Outdoor Gear Lab

Add the Oracle to the ever-expanding list of outstanding climbing shoes. It features a slew of innovative features that enhance performance and comfort, while still being priced for a few dollars less than its closest competitors. Although it's not the best shoe to chose for pockets or cracks, for all other disciplines, it performs excellently.go to full review

With a reasonable price tag, an aggressive shape, and a soft midsole, the Hiangles are a great high-performance shoe for gym climbing, sport climbing, and bouldering. Though they did not necessarily excel in any of our metric comparisons, they performed decently overall, making them a fairly good all-around shoe for sport climbing.go to full review

For steep climbing, bouldering, and gym climbing, the Shakra is a great option. They are easy to take on and off, provide comfort for hours, and perform at a high level in most styles of climbing. The Shakras are soft in the midsole, so they don't do great on dime-edges or super-technical slabs, but otherwise, these shoes are a good option for the all-arounder.go to full review

The Scarpa Arpia is a comfortable Velcro slipper with a slight downturn and a soft midsole. We liked these shoes for bouldering and gym climbing, where we kept our shoes on for a few hours during a session. Their easy-to-use Velcro strap and quick break-in period made the Arpias some of the more comfortable shoes we've tested, but they still managed to maintain a high level of performance due to their sticky soles and slightly aggressive shape.go to full review

We found these shoes to fit comfortably on all day endeavors, while still inspiring confidence in small footholds. We had a few hang-ups with the lacing system, but overall the downsides were small. We also appreciated that these shoes are made right here in California, only a few hours' drive away from the granite crucible where most of our testing occurred. Though they are not well-known or easy to find in retail stores, the Up Lace seemed like a great investment to us.go to full review

We still like some things about the Black Diamond Neutrino, particularly the way the geometry of the carabiner fits so nicely with the original Camalots. However, this model is starting to feel like a heavy dinosaur when compared to some lighter options out there. While it's still a good choice for an aid rack where you want something sturdy that can withstand a lot of use, it's not our first choice for our free climbing rack.go to full review

There's no mistaking the look of the Petzl Ange L, and it has a similar feel to the Petzl Spirit carabiners, which we love. However, the things we love about the Spirits don't translate as well to the traditional climbing world. The limited color choices don't work well for racking, and the small gate makes clipping a little awkward. They are still a great carabiner, but probably best used as a quickdraw or on your slings.go to full review

We were excited to see that CAMP redesigned the Photon Wire because our previous review of this carabiner was not so favorable. The improved gate design seems to have minimized the issues we observed before, and we're happy to be able to recommend this carabiner now. It almost unseated our Editors' Choice winner!go to full review

While the Evolv Addicts are a new version of the slipper design, they're not a huge improvement. They suffer from some the same drawbacks as the Moccs: poor edging performance, and very little support.go to full review

The Force X is a solid climbing shoe that won't disappoint if you don't expect too much from it. Its limitations become apparent when the climbing starts to get steep and techie, keep yourself happy with them by sticking to more moderate terrain with it. The Force X is durable and would be a great beginner shoe or a relatively inexpensive addition to a quiver of shoes.go to full review