Scarpa Vantage > Reviews > Brought me back into climbing with confidence

Author's product rating:   

Durability	Very durable
Design	Good
Value for money	Good

Advantages:	Comfy, grippy, good fit with laces
Disadvantages:	Not much

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I have owned a pair of these for about a year and a half now and although I don't get to climb as much as I'd like I would have to say my next pair will be another pair of these.
First of these shoes are very comfortable for climbing shoes. I've had shoes in the past thathad such an agressive profile that I would climb a route then take them off and spend at least half an hour belaying others just to rest my feet. Not so with the scarpas. I climb, belay, climb some more and even sit in the cafe and have a coffee when I'm finished before taking them off and they are still comfortable at the end of the session. The top of the heel section does dig into my ankle at the back but then so do all climbing shoes and these haven't made me bleed so far.
The actual profile of the shoe is pretty good and the point of the toe is shaped just right. If you do alot of bouldering, as I do, these shoes help you find and hold the smallest of nooks and crannies. The sole is grippy and shaped so that smears are very easy and the arch of the sole inspires confidence every time I use it to curl round a hold.
When I first saw these shoes I was weary of the laces as I had always had slip-ons or velcro shoes before. I was worried that the laces might get in the way and make me fall but this has never happened and the nice tight fit that you get by doing the laces from the toe up is nowhere near as good as slip-ons or velcro fasteners in my oppinion.
Although I'd been out of climbing for a few years before I bought these shoes I had never heard of Scarpa and took a chance buying them over a more well known (for me at least) brand and I'm confident that I made the right choice.
After a year and half of (not weekly but frequent) climbing they aren't falling appart at all. The stitches in the seams are still tight and there's not a hint of fraying or sagging in the uppers.
As I said earlier, my next pair of climbing shoes will be Scarpa Vantages.