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Reviews for Pontas Climbing Shoe - Mens popular Average Rating = 4.27/5 Average Rating : 4.27 out of 5

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Comfortable, Crushable, Climbing shoes. 5 out of 5 stars

Review by: bowldr42, 2012-04-24


I've been a huge fan of these after the break in period (2-3 weeks or 20 hours or so of climbing?).

I normally rock 9.5 street shoes and with these things I was able to go down to 8.0. I tried 7.5, but there wasn't enough of the split top tongue to cover the top of my foot. . .which was lame.

When I first slipped these things on and started climbing, toeing holds was PAINFUL and the rubber, needing to be worked in, was slipping off all over the place on plastic. Soon the rubber was a bit worked in and slippage was a non issue, but the rigidity and minimal stretch of the rubber/upper material really made them feel like blocks. After a few weeks the rubber softened up and i can now flex my foot a bit better and the climbing/fit feels phenominal!

They stick really well outdoors, but the rubber is softer and provides durability issues if you smear a lot or overabuse them/toe drag like a mofo. The Pontas Heel is pretty large as well, but it still works very well as the bagginess is more on the top of the sides of the heel than anywhere else (for me at least).
They also smear like a beast.

Someone review the Pontas II, I'm super curious!!

great project shoe 4 out of 5 stars

Review by: steelgrc, 2010-10-01


I've owned this shoe for almost a year and it has performed great on sport technical faces and overhangs. Great for edging on small stuff. Breaking them in does not take very long. Shaped and sized almost exactly like anasazi velcros. I would not recommend them to climbers with a super wide foot or those used to size very small because the extra rubber on top will make big toes hurt like hell. Low volume feet get a much better fit from them.
I didn't give them 5 stars because in my opinion the rubber wears down faster than stealth, and THEY DO STINK, even if the rest of your shoes don't..
I wear US 9 on new mugens and anasazi velcros, also 9 for these ones

Great rubber, sensitive 3 out of 5 stars

Review by: jermanimal, 2009-04-02


I didn't expect these to be as sensitive out of the box as they were, rubber is great. The shoe is very sensitive in the toe and fore foot, much more so then I was expecting, I thought it was supposed to be a little stiffer shoe, not so. This shoe does everything well.

The toe "vents" in rubber are not in the right place for me, and cause pressure, but trade off for more power is fine. I take off every route to keep sweat down, otherwise a very hot and sweaty shoe. They perform fantastically and haven't stretched an iota. My only complaint is the velcro is completely sub-par. The strap is cloth over thinner webbing, it would be better if it was thicker, wider webbing, but it might just be where it hits my foot. The heal is solid, but I give it an average, I like hooking with the fins on MRs, but these fits me well.

As with any shoe, fit is super important. They are 1/2 size down from some of my other shoes, again this is basically completely worthless and random.

Good pluses but the rubber 3 out of 5 stars

Review by: oahmed389, 2009-03-31


First, I would like to say that the fit on the shoes is excellent. It has a nicely sized toe box that fit well for average feet. I really enjoy the heel as it cups nicely and leaves no extra room to spare. The aggressiveness of the shoe is perfect for sport climbing as well as good amounts of boldering.

My biggest problem comes with the Trax rubber. Out of the box the rubber was sticky and was great, this soon wore off. The rubber is durable but is not as sticky as it used to be and I find myself sometimes slipping on the simplest of smears and edges. I do clean the soles regularly to improve traction.

Overall: good shoe with great fit but the rubber is lacking in stickiness

The price is right. 4 out of 5 stars

Review by: ACJ, 2009-03-17


This is a cheap priced shoe as far as the high end models go. It is durable but honestly the performance was nothing special in my mind. They aren't as sticky as people claim them to be, they do smell, and once broken in they fit really poorly on my feet. Even when I crank the velcro down the shoe rolls around my foot during hard edging, compared to when I first bought them and they were great. I do however like that I have beat the heck out of these shoes while bouldering, sport, and trad climbing and they have held together REALLY well. No problems with them falling apart. I wear size 39 in Miura lace-up, Miura VS, Katana, and size 8 in Evolve Pontas.

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