My Solutions got lost and my Anasazi VS' are awesome but I wanted something a bit more aggressive and sensitive to replace the Solutions for those edgy super steep problems I'm so fond of climbing these days so I gave these a try! I had them now for about 6 weeks and I have been blown away! For me they are better than the Solutions. Overall, these are the best shoes I have ever climbed in - super aggressive yet surprisingly comfy once broken in. These are the sickest climbing shoes around, achieving perfect balance between stiffness, support and sensitivity mixed with the best rubber, so sticky and dependable it almost feels like cheating! These days I firmly believe that 5.10 make the best rock shoes hands down and these are the best in 5.10s stable... I love the feeling they give me when locked on a tiny edge on a steep wall where intense body tension and accurate footwork on small edges are called for. They are also great on more rounded rock such as sand and gritstone. I haven't really done slabs in them yet but I'm beginning to think they might actually work although smearing is not easy with such an aggressive last... Size them super tight, almost too painful, as they (unusually for 5.10) stretch a little bit and soften out after a few sessions, moulding perfectly to your foot's anatomy and shape to become quite comfortable without loosing any of their performance. They come very small compared to the Anasazi. I wear (UK sizes) 10.5 street and 8.5 Anasazi and my Dragons are super tight and cambered at 10.
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Update - April 4th 2009
I have now had these for almost 6 months, climbing 3-4 times a week, bouldering up to V8 indoors and in a recent trip to Bishop. I'm still totally blown away by them! everything I said above stands and to add I would say they are also very reliable and well made - no quality problems or early wear are apparent so far and even the soft HF rubber on the soles seems to have a few more months of good hard bouldering left in it before it might need a resole. they have softened and stretched a bit more but that's not been detrimental to performance and the amazing thing is I can easily climb in them (as long as no hooking is called for) with the laces completely undone! in fact this is one of the coolest things about them - the rubber rand and last are so well tensioned around my feet that even without laces they fit like very cool slippers! I have flashed pretty a technical V6 with them like this recently. off course if strenuous hooking is necessary I still lace them up tight but for many problems I really like the lightness of touch and sensitivity they give when worn unlaced. its a really cool feature!
So, definitely still a 5 thumbs up a few months later!

Had these now for over 2 months but I took it slowly writing this review up because I wanted to get a really good feel for how they are. Well, now I can safely say it - they are awesome!
Totally different to any other rock shoe I have ever tired - but it works!
I'll explain:
Fit - Got them as small as I could. Initially, even getting into them was a near impossibility. Sizing for me is inline with other Sportivas. I wear 45 street shoes, got these at 42 (I wear Barracudas at 42 and Cobras at 41.5). Once I managed to get my feet into them and wait a few minutes for the rubber to warm up and my feet to recover from the shock they were surprisingly comfy for such an aggressive fit (for example I can't even stand, let alone climb, inside 5.10 Dragons or Scarpa Boosters which are similar shoes - it hurts too much). Solutions are lined with this soft smooth stuff which makes the inside sort of mould to the shape of my feet. no annoying stitches or hotspots. Yes they have stretched (only on the leather parts) and they softened a bit since I bought them, but performance has only improved as a result. The stretch has just made them even more comfy, more sensitive and a little more flexible which helps when smearing. The fit is really good and as someone here said they feel as if your feet have been dipped in sticky rubber. The heel is the best I ever experienced - deep and secure, and heel hooking (one of my fav moves) is so cool with them - it just feels completely different from any other shoe I tried before - super solid, sticky and powerful!

Performance - My favourite climbs these days are overhangs and I love to use my feet for pulling, getting them as high as possible all the time. Solutions are perfect for this style. With their sole shaped into hooked-down rubber 'claws' at the tips of the toes they are just amazing when pulling on anything, I feel I'm literally grabbing tiny and high foot holds with my toes. The most unique thing about them is that it feels like the support (which is amazing) doesn't come from a midsole like in most other climbing shoes, rather it seems to be coming from the way the randing rubber is tensioned around the feet (P3 system thingie). In fact im not even sure if they have a midsole at all?! initially they were quite stiff and with the severe downturn I was thinking that they are too specific for overhangs. Also they have a lot of rubber everywhere around the toes which meant that they felt a bit insensitive... I gave them a rest for a few weeks and gone back to my Cobras as I love sensitivity in rock shoes, but after a while started using them again and now that they have softened a bit more they are just perfect. The stiffness and insensitivity are gone and they have become perfect, for routes and bouldering, even on slabs, and they edge on crimpy dime edge vertical routes better than any other shoe I tried to date. But ultimately, I love them to bits because of the way they enable me to pull on overhangs with my toes and heels like a monkey, as if I was barefoot - it's just sooooo much fun :-) these shoes are pure FUN!
Hummmmmm I wanna go climb now....

