Got a hole, yet again in my climbing shoes and need to buy some new ones before a climbing trip I’m going on next weekend so looking for some input. What’s your favorite shoes, and why do you like them?
After using Miuras and TC Pro’s for a long time I’ve recently switched to Katana Laces and I can’t believe how good they are.
Not only I’ve never tried a more comfy shoe, but they somehow managed to make a shoe versatile enough to excel in both steep sport, slab, and crack climbing.
Took them to do steep sport in Kamouraska 1 month ago, and then I’ve just spent 1 week in Squamish climbing crack and slab, and they’ve never let me down.
I’m not really the kind of a shoe nerd who has a different pair of shoes for every scenario, but I like to use different shoes for sport and bouldering. For sport, especially for multi-pitch, something comfortable, with stiff sole and laces. Katana is very good and comfortable, and I liked the pink Anasazis a lot. For bouldering something tighter with velcros. Especially the heel cup has to be tight or heel hooks won’t work. My current favorite is Theory.
For outdoor sport climbing, the testarossa. They’re stiff, the laves are great and the curve is perfect for all the slabs I throw at them. For multipitch, I get whatever is the cheapest at my foot size +1, you gotta be comfortable for long pitches.
La Sportive Mythos (in purple). On my third sole on the current pair
For me, I really like the Unparalleled Flagships (just got a hole in them, but I think I’ll be able to resole). I kind of regret not sizing down 1/2 size. They are quite hard to slip on when new, but once you have them on they are actually quite large. The runner up for me would be the Scarpa Instinct VSR. They are much stiffer, so I like both of them depending on the terrain.
Considering buying some La Sportiva Solutions.