Great review covering all the nitty gritty details Matt :D I personally never liked pigeon holing climbing shoes into "Sport Climbing" or "Bouldering", it's more about the surfaces you're climbing on. So I think saying the Booster is a Bouldering shoe (or as you said Bouldering Bouldering shoe haha) feels a tiny bit off to me. Climbing shoes in the end are largely designed for the surfaces they need to perform on, and what a Booster does really well is stand on small points on the front of the shoe and provide support and power there (what we call "precision"). The assymetric and downturned nature of the shoe combined with the flexible sole make it perform better on steeper angles, and that PAF heel system is genius for focussing power through the front of the shoe whilst allowing the use of softer rubber to maintain sensitivity for more technical climbs. Any climber who wants to perform on anything in excess of 30degrees overhanging will find the Booster a great shoe. In particular it will perform exceptionally when footholds are small, edgy or inset (such as pockets) on steeper ground - think Margalef or Frankenjura as sport venues, the Booster and Mago would be my first port of call in these locations. I've also been using the Booster for most of my board sessions throughout lockdown, and they'd dominate on steeper boulders in places like Bishop in the U.S. or the Peak District Limestone :) Sorry for the ramble - I love climbing shoe chat! HAHA!
It's pretty evident that wherever Heinz works stuff gets done well. They are doing an amazing work and I moved from La Sportiva to Scarpa because of the feeling you get when you climb on them
I appreciate that they made it vegan friendly, and that you mention it for people who are concerned about the animal products in their gear...but it still always makes me think about people eating their shoes and I giggle every time.
It's still made out of product that's derived from petroleum so just how vegan is it? This argument for "vegan friendly" synthetic which is almost ALWAYS derived from petroleum just kills me...
Since i was looking for a shoe to do primarily slabs and volume bouldering while also get better at Overhangs i might have found my shoe. As always very helpful review :)
Which number would you recommend? La Sportiva usually becomes bigger very easily compared to Scarpa shoes. I have a 36.5 of Taratula (La Sportiva first climbing shoes) and a 38 of Instinct SR (Scarpa). I usually wear 38 for normal shoes.
@@johannwinkler2183 I mean they are different in so many ways, so it's a pretty hard comparison. I love my vsr's to death but the boosters fill a completely different function.
Would you (anyone who wears them) say this is like the Drago but with a grippier top toe? I love my Dragos but my toe hooks slip more than they do in my Instinct VSs which appear to have the same toe design as the Booster.
Counter review, I've been wearing these for atleast 3 months now and yes the toe is amazing. But the heel is just not good at all, maybe I haven't got used to it in 3 months or it doesn't fit my feet quite right but that squish and flex just makes it feel sloppy to me. It might be forgiving if you get the placement of the heel slightly wrong, but then it will suddenly give up on you as it slips from the yellow strip onto the normal rubber. I won't be buying them again, scarpa are great but these are a miss for me. Back to the Drago's
Thanks, I appreciate that info. I was intrigued by these shoes but high foot/heel moves are pretty much my biggest strength in climbing so this sounds like the wrong fit.
Thanks, I appreciate that info. I was intrigued by these shoes but high foot/heel moves are pretty much my biggest strength in climbing so this sounds like the wrong fit.
can we get a top 10 climbing shoes to advance flat feet climber please? or maybe top 10 advance climbing shoes for people who has shallow heels; i've tried alot of shoes, and none of them ever fits my heels well even if i go way too tight
@@milotimberlake2047 they're my favourite shoe, but their heels such for me, (i'm also a flat feet) it's to baggy, you can't do any heel hook on any smaller holds
Oh man I can’t wait for my pair to come in. I don’t have a way to try on most shoes where I live (our only climbing store has like 10 models, none from scarpa) and I’ve been basically blind guessing and relying on REI’s great return policy to find my size. It sucks though cause it’s like trying on shoes, but you have to wait a week when moving up or down in size.
Try out Scarpa Instinct VS/VSR's or some laced up shoes, or Evolv shaman/oracle. Instincts are built with a pretty wide structure, and with almost any lace-up, you can get wider (or taller) feet into them easily. Shamans were also built with wide feet in mind. Some great lace-up bouldering boots would be the Evolv Oracle, La Sportiva Testarossa, or the Scarpa Mago. Honestly though, just try shoes on in store when you can again, it's so much more accurate, and well worth the cost.
