Outdoor Gear Lab
The Anasazi VCS sits among some great company in the competition for the title of best all-around climbing shoe. With only a very marginal difference in price, it really comes down to what fits your foot the best and where you'll be climbing. This shoe would be a better choice for granite, gneiss, gritstone, and sandstone. It would also be a great beginner shoe, offering a comfortable platform that will likely stay ahead of you grade limit for a few seasons.
Make sure these..." go to full review
These shoes are ideal for standing on small footholds that require precise toe placements. Unleash them on your projects with tiny edges, knobs and pockets. This is a great shoe for extremely thin vertical rock to about 45 degree and steeper sport climbs and boulder problems. They are a bit too expensive for average gym climbing and a bit too specialized with a tight fitting toe for general all day face routes or trad climbs.go to full review
The Miura falls behind the Solution, Futura, or Shaman as a pure high-end sport climbing/bouldering platform. It also lacks the function specific design that makes the TC Pro so good on the big days. But it still does both styles of climbing so well that it could easily stand in on your harder sends with minimal compromise. This shoe is still being used by cutting edge climbers around the world, a testament to it's versatility and longevity in a rapidly expanding sport...." go to full review
The TC Pro has a serious fan club, but is also not without detractors. This is likely due to the fact that it was talked up so much, people probably thought it would climb for them. When it didn't, folks got grumpy.
The bottom line is: if you're looking for one great shoe to do it all, and perhaps have big wall ambitions, you could do worse. In fact, we give this shoe our Top Pick award for trad and multi-pitch climbing. At the price, you probably couldn't afford another..." go to full review
This shoe has a very short wear-in period, but they do require time to build your familiarity and confidence. The bottom line is that the Futura is at the forefront of a concept that is headed in the right direction, putting them on a short list of shoes that will let you climb at your absolute limit, or establish a new one.go to full review
This shoe is stiff enough to prevent your foot from fatiguing on the big days, and takes to cracks better than many specialized shoes. From Smith Rock to the Alabama Hills, the Katana can handle any sport route you throw it on. If you're looking for super high-end sport climbing shoes, it may fall a little short for you. For everything else, this shoe will easily do the job, which is why it wins our Top Pick Award for an all-around shoe.
The shoe takes a while to wear in, and..." go to full review
Whether or not you're a believer (or have yet to permit yourself to be converted, go on test your conviction) in No Edge shoes, the worthiness of the Genius is hard to deny. A fusion of many inspired designs, the Genius blends the best aspects of some tried and true favorites to create a unique and very complete package...." go to full review