That being said, I love these. The rubber on the top is soft enough to deform for your toes and not lock them into a semi awkward position. The synthetic upper has allowed the shoe to fit the same as the day they came put of the box, so they’ve kept that performance fit (but don’t downsize too much! They are a smidge narrow).
They're hard enough that they offer a lot of support, but warm up soft enough to be fairly sensitve too. I've used them on overhangs to great success, but have also used them on slab/vertical terrain with good results. For reaaly friction slab, they are clearly not really a contender, but for small holds and crystals, they work quite well!
I love the rubber. I’ll say, I didn’t right out of the box, it is stiff and wasn’t super sticky right off the bat (and, being stiff, I didn’t get the flexibility out of the sole I was used to), but it has broken in well and has lost all of the initial slickness I experienced.
My biggest complaint, honestly, is that the straps are a little long, so, even cinched up, they dangle over the edge of the velcro and can catch on things and stuff.. Not a big thing at all, but, I find it sticking to my chalkbag a lot… Also, the rubber, being quite hard (not stiff, per se) can be a bit of a pain in cold weather. If you do not warm it up well/keep it warm, it is quite hard and can be skatey. Not a huge issues for most people, since no one likes to wear cold shoes, but it should be known.
All in all, a great shoe of great quality. I love the shoe, the toe hooking in these things is phenomenal (there are little slices in the toe rubber in the PERFECT spots). I’m also a huge fan of the heel. It might be a bit narrow for others, but it fits me perfectly and I’ve cranked on some sketchy heels in them and have not slipped once!
