Solution

I bought this shoe after retiring my Mammut Goblins. I needed improved heel and toe hooking performance. My choices were either the Miura VS, Millet Replikan and the Solutions. Miura VS felt more like an overall climbing shoe. The Replikan didn't fit me properly. The Solutions felt like no other shoe I've fitted to date: the initial feeling was that I have rubber socks on my feet. The fit was super-tight but comfortable. Whereas other climbing shoes squeeze some of your toes, these squeeze all of them, quite uniformly. The bouldering performance is awesome, but these are not, in my opinion, suited for slabs. They are too downturned for smearing, and the bottom shape offers too little friction for it anyway. My rating is based entirely on the bouldering performance, since that's what this shoe is designed for. As a more all-around shoe, I'd recommend the Miura VS. Note about the sizes: I have (EU) size 40 Miuras, 40 Miura VSs (fitted at the shop), but size 39 Solutions.

Had these for 3 months. Honestly, the best shoes you can buy. Expensive, but well worth the price. They are comfy for such a down turned shoe. Anything intense, feels like a breeze. (Especially fro mantles). I’m also very fond of toe hooks and these do it for me.

OK, so initially this shoe was all the rage and sean McColl climbed with it in the gripped magazine photo up but over time it starts to loose that really sweet edge it once had. my friends, my mentor, everyone had this shoe and we all agreed that it was the best shoe ever created but over time we trashed them just because they lost their beautiful edging and the heel was too big for me so instead i like my moccysyms* now and i'm using the olutions only as training and can't wait till i see a hole in them so that i can get some Jet7's. don't get me wrong i loved this shoe but it's time has passed, so i recommend that you buy this shoe quite snuggly for the heel, and just know that they'll dull over time. good for some bad for others....

A little durability could be added to the straps but they'll still last you for a year of more than moderate climbing. I also own the Testarossas but I havent used them very often since I got these. The single strap velcro is just too convenient.

Not just to play on words, but seriously, climbing shoes come in all shapes and sizes, and all seem to specialize in a particular area of climbing. La Sportiva has come up with a solution to feeling secure on your feet, while being comfortable, no matter what the terrain.

Like most other reviewers noted, the fit IS great. I have wide feet for a women, but I also have small feet, and 2 different shoe sizes. Till I started climbing in the Solutions, never has a pair of shoes fit as well as these have. I can't fit into women's Sportiva shoes, they are too narrow. I've tried on most womens 'agressive shoes', and within a second, the pain was unbearable. I wore women's 5.10s and MadRocks before, and the rubber on the Sportiva's feel more sticky and seem to wear better than prior brands.

Though these shoes are geared towards bouldering, I've used them with vertical sport routes that had little to no feet at spots, and I felt very secure on my feet. Trad routes are the same. Even when jamming my feet into cracks, I am still comfortable. By the end of a short trad multi-pitch, the shoes begin to feel not quite as comfortable, but I had that with any shoe, no matter how flat lasted and comfy they were to begin with. I've tried them on a little bit of more overhanging routes, and still, its the same outcome--comfy, secure, and they produce.

Thanks La Sportiva for creating such a fine shoe.