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I am a fan of Scarpa shoes, I really think they make a high-quality product, it feels like the technology that they put in really helps the climber and it’s not just a gimmick. I love looking down and seeing that precise edge. It requires a slight tweak to the way you climb but you can be almost less precise as the softness makes holds better. But if you level up your climbing, really focus on your feet then the booster will re-pay you. The shoe is waiting for you to get better, which is a..." go to full review

After having spent more than an hour trying on ALL the climbing shoes in the store I finally settled on the first shoe I tried, the La Sportiva Otaki Women. According to La Sportiva “Otaki in Japanese Samurai slang is the oldest single wire sword: extremely sharp and precise on small targets. A concept perfectly applicable to climbing”.go to full review

At first, I hated the Quantum VCS. The fit was simply wrong, it was too wide at the front; I felt like I haul at the straps to make them fit snugly. They felt clumpy and over built. They just weren't for me. But then something weird happened…they became my number one shoe.go to full review

Taking the Free Ranges out of the bag, they definitely attracted some attention. The bright green styling is certainly hard to miss, and I was asked a few times about the make of the shoe. 'So iLL? Cool duuuude' was often the response of doubtful onlookers. None the less, I slipped them on to find out how they perform. First impressions were surprisingly pleasing. As someone used to wearing aggressive shoes, they felt comfortable and secure, if a little stiffer than I was used to. Another..." go to full review

The first day I wore the So iLL Runner shoes to the gym, I caught people staring at them. Just the other day I was sport climbing indoors, resting halfway up a route, when a guy climbing the route next to me stopped to ask, “Hey, where are the shoes from? And what brand are they?” The only other time I’ve caught people staring at my feet was when I was a teenager and decided to wear flip flops in March, with snow outside and everything, for the “cool surfer lookgo to full review

Although these are a great training shoe for indoor bouldering, board climbing or routes, I got a lot more from them in an outdoor bouldering scenario than originally expected. You can’t heel hook in them if it’s a critical heel hook, but there are plenty of problems that don’t have heel hooks. They’re so comfortable that you can wear them at the crag for several hours at a time (useful if you’re in lazy boulderer mode), and they work well on friction-y types of rock. Overall, I’d totally..." go to full review

The Mt Blanc Escalade wall is known for having very small footholds and insecure smears, so it was going to be a good test for the shoe. In short, I was impressed. The shoe felt a bit bigger than I was used to, but when I learnt to trust it, I found it extremely stiff and precise. The fit is so comfortable, it just seems to wrap around my foot and the laces make it nicely adjustable.go to full review

This is a high performance shoe, with remarkable straight out of the box comfort. Whilst they are comfortable and secure, I wouldn’t use them for day to day training or general sport or trad climbing and on certain routes, but as a high performance red-point, bouldering and hard-trad shoe, La Sportiva Genius are exceptional.go to full review

Considering that I have used the shoe aggressively on very abrasive rock and in harsh environments, I have not noticed major ware and tear either on the shoe's upper or rubber. That seems fantastic in itself. The shoes edge and sensitivity have worked really well for me on both tiny granite crystals and limestone edges. The rubber has been very effective.go to full review

Whilst the Otaki is sold by La Sportiva as an “aggressive all-rounder”, I felt it was more an edgy sport-climbing or performance trad shoe: super stiff and slightly downturned which requires precise footwork. If you have poor footwork, it will take no prisoners. But, if you’re looking for security on edges, or to get precise toe power on sharp and crozzly overhanging limestone, these are the perfect shoe. Just don’t expect to be smearing delicately up slabs in them.go to full review