Haven't tried the new boosters, only the model before this. They are super precise and really make small bad footholds a lot better. But if you are only getting one pair, I would go for the instinct.
Funfact: All benefits of the high quality and premium super precision laser guided downturn shoe was evolved and produced by 5.10 in 2008 and is built so far😂
So its a drago with a softer heel and less toe rubber basically 🤔 good for caves and friction slabs but for everything else, get something stiffer 🤷♂️
I have the Drago and tried the Booster at a demo earlier in the year - Booster toe box feels a bit stiffer and more asymmetric than the Drago but has a similarly flexible midsole. I preferred the heel on the Drago, but the toe box of the Booster for what it's worth.
Significantly stiffer than the Drago, though still on the soft range. The fit is quite different and build in general is more solid. These I would prefer on granite boulders but not say sandstone, and would be for most boulders in the gym and gym sport routes whereas the drago is more competition style bouldering and wouldn’t much bother sport climbing. Granted, I use my Chimeras for everything.
Hey Mat, how baggy is the heel for you? It seems to be the main issue most of us are facing with this shoe. I guess it's the 'morphing rubber' but feels pretty odd for the heel to be so baggy.
i've tried it before, it depends on your heel shape, but the whole shoe is unbelievably soft, the heel can fit well to most people i'd imagine because the heel is fabric levels of soft. but i'm a flat feet, and nothing ever works for me
Kayden Borhan Not sure if the Veloce has the same design or not, but I’ve had the same issue with a really baggy heel, despite trying five different sizes across both the men’s and women’s versions.
For me the scarpa heels are perfect. What I have learned over the years is that if a heel fits or not depends hardly on the shape of yout heel and how much you downsize a shoe
@@jsl2phdxIn my experience, shape of shoe is way more important than downsizing. But I also have pretty wide feet so that might be the difference in our opinions.
Solomon Kwon you’re actually quite right, especially the more molded a heel cup is the more a too downsized model will fit poorly. Truth is there are a thousand shoe models, and most won’t fit well.
I'm new to climbing shoes and have big Fred Flintstone size 13 shoes. I have wider then average feet. Can anyone steer me towards a shoe or brand to start looking at?
As someone who does climbing shoe fits, I am wary whenever anyone says they have a wide foot or high arch or this or that. Climbing shoes are different in the way they contort your foot and contort around your foot, because I fit the La Sportiva Genius wonderfully, a quite wide model, as well as the Fiveten Blanco, certainly narrow, with similar euro sizing. Still, my initial suggestion is the Butora Endeavor because they have a wide fit specific version (think moss green), or the La Sportiva Finale if you can fit the more tensioned heels. Finales are a better go to for sizing of the feet, and as you transition to harder climbing the Otakis will provide the same increased sizes as well as wider fit, plus you are probably yourself taller and therefore weigh more and the stiffness of the Finale and Otaki will help.
@@Cacovangor Man, out of the park suggestions, thank you very much. No I'm not saying I have flat feet or anything but I do have a wider then average foot for sure. I'm 6'4 240 pounds so the suggestions matter and I'm sure there is some kind of weird sizing I need to get use to and understand. I love the Vibram 5 finger shoes. Do climbing shoes size like them do you know?
@@50StichesSteel Every climb shoe model is sized differently! Some companies are at least quite constant in sizing, others (f.e. older Five Tens) are completely different from model to model. There is ONLY one way: Try the shoes on. As you should do every time. Try different sizes and stay in the shoes for several minutes. I guarantee you that a shoe feels completely different between the moment you put it on and think "aw sh*t" and 5min later. Because of the warmth of your foot and the pressure you add to the shoe from the inside. . General as a new climber you wanna look for more comfortable shoes than for high tech, high price, high aggressive shoes. Why? Because you would buy aggressive shoes too big. You want to climb and have fun and not be destracted by beeing in pain. You probably don't want to slip out of your shoes every 3min because you can't take it any more. Because a flatter shoe with thicker rubber will last longer, and as a beginner you have worse technique than later and will destroy your expensive high end shoes way faster. Lastly, you want to think about beta, technique, movement and general problem solving/skill and not about your climbing shoe that much :) Hope that was at least a little bit helpful. Or you know all this by now anyway ;)
Definitely too soft for most sport climbing. I have been in love with my Chimeras for sport, last couple major projects I have had they work well on the tiny sharp edges and smearing on white patina rock or pressing through glassen divots.
