UKH

Evening all,

Looking for advice on my next set of rock shoes. Current ones are getting a bit tired and looking for something to aid performance a little more. Have tried a few and have so far found the Scarpa Vapour V a good fit and I think about as technical as I'm looking for. Also know that the Five Ten Anasazi are known to be a good shoe (haven't been able to try them yet)

Main questions, How much do both shoes stretch? Which would people go for in their experience? Any other shoes I should look at? (Tried sportiva mura and katana but don't like the fit)

Looking for all round use but mainly bouldering and indoor. Also trad. Climb around vs 4b trad, lead 6b indoor and boulder around v2/v3.

Current shoe la sportiva nago.

Thanks
Stu

In reply to stu84:
Hi Stu, looks like you have similar feet to me as those are the two pairs of shoes I've got!

I like them both a lot but they're pretty different. The vapours are great semi technnical sport/bouldering shoes and I use them at the wall a lot. Get them as a tight fit but know that they won't really stretch.

The anasazis are a softer less technical shoe I've done lots of trad in. While he edging is good new they quickly turned into smearing shoes for me. Having said that I use them at the boulder wall quite a bit as I think they improve my footwork on hard slabs/vertical terrain. No use for steep bouldering really (although some wad will have done v14 in them I'm sure!). They don't stretch much either but slightly more than the vapours in my experience (1/2 a size max). I didn't get them super tight as I wanted to multipitch trad in them. Ymmv.

Hth
Mike

In reply to minimike:
Thanks Mike, that's very helpful. Thought that would be the case, tempted to go with the Scarpa in which case and then maybe treat myself to a pair of trad shoes further down the line.

In reply to stu84:

Anasazi's are a med-to-narrow fit shoe, and vapours are a wider forefoot shoe.

If the vapours fit you, I would suspect Anasazi (VS's I assume you mean?) will be unlikely to fit you well.

I mean, unless you size them both so big that it doesn't really matter what shoe you buy.

In reply to neuromancer:

Agreed, but I've got a narrow heel/midfoot with a wider forefoot. So the vapours fit well tight and there's enough lateral give in the anasazis that I get away with it (and yes they're not uber tight)

Mike

In reply to minimike:

Sounds like we have a very similar foot Mike. Was thinking Anasazi lace, only because vapours are the only Velcro shoe I've managed to get to fit.

Mike - are yours vcs or lace?

In reply to minimike:
Maybe try a Techno X or Force if you want a wider-fit flat lasted shoe you can wear all day?

Laces are narrower than the VCS on the anasazis.

All scarpas save maybe the boosters and mago's tend to run wide.

In reply to stu84:

VCS, which are either wider or just more forgiving at the front. Laced ones never worked so well for me.

In reply to stu84: I'm really fond of the Vapor V (3 pairs to date) and I can't then get Anasazi on! Too narrow, heel all wrong

In reply to stu84:

Have owned both these shoes. All comes down to the heel for me. I'm mainly bouldering, bit of sport. Both are wide enough at the front for my hobbit feet, but I've got a narrow heel. The Anasazi all but rip off my foot on an aggressive heel hook. The Vapor fit my narrow heel brilliantly, just about give me a shoe fart on the right move. Both stretch about half a size over their life. As with most cross brand purchases I'd say trying em on is your best bet.

In reply to dilatory:

Thanks for the advice. Will try to try some Anasazi's but wonder if the vapours are better suited to what I'm doing at the minute and I know they fit well.

In reply to stu84:

Surely it's ALL about the fit, on your particular foot - I can't believe either of these shoes would hold you back in terms of their inherent performance characteristics... I'm on my fourth pair of Anasazi VCS now and they fit my wide feet (wide at the toes) as as well as anything else I've found. I don't honestly think they stretch significantly - as in get measurably bigger overall - but they do mould to your feet somewhat. They do (as mentioned above get softer over time too - probably because a fair percentage of the stiffness is actually in the sole rubber - but in my experience they remain pretty good at edging (or smedging) regardless. A good resole, with the correct rubber, will restore the stiffness to factory setting.