La Sportiva Testarossa Review

The new iteration of this classic is a worthy successor to the original Testarossa, and a useful 'all round' rock shoe, particularly on routes. The fit is superb, especially considering the last is slightly too wide for my foot. This excellent fit owes a great deal to the attention that La Sportiva have given to distributing pressure evenly around the shoe, helped by the new, studier heel design. Whilst I would have enjoyed a more sensitive heel to really feel what I'm pulling on, I appreciated that it is not necessarily the shoe's modus operandi. With an RRP of £150.00, the price is at the upper end of the scale and there are definitely cheaper alternatives, however, the build quality is superb and the shoes are still going strong after extensive use. The Testarossa MkII will please devotees of the original and route climbers alike and is a worthwhile addition to the excellent La Sportiva range.