You couldn't describe the heel better. It's weird and nearly put me off buying it. As for the narrow feet - I disagree. Their website says medium volume feet and narrow feet in different places. I have quite wide feet myself and these fit perfectly.
Would have really liked a comparison to similar shoes in the Scarpa range when it comes to size and fit. Is it more like a stiffer Furia or Drago? Or a more narrow Instinct? I would love for you guys to do more in depth reviews with more of the epic tv staff with maybe not as freakishly narrow feet as Mat :) Anyway keep it up and thanks for good info and entertainment every week!
Same basic last as most everything high end from Scarpa except the Mago, third sole shoe similar to Furia Air, softer than the Chimera by a good margin but stiffer than everything else. Instinct is stiffer, less down camber, less asymmetry, and toe patch is stiffer, but instincts are better for strict edging.
It really looks ugly, don't what scarpa thinking about the velcro. And what happens with the heel? It is already damaged? Let's be honest, the shoes on the marked are already so good and this new models don't makes you a better climber.
Great review covering all the nitty gritty details Matt :D I personally never liked pigeon holing climbing shoes into "Sport Climbing" or "Bouldering", it's more about the surfaces you're climbing on. So I think saying the Booster is a Bouldering shoe (or as you said Bouldering Bouldering shoe haha) feels a tiny bit off to me. Climbing shoes in the end are largely designed for the surfaces they need to perform on, and what a Booster does really well is stand on small points on the front of the shoe and provide support and power there (what we call "precision"). The assymetric and downturned nature of the shoe combined with the flexible sole make it perform better on steeper angles, and that PAF heel system is genius for focussing power through the front of the shoe whilst allowing the use of softer rubber to maintain sensitivity for more technical climbs.
Any climber who wants to perform on anything in excess of 30degrees overhanging will find the Booster a great shoe. In particular it will perform exceptionally when footholds are small, edgy or inset (such as pockets) on steeper ground - think Margalef or Frankenjura as sport venues, the Booster and Mago would be my first port of call in these locations. I've also been using the Booster for most of my board sessions throughout lockdown, and they'd dominate on steeper boulders in places like Bishop in the U.S. or the Peak District Limestone :)
Sorry for the ramble - I love climbing shoe chat! HAHA!
It's pretty evident that wherever Heinz works stuff gets done well. They are doing an amazing work and I moved from La Sportiva to Scarpa because of the feeling you get when you climb on them
god dammit Matt, stop being so good at making me hyped for climbing gear!
It's basically his job
Good review Matt
It would be nice to finally get the same detailed editorial on the Scarpa Mago.
I appreciate that they made it vegan friendly, and that you mention it for people who are concerned about the animal products in their gear...but it still always makes me think about people eating their shoes and I giggle every time.
Oh shit, I totally misunderstood and have been eating them after each session :(
Compassionate Climber happens to the best of us
It's still made out of product that's derived from petroleum so just how vegan is it?
This argument for "vegan friendly" synthetic which is almost ALWAYS derived from petroleum just kills me...
@@vanillarpgsoundtracks Are you suggesting millions year old plant matter isn't vegan? I'm confused.
Are you saying there's another way? I mean, once the shoe is spent anyway.
Since i was looking for a shoe to do primarily slabs and volume bouldering while also get better at Overhangs i might have found my shoe. As always very helpful review :)
Would be good to have more gear shows that do a review of several types of product for comparison
How would you compare the booster to the instinct VSR?
Which number would you recommend? La Sportiva usually becomes bigger very easily compared to Scarpa shoes. I have a 36.5 of Taratula (La Sportiva first climbing shoes) and a 38 of Instinct SR (Scarpa). I usually wear 38 for normal shoes.
Great review. I'd be curious to hear how it compares to the Instinct VSR or Evolv Oracle?
thesii213 worse than the vsr (broken in) in every way especially the heel
It’s a much stiffer toe box but the rest is much softer as it’s not all rubber I think (if it is then it’s just super super soft)
@@johannwinkler2183 I mean they are different in so many ways, so it's a pretty hard comparison. I love my vsr's to death but the boosters fill a completely different function.
Would you (anyone who wears them) say this is like the Drago but with a grippier top toe? I love my Dragos but my toe hooks slip more than they do in my Instinct VSs which appear to have the same toe design as the Booster.
