Red Chili Voltage Lace Up Review

With the pandemic the vast majority of my climbing time with the Voltage Lace has been outside which is no bad thing! As I alluded to earlier there has been little in the way of multi pitch climbing bar a few two pitch Lakes HVS classics. However the Voltage Lace has been thoroughly tested on Yorkshire limestone up to 7a and on the local Gritstone boulders. Bouldering the increased heel precision and security was noticeable when heel hooking and the slightly stiffer forefoot was a double edged sword: great on pebbles and small limestone edges, less good on marginal smears. Just as you would expect. On the limestone and volcanic rock the slightly stiffer forefoot made for very precise and powerful edging – well given the competency of the user anyway! Overall I would say the Voltage Lace makes for a better sport climbing shoe than the velcro but the Velcro makes for a better bouldering shoe – especially on smears and slabs. The fact that they are so similar makes for a great double act – buy a pair of each and you’ve got most eventualities covered and you won’t have to get used to two completely different shoes. Thoroughly recommended.