Vapour Lace

Whether you slab, crack or overhang climbing these shoes performance is solid. The shoe's outsole is constructed of Vapor Vibram XS Edge Rubber. It gives a good balance between sticky and strong. The shoes build and rubber is stiff. Compared to the vapor velcro the rubber is harder keeping a sharp edge for longer. This means the shoes can edge on small edges. It will easily stick on f6c footholds. The shoe was obviously built with heel and toe hooking in mind. Although I haven’t done many of theses moves. Rubber extends over the toe and the heel. Toe area rubber doesn’t just help grip in these areas but protects your toes. When crack climbing toes are jammed into cracks. They can get sore and the shoe can often get worn through. The rubber on the toe will protect them. The shoes performance at smearing is pretty good although it must be remembered that the rubber favors edging as it is harder. Performance on gentle overhangs is also good. Slight down turning and sharp edges aid this. The shoes can hook holds and grip easily.

Although the shoes look aggressive they’re extremely comfortable. The construction of the shoe with microsuede and Scarpa’s rand design minimises potential foot pain. The shoe has pinpoint precision without any toe pain. They can easily handle 6C slab foot holds. I have heard they have no problem with higher grades. For people with odd shaped feet this shoe is perfect. The laces fit snug to your foot a characteristic velcro will never be able to rival. It should be remembered that the shoes don’t stretch much though so if they don’t fit try the size bigger.

Now onto the negatives. When you step onto a climb you might get a bit of a shoe fart. Trapped air in the heel area is pushed out making a wierd sound. But I don’t really care. The shoes are harder to get off compared to velcro alternatives. The laces take longer to do up and take off. However I think the benefit of a tight fit outweighs the time wasted.

Here's my conclusion. The shoes are the closest thing you're going to find to a jack of all trades. They perform well on most types of rock and angles. And they keep your foot snug and pain free.

Brilliant shoe very good for bouldering, trad and sport. If you are looking for one shoe to do it all and you have wider feet this is the shoe for you. The lacing system is probably the easiest one to use out of all the lace shoes I've tried, if you barrel lace them they go on quick and easy. As for fit Im a 10 and wear a 10, for sport I tighten the laces right in for trad I wear them lose.

These are great! I'm a UK 6, went with a UK 5.5. These are my first downturned shoe, so I was expecting some pain, but got used to them fairly quickly. Pinched at the back, but a month in and now they fit like a glove. Lovely edging, great on those tiny holds. Definitely recommended and I will be buying them again.