UKH

Combining solid mid-range performance with all-day comfort, the Quantic and Quantix SF both represent a bit of a triumph in terms of rock shoe design, says Toby Archer. But which is better on the grit, and which does he prefer for edgier limestone? 

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is it worth mentioning that Scarpa classify the shoes as having different last shapes, even if you could not feel a noticeable difference yourself? The difference seems apparent in your top photo of the two models side by side where the Quantic SF looks more asymmetric in the toe.

Don't pay the photos too much attention - 1) I'm not a pro so was just balancing them on the floor best I could and 2) I had had the Quantic for a few months by then and climbed in them a fair amount, whilst the Quantix were pretty new. Actually you could feel the down turn in the toes of the Quantic more when they new, I suspect because they are a stiffer shoe. That feeling went away quite quickly though with use.

Do you mean how according to Scarpa UK's website the Quantic is square shaped at the toes https://www.scarpa.co.uk/climbing-shoes/quantic/ (scroll down to the "technical" bit) while the Quantix SF are given "classic"? https://www.scarpa.co.uk/climbing-shoes/quantix-sf/

I've actually asked Scarpa UK for clarification on this because on Scarpa's world wide site, both models are called "square". https://world.scarpa.com/product/23498625/quantix-sf-dynamic-support-bright... and https://world.scarpa.com/product/22749463/quantic-multi-discipline-shoe-dus... Unfortunately when the review was published, we hadn't heard back but I suspect that Scarpa in Italy have it correct, and it was just a little mistake putting the info onto the UK website. When you put the shoes on they feel basically the same in shape and volume.

Thanks for your reply. That's interesting because the UK site does not give the same info for the quantic and SF models. Why do manufacturers not do this- or at least pick up on it when their website designers do it.

The Quantic has an FKS last but no picture of the sole shape- which the SF does have, but no last identifier.

Given how important fit is, I find it difficult to understand why they don't allow you to filter for most characteristics - split sole, asymmetry, stiffness, width etc etc. They certainly have all that data.

I noticed the "FKS" last, and see other Scarpa models have FV, FR, FZC, FZ and FS lasts (got bored clicking and looking at that point, there could be more) but don't see any explanations as to what those even mean! On that basis I'm going to ignore them. I don't see these last codes used on the Scarpa Worldwide site.

Does anyone else have any idea about what these last codes mean?