Bought La Sportiva Tarantulas - Should I swap for Katana velcro

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 elliot.baker 31 May 2016
I went and bought some La Sportiva Tarantula Velcro's yesterday, it was a toss up between them and Katana Velcro's... the Katana's were marginally more uncomfortable and rather more expensive in the store so I went for these - I thought maybe they were a bit above my station as well in terms of difficulty they're aimed at?

I'm leading 6a sport comfortably outdoors in ClimbX Crux's (cheapest money can buy!) at the moment and wanted something more reliable and advanced feeling...

Will the Katana's be loads better than the Tarantulas? Worth putting up with a bit of discomfort for? Should I just stick with these Tarantulas?

Anyone had both or one or tother to give me advice?
 snoop6060 31 May 2016
In reply to elliot.baker:

Stick with them, the katanas will fall apart in a week. My mate loves the tarantulas and has had no quality issues with them at all. Good, stiff trad shoes apparently.
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 ianstevens 31 May 2016
In reply to snoop6060:

> Stick with them, the katanas will fall apart in a week.

Or if you have half decent footwork, they last for a year or two.
3
 snoop6060 31 May 2016
In reply to ianstevens:
Nowt wrong with my footwork Ian, no need to get bitchy.

The last pair I had delaminated after a week. Search these forums, there's a long tread of lots of people having exact same issue. The glue doesn't hold the sole on, perpaps a bad batch, but it's got nothing to do with footwork.

Edit: thread here...


http://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/t.php?t=623789

A few more if you google.
Post edited at 12:13
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 ianstevens 31 May 2016
In reply to snoop6060:
Not being bitchy, just my experiences with them. All of the pairs (4?) I've had over the years have lasted fine, despite heavy use. The people I know and have seen climb who have complained about their lack of longevity have all had "clunky" footwork - so just going from the sample set I know. Needless to say its small, and there may well be other issues - but I think the "Katanas fall apart" mantra is an unfair reflection on a great shoe.

To the OP: No idea what the Tranatulas are like, but Katanas will stretch a little and mould to your foot shape, getting more comfortable. Wearing them whilst sitting on the sofa will only speed this up.
Post edited at 12:28
 JJL 31 May 2016
In reply to elliot.baker:

Comfort trumps any marginal performance gain (other than upgrading from carpet slippers/trainers), until you get into the 7s at least.

I want a shoe I can wear all day and climb 6b/c - I have katanas but only because they suit the shape of my foot (and I have had no durability issues despite c.80 wall trips a year and a few weekends cragging).

The idea that shoes have to be uncomfortable to be any good is nonsense unless you climb really quite hard.
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Removed User 31 May 2016
In reply to ianstevens:

Lots of people do have issues with delam but I'm not one of them either. I must havehad ~10 pairs of sportiva covering Katanas (lace and velcro), Miuras (lace and velcro), Solutions and Mythos and no issues at all aside from the fact that the toes go through fairly quickly as I abuse them and size them very aggressively.
OP elliot.baker 31 May 2016
In reply to elliot.baker:

opinions on both sides.... A part of me feels I should push for the Katana's and they will break in ok. But then I suppose that wearing Katana's over Tarantulas isn't going to start getting me 7's! I'm so torn...!
In reply to ianstevens:

I have never had delamination problems with Sportivas but I, and many other people I know, find that the rubber wears-through at the tips of the toes very quickly. And, I do not think my footwork is particularly poor (and I am not very heavy) . I still buy Sportivas though - Miura VS are my go-to limestone shoes - and I have found the problem does not seem to occur with the "no edge" Futura slippers (despite having thinner rubber).
 springfall2008 31 May 2016
In reply to ianstevens:

I think wear wise it depends a bit what you climb, I ruined my last pair of shoes with foot jams...
 ActionSte 01 Jun 2016
In reply to elliot.baker:
First pair of tarantulas i got, the sole started to come away after first use so i returned them for another pair hoping it would just be a one off manufacturing error, which i think it was.

I really like the shoe, I dont climb very hard, up to HVS on a good day but i found them a reasonable balance between comfort and technicality for me. The only issue i really have is i found them to wear out quite quickly. Im probably a ''clunky footwork'' guy so after 10 months ive a hole in the toe, and the fixings for two of the velcro buckles have worn out, one to breaking point and my girlfriend had to stich it back in with some spare webbing (shes handy like that).

But as i said, i still really like them, and they arent a bad price anymore
Post edited at 00:11
OP elliot.baker 01 Jun 2016
In reply to ActionSte:

I'd be happy if I got 10 months out of them! I probably climb 1 to 3 times a week on average, mainly outdoors at the moment. I do think the strap buckle looks like a weak point.

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