Climbing

“The Tatanka competes with my favorite shoe of all time—La Sportiva’s Testarossa,” one tester said. “I wore these for hard bouldering, sport projects, and even long routes because they’re so versatile.” A moderate downturn and asymmetric toe gave testers precision on overhanging power-fests and techy vertical routes, but it had just enough flex to allow for smearing and smedging on slabbier pitches. “I packed this shoe for trips to Ten Sleep, Wyoming, daily gym sessions, and multi-pitch..." go to full review

“Holy crap! If there were a dime glued to a wall, I could edge on that,” one Southern tester said after her first experience with these shoes on sandstone at Foster Falls, Tennessee. “I have never felt edging power like this before.” An aggressive downturn, stiff midsole, and right-angled toe box spread power throughout the foot; whether testers were on their tiptoes, heel-hooking, or back-stepping on the outside edge, they were able to engage strength from the whole foot. The Red Eagle..." go to full review

As the softest and most sensitive shoe our testers have ever put on their feet, the new Team VXi excelled at high-end bouldering and sport climbing in the gym and on a variety of rock types. Testers toed in on tiny edges in Rifle, Colorado, and the new Stealth MI6 rubber glued itself to everything, despite the slippery, polished limestone. “Try to make it slip off,” said one tester. “It just won’t.” It’s much softer than other rubber, allowing the user to wrap his toes around the smallest..." go to full review

Instant-classic alert! Cobbler genius Heinz Mariacher (the man behind some of the sport’s most notable shoes like La Sportiva’s Mythos and Testarossa and the Scarpa Boostic) has struck gold again. The Stix packs top-end performance in a surprisingly easy-to-wear synthetic-leather slipper. Testers loved this shoe for anything and everything steep: from the short and horizontal Kill By Numbers (V5), Joe’s Valley, Utah, to the 80-foot and varied Colossus (5.10c), City of Rocks, Idaho. “Out of..." go to full review

“They’re soft, aggressive, and fit like a customized glove,” one tester said who loved the Nexxo’s overall feel and response after taking them to pocket paradise Ten Sleep, Wyoming. The Nexxo shined on the slabby then super-steep Aunt Jemima’s Bisquick Thunderdome (5.12+), requiring both delicate edging and powerful pulling. After experiencing their “breakout performance,” our testers were not surprised to learn that Chris Sharma is the man behind this sport-specific slipper hybrid. (Evolv..." go to full review

“I love these, I love these, I love these!” one overly caffeinated 5.13 climber said after climbing multiple hard routes in Colorado. “Their edging ability is unbeatable,” he said after redpointing Anarchitect (5.12d) in Clear Creek Canyon, Colorado, which requires a balancey crux on the tiniest of footholds. Credit the moderate downturn supported by a super-stiff midsole—much more rigid than other kicks in the top-notch league. The aggressively pointed toe and vacuum fit gave power and..." go to full review

Typically high-end rock shoes fall in one of two camps: total flexibility for sensitivity and precision, relying on the strength of your foot to perform, or an aggressively downturned and stiff sole that directs power into your toes. No longer will you have to subscribe to the extremes thanks to the Tenaya Oasi. This downturned kick keeps a stiff forefoot (funneling power to the front) but a highly pliable midfoot (creating twisting functionality) for ideal performance on everything from..." go to full review

This Italian shoe company proved that comfort doesn’t mean sacrificing performance and vice versa with the new flat-lasted Techno X. Testers loved the stiffness for standing on the patina flakes of Skyline (5.8) and the shoe’s versatility for simultaneous jamming and dime-edging on Wheat Thin (5.7), both in City of Rocks, Idaho. “I could climb easy five-pitch routes just as well as I could pull hard on vertical, techy 5.11,” one tester said. “They had a tight feeling, which inspired..." go to full review

List features you want in a shoe for climbing hand cracks and you’ll likely find them all in the Evolv Addict. They’re rigid to support your feet for all-day wear and for protection in potentially painful cracks, but testers could still smear on delicate outside edges and nubs. Plus, the VTR rand puts thicker rubber in the toe area, for increased grip on twisting foot jams and more armor for sensitive toes. One tester took a pair on 15 pitches in a day of crack climbing at South Platte,..." go to full review

“The Pinky is perfect,” one tester said of the sorely missed pink Anasazi lace-up’s high performance and incredible versatility. It was discontinued in 2007, but high demand brought it back. The new version features a redesigned and deeper heel that has a more aggressive taper toward the top, and testers deemed it “comfy but technical.” It was tight enough to inspire confidence on a variety of terrain, but it wasn’t so snug that testers’ feet were screaming after a short pitch. It’s flat-..." go to full review