Counter review, I've been wearing these for atleast 3 months now and yes the toe is amazing. But the heel is just not good at all, maybe I haven't got used to it in 3 months or it doesn't fit my feet quite right but that squish and flex just makes it feel sloppy to me. It might be forgiving if you get the placement of the heel slightly wrong, but then it will suddenly give up on you as it slips from the yellow strip onto the normal rubber. I won't be buying them again, scarpa are great but these are a miss for me. Back to the Drago's
Thanks, I appreciate that info.
I was intrigued by these shoes but high foot/heel moves are pretty much my biggest strength in climbing so this sounds like the wrong fit.
Thanks, I appreciate that info.
I was intrigued by these shoes but high foot/heel moves are pretty much my biggest strength in climbing so this sounds like the wrong fit.
can we get a top 10 climbing shoes to advance flat feet climber please?
or maybe top 10 advance climbing shoes for people who has shallow heels; i've tried alot of shoes, and none of them ever fits my heels well even if i go way too tight
I have flat feet and I’ve found scarpa instinct vs and vsr have heels that fit very well
@@milotimberlake2047 they're my favourite shoe, but their heels such for me, (i'm also a flat feet)
it's to baggy, you can't do any heel hook on any smaller holds
Try madrock shark/ drone. Butora narsha soft. They all have great if not the best heels
Oh man I can’t wait for my pair to come in. I don’t have a way to try on most shoes where I live (our only climbing store has like 10 models, none from scarpa) and I’ve been basically blind guessing and relying on REI’s great return policy to find my size. It sucks though cause it’s like trying on shoes, but you have to wait a week when moving up or down in size.
I really like Scarpa shoes but I feel like there aren't a lot of wider models. With my very wide feet, I'm sadly not able to wear Scarpa that much.
how do they compare to the instinct VSR??
I have a pair of VS’s for sport climbing but I’m curious how this compares to the VSR for bouldering.
Its more downturned, more asymmetric, slightly narrower, slightly softer
What shoe do you recommend for wider feet? i keep hearing about shoes for narrow feet, but my wide ass feet feel left out :D
Try out Scarpa Instinct VS/VSR's or some laced up shoes, or Evolv shaman/oracle. Instincts are built with a pretty wide structure, and with almost any lace-up, you can get wider (or taller) feet into them easily. Shamans were also built with wide feet in mind. Some great lace-up bouldering boots would be the Evolv Oracle, La Sportiva Testarossa, or the Scarpa Mago. Honestly though, just try shoes on in store when you can again, it's so much more accurate, and well worth the cost.
You guys should do an in depth review of the la sportiva solution comp.
How does it compare to the Instinct for bouldering? Anybody's feedback is welcome!
Haven't tried the new boosters, only the model before this. They are super precise and really make small bad footholds a lot better. But if you are only getting one pair, I would go for the instinct.
Funfact: All benefits of the high quality and premium super precision laser guided downturn shoe was evolved and produced by 5.10 in 2008 and is built so far😂
So its a drago with a softer heel and less toe rubber basically 🤔 good for caves and friction slabs but for everything else, get something stiffer 🤷♂️
I have the Drago and tried the Booster at a demo earlier in the year - Booster toe box feels a bit stiffer and more asymmetric than the Drago but has a similarly flexible midsole. I preferred the heel on the Drago, but the toe box of the Booster for what it's worth.
Significantly stiffer than the Drago, though still on the soft range. The fit is quite different and build in general is more solid. These I would prefer on granite boulders but not say sandstone, and would be for most boulders in the gym and gym sport routes whereas the drago is more competition style bouldering and wouldn’t much bother sport climbing. Granted, I use my Chimeras for everything.
Hey Mat, how baggy is the heel for you? It seems to be the main issue most of us are facing with this shoe. I guess it's the 'morphing rubber' but feels pretty odd for the heel to be so baggy.
i've tried it before, it depends on your heel shape, but the whole shoe is unbelievably soft, the heel can fit well to most people i'd imagine because the heel is fabric levels of soft.
but i'm a flat feet, and nothing ever works for me
Kayden Borhan Not sure if the Veloce has the same design or not, but I’ve had the same issue with a really baggy heel, despite trying five different sizes across both the men’s and women’s versions.
As a person with a big fat foot, this makes me a bit sad.
Have they managed to make a heel that fits yet?
For me the scarpa heels are perfect.
What I have learned over the years is that if a heel fits or not depends hardly on the shape of yout heel and how much you downsize a shoe
@@jsl2phdxIn my experience, shape of shoe is way more important than downsizing. But I also have pretty wide feet so that might be the difference in our opinions.
