SCARPA Men's Vapor V Rock Climbing Shoes for Sport Climbing and Bouldering

When I first tried these shoes on I thought they would be too small. I tried a 42.5 and they hurt the outside of my small toe at first. My big toe fit perfectly, as did my heel. My feet are moderately wide so fit was important.I tried a 43 and I knew right away there was too much room in the toe and heel.I went back down to a 42.5. When the shoes were warm is when I tried them on this time. They fit like a glove.This is my first pair of intermediate climbing shoes, but they are incredible! They take a little time to warm up to your feet. Now that I’ve been climbing in them for a couple of weeks, they have broken in very nicely. No pain in my outer toes from rubbing. My toe sits in them perfectly, and they are very secure on my foot. I can trust my toes on smaller holds with them. They do require a bit more attention when smearing, but that’s to be expected with the more aggressive edge.

These are some awesome climbing shoes. I have been climbing for many years and am an instrutor at my local gym. I have wide feet and high arches and hammer toes. These shoes fit me better than any others I have tried on so far. The are suede so they will stretch a LITTLE to custom-fit your feet but they have a lot of rubber too, so don't expect too much stretch. They have a solid sole which give your feet a lot of support (as opposed to my Five Ten Moccasyms which are very thin slippers). The Vapor has a strong forward curve to it, which helps your toes grip overhangs, and a great heel for heelhooks. I purposely bought my shoes very tight, so I do like to take them off between climbs, but when I put them back on it is like a relief because my foot slips on and they fit like a nice glove. I really really love these shoes!

To each their own. I have Scarpas and La Sportiva mostly. Never came across a terrible shoe, but what stood out about these shoes as opposed to others is that they felt broken in from day one. Very tight, molded to my foot quickly, and performs admirably. For an aggressive shoe, I have a lot of feeling and precision. I have Testasrossa's, Miuras, Feroces, you name it. I don't think I'll buy another shoe again. Quickly come on and off. Can't spend too much time in them, as I'm popping them off here and there, but they go back on so quickly, it's not much of a concern. The only con I can think of is the suede/lorica upper. It's held up climb after climb, but I smear and drag that all over the wall and I don't know how long it will last. So it's not really a con till they pop, but it seems thin, hopefully it remains durable.

I liked the Scarpa Vapor V. I generally agree with the consensus that it's a good shoe for the strong beginner. The performance across the board is a little better than average while being really comfortable for the performance. I got the shoe in a 44 EU with a 46.5 EU for my street size and there was only a slight break in period of 2-3 gym sessions. Note that the shoe is on the wider side in the forefoot.Edging was good, not quite as much as an Instinct VS since the shape of the toe is a little wider, but still better than a beginner shoe like the Helix. It was pretty easy to feel secure standing on small edges on slab or getting a chip in an overhang. Smearing was pretty good with how much surface area the forefoot had.The heel had good rubber and construction outside but the heel cup is oddly wide, which left it feeling somewhat insecure on more aggressive heeling. Especially when trying to heelcam on a smaller hold, the heel slipped every time. I've talked to a few other guys at my gym who had this shoe and it was the same for them, the heel has too much dead space. It didn't really feel like downsizing more would help much since it was a width thing.Durability was average for me but one of my friends burned through it in a month. Granted, he went really often to the gym so take that number with a grain of salt. I went through it in 2 months, which is the same amount of time as my pair of Helix's. The velcro straps never wore on my pair but ripped for a 2 of the guys at my gym. Not sure if I just don't pull as aggressively when tightening, but I never had dead space in the forefoot so your mileage may vary.Overall, if it was on sale for sub-$130, I'd get them again in a 43 EU as a gym shoe, as it does most things well and is pretty comfortable. However, it's not a shoe I'd rely on as my main aggressive shoe as the heel isn't reliable enough and there are better options at the price like the Instinct, Skwama, TN Pro, etc.Pros:- Comfortable- Good performance across the boardCons:- Baggy heel design- Velcro straps may rip if too forceful

Great shoe, incredible edging. Fits very tightly against the toes which can make you a bit sore, but the edging advantages are worth the pain :) incredible shoe. Would recommend to anyone who is doing some intense bouldering or slab climbing. Bought this shoe twice and will buy again. The shoe runs small so make sure you upsize about half a shoe size.

I'm a woman who wears a size 8.5 in street shoes and the 40 Vapor V (mens, this shoe) fits great. They last a reasonable amount of time before wearing through the toes; I got a year out of the first pair while climbing around 8 hours a week in the gym. I have wide feet in the front (bunions) but a fairly narrow heel. My toes hurt on the top for the first few uses, but my shoes and feet got used to each other quickly. I do take them off when belaying but can leave them on for an hour or so bouldering. They're great for toe hooks, I can balance on tiny feet no problem and they are also flat enough to smear easily. The only thing I don't do a lot with them is heel hooks; considering a more aggressive shoe next time for bouldering, but for an all around gym shoe these are hard to beat.

After ordering two other pairs of the same shoes due to sizing issues (ended up needed +1.5 size than recommended by the chart) the shoes that finally fit were the wrong shoes entirely. On top of that, they were in obviously used condition being dirty and scuffed all over both shoes.