La Sportiva Skwama Vegan

The Skwama has a huge fan base for a reason: it’s a high-torque, highly sensitive slipper that gets the job done—and done well—on just about any terrain, even the slabby stuff. The downturned last drove energy into the forefoot. The XS Grip 2 outsole and pointy toe provided stick and bite on tiny holds, especially bouldery steeps. The bulbous, geometrically patterned heel held its own in stiff hooks—arêtes and heel-toe cams—but also deformed for technical hooks on crimps and rails while bouldering. This shoe dominated on everything from the 40-degree MoonBoard to a gently overhanging pocket climb called Triple Sec, 5.12d in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge that involves precision high steps into tiny pockets and smeary feet. The synthetic upper stretches less than leather and complements what La Sportiva calls its SkinLike insole: an interior 0.6-millimeter odor-reducing microfiber layer that’s adhered to a 1.6-millimeter microfiber upper. These shoes may feel a little squishy to some, especially climbers who haven’t yet developed strong slipper feet, and they aren’t great for endless edging routes. But for everything else, the feedback married with power is 100 percent on point.