Field Tested: Scarpa’s Arpia V Is a Comfortable Performance All-Arounder

I’m not a particularly light climber, so sometimes, even when bouldering, I feel like I need a stiff shoe that’s not going to bend under the arch. And while the Arpia V’s toe hooking capabilities leave much to be desired (they’re just not meant for it), the shoe has nonetheless played an important role in my indoor board climbing quiver. Every time an indoor boulder requires something stiff, I’ll grab the Arpia rather than waste a half minute finagling my foot into and then lacing up the Sigma. On a steep but very foot-intensive boulder in Great Barrington, for instance, I found my no-edge La Sportiva Futuras far too soft to press powerfully into a small foothold on a required kneebar—but the Arpia was perfect.