Just bought a pair as an all round shoe that's easy to slip on/off for indoor and i'm super impressed! here in the UK we have the new version of these with sticky Vibram XS Grip - i wonder why they stopped selling them in the US?

Sizing: My normal Sportiva size is 42 (street shoe is 45) which is super snug with my Solutions and Barracudas but for Cobra i went with 41.5! Yes they were very tight and slightly painful but not too bad, i was able to slip them on straight away and start bouldering. after a couple of hours they have already started stretching a little...

Fit: their shape is perfect for my foot (low volume wide'ish forefoot narrow heel). They feel painted on. Toes are nicely curled and the heel is super safe with no air pockets or hotspots. the nicest thing about these compared to the Miuras (which share the same basic shape with the Cobras) is that there are no inner stitches to rub against the skin which is a big problem i have with the Miuras! they really are amazingly comfortable and they aren't even broken-in yet. sweet!

Performance: I love the way I can smear in them (which is where my Solutions are lacking due to their curved sole) and yet I can still toe hook and pull on overhangs really well. Heel hooking is great as well - as safe and solid as with the Solutions!!! not even near to popping off once (and I love heel hooking so I use it a lot) not yet sure about edging power as I haven't yet done much micro stuff with them but I would expect them to be good but not as good as something stiffer like the Miura or 5.10 Galileo... One of their best features is their precision and sensitivity - this is so important for me in a rock shoe.

Over all: Cobras are now my new all round favourite - very sensitive, easy to take off/put on, pulls really well on overhangs, heel hooks like a super technical shoe, smears like a very flat shoe and is equally at useful on slab, vertical or crazy overhangs.... I used to have to carry around 2 or 3 pair of shoes now i can finally just chuck the Cobras in the rucksack and YAY, easy and light! oh and they are cheap and look cool too :-D

This is my current favourite rock shoe. I Been looking for my perfect shoe for a while, and quite obsessively too, so far my top three are the Miura, Testarossa and Barracuda which I use the most. I also have a pair of Katanas which were my first pair ever, and I have also tried Red Chillies and 5.10s a plenty - the latter never fit me as well as Sportivas do. while I find the Miuras and Testarossas very good, for me, the Barracudas are even better with their comfort, sensitivity and the sense of poise they give me combined with amazing edging and hooking power that much stiffer shoes don't have! For me this is the most balanced rock shoe out there.

let me explain:

I downsized as aggressively as I could cram my foot into (normal size is 44.5-45 and I got the cudas at 42) and they are super snug and sensitive yet still comfortable enough to stand in and not take them off too frequently (and they are still quite new!!!). the point on these shoes is amazing, you can literally put your entire body weight on nothing and you just dont slide off. the tension is passed through the rubber rand all around your foot and the heel is kept securely in place. While this is also possible with my Miuras it is a much more painful deal and my heels do get a bit loose. The unique thing about the Barracuda is that despite not having the down-turned (and rather painful) toe design they are still very technical shoes that can heel hook, toe jam/hook, edge like the Miura and Testarossa and yet smear amazingly well on tough technical slab thanks to the flexible and less downturned design.. its this combination of softness comfort and sensitivity with amazing friction from the Vibram rubber and an excellent edging structure that makes them so special.
Some people say they are like a lace up Katana. This couldn't be further from the truth! the toes in the Katana are much more curled and the toebox is wider, the Katana doesn't fit nearly as snug and soft as the Barracuda and for me the Barracuda point, smear and edge much better than the Katana.
I haven't had them for very long so I'm not sure how much they might stretch but i'll update here in a few weeks once I finish breaking them in :)