Solomon Kwon you’re actually quite right, especially the more molded a heel cup is the more a too downsized model will fit poorly. Truth is there are a thousand shoe models, and most won’t fit well.
I'm new to climbing shoes and have big Fred Flintstone size 13 shoes. I have wider then average feet. Can anyone steer me towards a shoe or brand to start looking at?
As someone who does climbing shoe fits, I am wary whenever anyone says they have a wide foot or high arch or this or that. Climbing shoes are different in the way they contort your foot and contort around your foot, because I fit the La Sportiva Genius wonderfully, a quite wide model, as well as the Fiveten Blanco, certainly narrow, with similar euro sizing. Still, my initial suggestion is the Butora Endeavor because they have a wide fit specific version (think moss green), or the La Sportiva Finale if you can fit the more tensioned heels. Finales are a better go to for sizing of the feet, and as you transition to harder climbing the Otakis will provide the same increased sizes as well as wider fit, plus you are probably yourself taller and therefore weigh more and the stiffness of the Finale and Otaki will help.
@@Cacovangor Man, out of the park suggestions, thank you very much. No I'm not saying I have flat feet or anything but I do have a wider then average foot for sure. I'm 6'4 240 pounds so the suggestions matter and I'm sure there is some kind of weird sizing I need to get use to and understand. I love the Vibram 5 finger shoes. Do climbing shoes size like them do you know?
@@50StichesSteel Every climb shoe model is sized differently! Some companies are at least quite constant in sizing, others (f.e. older Five Tens) are completely different from model to model.
There is ONLY one way: Try the shoes on. As you should do every time. Try different sizes and stay in the shoes for several minutes. I guarantee you that a shoe feels completely different between the moment you put it on and think "aw sh*t" and 5min later. Because of the warmth of your foot and the pressure you add to the shoe from the inside.
.
General as a new climber you wanna look for more comfortable shoes than for high tech, high price, high aggressive shoes.
Why? Because you would buy aggressive shoes too big. You want to climb and have fun and not be destracted by beeing in pain. You probably don't want to slip out of your shoes every 3min because you can't take it any more. Because a flatter shoe with thicker rubber will last longer, and as a beginner you have worse technique than later and will destroy your expensive high end shoes way faster. Lastly, you want to think about beta, technique, movement and general problem solving/skill and not about your climbing shoe that much :)
Hope that was at least a little bit helpful. Or you know all this by now anyway ;)
I think as a sport climber I'll still prefer the slightly stiffer booster s
Definitely too soft for most sport climbing. I have been in love with my Chimeras for sport, last couple major projects I have had they work well on the tiny sharp edges and smearing on white patina rock or pressing through glassen divots.
You couldn't describe the heel better. It's weird and nearly put me off buying it. As for the narrow feet - I disagree. Their website says medium volume feet and narrow feet in different places. I have quite wide feet myself and these fit perfectly.
The shoe looks good, but the heel looks destroyed in the close ups. I don't think it will last much.
I was thinking the same thing. The black rubber looks destroyed where it meets the yellow rubber.
Nice, but my size is not in stock. 😤
Would have really liked a comparison to similar shoes in the Scarpa range when it comes to size and fit. Is it more like a stiffer Furia or Drago? Or a more narrow Instinct? I would love for you guys to do more in depth reviews with more of the epic tv staff with maybe not as freakishly narrow feet as Mat :) Anyway keep it up and thanks for good info and entertainment every week!
Same basic last as most everything high end from Scarpa except the Mago, third sole shoe similar to Furia Air, softer than the Chimera by a good margin but stiffer than everything else. Instinct is stiffer, less down camber, less asymmetry, and toe patch is stiffer, but instincts are better for strict edging.
scarpa says something different and ana davey also. so funny for everyone stiff has a other meaning
Dont understand why they'd design it with those giant straps.. Bound to get in the way
They didn't when I was using it. The velcro is super sticky so stays pressed down...
It really looks ugly, don't what scarpa thinking about the velcro. And what happens with the heel? It is already damaged? Let's be honest, the shoes on the marked are already so good and this new models don't makes you a better climber.
Jeez...really...softness n sensitivity...then you use it to kick the crap out of a piece of rock.
Life was easier when E.B. ruled the planet.
I mean you can tell me what you want, but compared to the Drago/FuriaS, it looks like shit.