Wow...good shoe...quick on and off, allways a plus...but besides the conveniance, this shoe excells...at what you ask, Almost everything! Thin cracks (not the wide ones though, velcro is not thy friend in the wide ones...) edges, and slabby smears (if sized right).

Great shoe. seriously.

I don't know what all you haters are talking about. I live in Bishop and Love the job that Tony and crew does w/ shoes. These guys are like Dr. Frankenstein, regularly breathing life into lifeless things. They also now carry Acopa rubber which is awesome! These Guys have resoled (and even created custom boots from scratch!) for some of climbing's best. If your rubber starts to peel even a little, even if it's not their resole, they will slap some glue on ther for ya for free (unless you are a prick.). Experiance, great rubber selection and friendly down home service make them #1. If I move away I will send my shoes back to Bishop every time.

vic

Great rope! Good weight, very good specs, great hand, blah blah blah. Fairly durable. Did hold dirt and aluminum residue more than most, even after a washing, but didn't ever really fuzz out. Got kind of oval shaped after a year of 3/4 times a week of use. I'm gonna retire it soon for serious leading but will still use it for mellow leads and tr.

I own these shoes and have had my share of problems w/ them. It all began when trying them on in the store. There was a "burr" of jagged metal on the top lace eyelet that almost cut through the lace when I tried them on and pulled them tight. No biggie (except the store had only one pair in my size and had to special order another.) shit happens.

Two weeks later The replacements camne in and I got 'em. Two weeks after that, I had a split seam large enough to stick my pinkie into on the outside yelloe seam of the shoe. They had gone aprox. 8-10 miles and climbed two peaks (3rd and 4th class) in the sierra. I returned them for a warranty replacement and recieved a new pair from the shop. Kinda lame, but at least they replaced them for free! I made sure to COVER them w/ seam sealer before I took 'em out again.

I began wearing them more and more in the mountains and would always arrive back at the car after approaches of as litle as 4 miles w/ aching feet. I HAD to buy insoles (not the end of the world, but something new for me) and they GREATLY improved comfort. I strongly suggest insoles w/ these shoes, even though it bumps the price up another 15-30 bucks :(

Now that they were seam sealed and modified w/ insoles, I began to take them up 5th class routes. I even soloed 5.6 on Mt. Conness, 5.5 on Tenaya peak (both in Tualomne) 5.6 on Lone Pine Peak, and led a .10a sport climb in the Owens river gorge w/ them. They climb VERY well. The best non-climbing climbing shoe ever in my opinion...

however...after one summer of use in the Sierra (4-12 miles of trail a week, and much 3rd and 4th class) they are TRASHED. the rand is nonexistant, (you can peel off strips of plastic underneath) and the soles are COMPLETELY smooth. Sure I coulda got a resole, but it started to get cold and they were demoted to comfy status and bouldering approaches...

While an EXCELLENT climber, the durability and comfort issues will steer me to purchase something else. Probably the LA Sportiva Exum Ridges...

vic lawson

It is good for skinny ropes. An ATC is scary to use w/ my 9.7 but this makes it much better, not to mention easier to rappel. Anything larger and this thing sucks.