If you are in a hurry we recommend the La Sportiva Solution Comp as the best climbing shoe for modern bouldering and for both lead and boulder competitions. If you climb all kinds of routes, then we recommend the La Sportiva Katana lace for an all-round climbing shoe!
Finding the perfect climbing shoe can be tricky. It really depends a lot on what type of climbing you do. Even then its usually a good idea to have several pairs for different kinds of routes and even during one session. I personally often warm-up in one pair and (try) to send routes in an other pair. One climbing trip I actually climbed in mismatched shoes. I said it was because of the edge route that I was working on needed different kinds of shoes on each side of the edge. In reality it was because of a hurried packing.
All jokes aside I do recommend testing different kinds of shoes for different kinds of routes to find out what works best for you. In this review you can find a lot of information to get you started on the right direction to find the best climbing shoes for you!
Here is a list of the best climbing shoes reviewed in this article:
- La Sportiva Solution Comp
- La sportiva Katana Lace
- Scarpa Vapor V
- La Sportiva TC Pro
- Evolv Phantom
- Unparallel Regulus
- La Sportiva Gripit
- Tenaya Tarifa
- Evolv Shaman
- Butora Acro
- Butora Endeavor
Specs:
- Materials: Vibram XS Grip 2, suede leather
- Weight: 17 oz/ 480 grams
- Aggressive
- Closure: Fast lacing velcro
- Flexible midsole
- Added rubber on top of the toes
- Very precise
- Great for edges
- Not very comfortable
- Not the most affordable
- Can be too narrow
Specs:
- Weight: 17.6 oz/ 500 grams
- Materials: Suede leather, Vibram® XS Edge
- Closure: Laces
Pros:
- Versatile
- Good for crack climbing
- Great for multi-pitch
- Comfortable
- Durable
Cons:
- Not the most affordable
- Not the best shoe for very overhanging routes
If you are interested in the Katana Lace climbing shoes we do have a more thorough article on them:>>You can read more about the La Sportiva Katana Lace in our more in-depth review of the shoes by clicking here!<<
Specs
- Weight: 17 oz / 480 grams
- Materials: Leather, Vibram XS edge
- Closure: Velcro strap
- Versatile
- Comfortable
- Thin toe part is great for finger cracks
- Good for long climging sessions
- Great for wide feet
- Not the most affordable
- Not very sensitive
Specs
- Weight: 18.7 oz / 530 grams
- Materials: Leather, Vibram XS edge
- Closure: Laces
- TC stands for Tommy Caldwell
- Great for long routes
- One of the most popular multi-pitch and big wall shoes
- Comfortable
- Has extra ankle protection
- Not the most affordable
- Some people get achilles pain
- Not optimal for hard sport or bouldering
The best prices for the TC Pros :
Specs
- Weight: 18 Oz / 520 grams
- Materials: Neoprene, Trax SAS, TPS rubber
- Closure: Velcro
- Vegan
- Aggressive
- Great for bouldering
- Good for hard sport routes
- Good for heel hooks
- Not a good fit for a narrow foot
- Not the most comfortable
- Not the most affordable
Specs
- Weight: 24 oz / 680grams
- Materials: Cotton, Microfibre, Vibram XS Grip
- Closure: Speed laces
- Great for edges
- Good fit for narrow feet
- Great for pocket holds
- Sensitive
- Not the most comfortable
- Not good for cracks
The best prices for the Tenaya Tarifas:
Specs
- Weight: 19 oz / 540 grams
- Materials: Synthetic upper part, Trax SAS
- Closure: Velcro
- Agressive
- Vegan
- Designed by Chris Sharma
- Great for steep routes
- Good for wider feet
- Good for cracks
- Durable
- Not very good on edges
Specs
- Weight: 1 lb. 1.6 oz. / 550 grams
- Neo Fuse rubber: Sticky rubber suitable for bouldering and sport climbing on steeper routes.
- Agressive down turn with ABS-injected mid sole.
- Triple fork velcro closure for quick on and off.
- High tension heel rand for a nice fit and to make sure your feet are secured nicely in the shoes from toes to heels.
Pros:
- Affordable pricing
- Versatile
- Great for edging
- Good for pockets
- Good for cracks
- Sensitive shoe
Cons:
- Not the most comfortable in a tight size
- The heel cup can be too large for some people
- Not the best breathability
The best prices for the Butora Acros:
Specs
- Weight: 19.2 oz. / 545 grams
- Materials: Neo Fuse rubber, Organic hemp lining, Leather
- ABS injected midsole
- Velcro closure
- Really affordable pricing
- Great for beginners
- Great for warm-ups or easier & longer routes
- Good edging
Cons:
- Some people have had trouble finding the right size
- Not really good for tougher routes
The best prices for the Butora Endeavor shoes:
Specs
- Weight: 7 oz / 200 grams (per pair)
- Materials: Suede leather,
- Closure: Fast lacing
- Designed to eliminate pressure on growing feet
- comfortable
- Durable soles
- Good on edges
- Good for beginner kids whose feet are still growing
- Not great performance on technical routes
- Not good on cracks or pockets
- Not so durable lacing
Specs
- Weight: 23.51 oz / 670 grams
- Materials: Synthetic upper part, UnParallel Real Honor rubber
- Closure: Velcro
- Aggressive
- Comfortable
- Good for bouldering
- Good for overhang
- Good for heel hooks
- Hard to size
- Not good for crack
- Not good for trad or multi-pitch
Our recommendation for the best climbing shoes
For sport climbing and bouldering competions we recommend the La Sportiva Solution Comp shoes. For an all-round shoe for someone who climbs a lot of different kinds of routes we recommend the La Sportiva Katana Lace climbing shoes.Best Climbing shoes for wide feet
The Scarpa Vapor V is our recommendation for climbers with wider feet. The shoe is a really comfortable for everyone, but a real find for wider feet. The Vapor V works great for both sport and bouldering, as well as trad climbing. Because of the more narrow toe and wider feet this shoe fits and works well on narrow cracks. A bigger size might be a good idea for climbing longer routes though.Best Climbing shoes for Trad Climbing
Tommy Caldwell has been involved with the design of the La Sportiva TC Pro shoes. The Shoe is named after this famous big wall climber and the shoe has been designed for long trad routes in mind. Our own review of these shoes has further convinced us to say that they are the best climbing shoes for trad climbing and for big wall climbing.
The TC Pros have been made with a higher ankle and additional padding to make the shoe more comfortable for crack climbing. The shoes are surprisingly also very good for climbing on technical routes, especially with small edges.
If you plan on climbing lots of steep, overhanging routes then these are probably not the best shoes for you. Sport climbers and boulderers in general can find a lot more suitable shoes easily. For trad climbing and long routes the TC Pro shoes are great!
Best climbing shoes for bouldering
The Evolv Phantom shoes have been designed in collaboration with pro boulderers Daniel Woods and Paul Robinson. The shoes are great for hard boulders. The shoes are great for heel hooks and pocket holds. The shoe works great on steep routes, but its not so comfortable that you would want to wear it on longer routes. If you climb a lot of slab routes this might not be a good shoe for you as the aggressive design is not that good for smearing.
Best Climbing shoes for kids
The best climbing shoe for beginner kids in our opinion is the La Sportiva Gripit. The shoe has been designed to accommodate the growing feet with out causing pressure on them. The shoes are really comfortable because of this. They even look more like five finger shoes rather than climbing shoes.
The shoes are really not good for climbing technical routes or routes with a lot of pockets. They do work nicely on edges, because of the no edge technology.
