2008 Rock-Shoe Review

Red Chili Durango VCR

$69, redchili.de

An entry-level shoe, this comfortable Velcro version of Red Chili’s Durango is built on a flat, slightly asymmetrical last that our testers easily wore all day. A thick (5mm) RX1 rubber sole provides longer wear than most shoes, while unlined leather uppers readily stretched up to a full size. Our testers gave the boot solid performance marks in each discipline, and found it to edge and “jib” well, especially when new.

Ideal Uses: Moderate all-around climbing; all-day use

Bottom Line: Reasonably priced; comfy for all-day wear 

SCARPA Feroce

$135, scarpa.com

The very downturned, moderately asymmetrical Feroce is a high-performance shoe for vertical to overhanging terrain. It comes equipped with a slightly pointed toe and a very thin (3.5mm) Vibram XS Grip sole, making it highly sensitive. The Heinz Mariacher-designed Feroce is an excellent edging and jamming shoe, due to its stiff midsole and three Velcro straps, which offer near lace-up-quality tightening. Testers found that the “hooking rail” (a unique rubber bar wrapping the heel) effectively grabbed lips or rough spots, while the extra-soft sticky-rubber patch atop the shoe snagged toe hooks.

Ideal Uses: Moderate-to-hard, vertical-to-overhanging climbing; jamming

Bottom Line: High-performance shoe with a knack for cracks 

SCARPA Techno

$120, scarpa.com

The Techno fills the performance-trad-shoe niche. Built with a straight, flat last, comfortable toe box, and no lining, these shoes fit testers all day, even on harder climbs. In the interest of comfort, Scarpa eliminated the typical heel rand and replaced it with their “Heel Lock System” — a webbing/lacing advent testers found locked in the heel as they tightened the laces. The low cut of the shoe allowed for good ankle mobility on slabs and cracks, while its medium stiffness handled smearing (thanks to 4mm Vibram XS Grip rubber), edging, and jamming like a pro.

Ideal Uses: Hard, technical trad routes; all-day wear

Bottom Line: Comfortable, high-performing trad shoe that can swing sport climbing, too 

Also Out: Approach Shoes

• Boreal Approach ($99, e-boreal.com): Midweight, breathable approach shoe with waterproof leather uppers and a Vibram Multisport sole

• Evolv Escapist ($79, evolvesports.com): Lightweight, breathable approach shoe with TRAX rubber sole; vegan-friendly

• Five Ten Daescent ($89.95, fiveten.com): Ultra-lightweight, quick-drying off-road shoe with a Stealth ONYXX sole that wraps over the toe box. Click here to buy now from MountainGear.com

• La Sportiva B5 ($100, sportiva.com): Midweight, well-padded, with low-profile laces for jamming, sticky-rubber rand, and a FriXion XT sole. Click here to buy now from MountainGear.com

• Mad Rock Hustler ($69.95, madrockclimbing.com): Midweight, well-ventilated, with a Mad Rubber Formula 5 sole and sticky-rubber rand

• SCARPA Expresso ($99, scarpa.com): Ultra-lightweight, breathable, and built on a climbing-shoe last (with a rocker for hiking), with a sticky-rubber rand. Click here to buy now from MountainGear.com