrificed just to drop weight."

"The actual weight of these shoes is somewhat misleading because I wasn't expecting them to feel as fast as they did," said Karly. "I was pleasantly surprised with how light they felt. I could move quickly on the court, and I never felt like they were weighing me down. One thing I generally look for in tennis shoes is a lightweight feel, and I could easily put the Raptor EVOs in that category."

Michelle agreed, saying, "I was surprised when I saw their actual weight! They never felt heavy on the court. They also felt a lot lighter than the previous version. They played like quick shoes and I appreciated the fast feel."

Brittany took the previous model into consideration when talking about the weight of the Raptor EVOs. She said, "I prefer lighter weight shoes, and one of my negatives for the previous version was that they felt heavy and a tad clunky. Almost immediately after putting on this update I could feel that they were lighter and faster. Surprisingly, on paper, the difference is only about a third of an ounce. However, I think Lotto did a great job distributing the weight of this update. When I was moving around the court I was rewarded with lightweight, fast shoes that made me feel quick on the court."

Overall - Score: 4.0