This is an all-around technical Velcro shoe sensitive enough for the gym but not so soft and banana-shaped that it spanks you on outdoor face climbs with a women's-specific fit....

This competitively priced shoe is a smart choice for beginner and intermediate climbers, or anyone looking for an all-around model that will do anything pretty darn well....

THE LEGEND IS LIKE an adjustable wrench: Good for everything and indispensable....

When the magician saws his lovely assistant's body in half, then rejoins her, I don't ask any questions. I just let the magic work, and enjoy. No surprise, then, that I dig Acopa's latest offering, the Merlin. ...

The three most important attributes for mountaineering boots are fit, warmth and performance. These Aku Sl Pro GTX were comfortable right out of the box, and after testing them through a Colorado winter, in a variety of conditions including standing in the snow for four hours in minus 10 temperatures, approaching in waist-deep powder, and climbing rock and ice—I’m sold. ...

Cholatse is an awesome 21,000-foot mountain in the Khumbu region of the Himalaya. Cholatse is also an awesome ice and alpine boot....

This medium-stiff, lined and padded shoe strikes a balance between being comfortably supportive, yet not so stiff it feels like an ironing board. It's a great everyman's shoe, one that forgives sloppy footwork and shores up feet that are too weak to optimize slippers or soft shoes....

The Pirana seems like a sexed up version of last year's Boreal Joker, which I liked. It has a more aggressive rand that slingshots and compresses your feet into powerful paws, but not so much that it brutalizes your toes or requires a black-belt in thumb wrestling to get on....

We loved the Shadow because the Shadow loved our feet. I found I could wear it for hours at a time without discomfort, and along with Five Ten's Anasazi Slipper it soon became my top choice for pump sessions at the crag and the gym....

Boreal classifies the Stingma as their new high-performance shoe. Unfortunately, the mellow slingshot heel and lacing system don't provide enough tension for serious face climbing, although the shoe strikes a decent balance with comfort....

There's a minimalist school of thought when it comes to steep-rock shoes. Ideally, the argument goes, you'd take a can of liquid rubber and spray-paint your feet. The V-Machine fits like this....

Climbing in the Forza was like meeting an old friend. With its lilac-navy colors and soft, supple leather upper, this shoe resembles Boreal's sadly discontinued Vector....

It's good to see a shoe that's unashamedly trad. With laces that run to the tip of the toe, stout rands, a rounded toe box and a stiff, flat sole, the Runout could have been teleported from the 1980s. Fashionable? No. Practical? You bet!...

Superlight and highly flexible, yet with a relaxed, flat last, the Defy is a steep-rock sport and gym shoe for climbers who loathe the acute foot compression associated with down-turned, banana-shaped performance shoes....

A non-aggressive, all-day shoe, the Demorto is a new design from Evolv for people (i.e., those with Morton's toe) who want a symmetrical toe profile. ...

This moderately stiff Velcro shoe is a good face climber, with an Anasazi-type flat last and good forward tension....

Is this how it starts? One week you feel embarrassed about wearing the ladies' RockStar in the company of your bros. The next you're wearing a jog bra and high-fiving everyone at the cliff....

The Talon is an updated version of the Aggro, a shoe I have worn on many gym and boulder circuits. The heel is now fully covered with rubber and the shoe sports a new lace system....

The new Shaman was designed by Chris Sharma, right down to the blue and orange colors, inspired by a basketball that his dog, Chaxi, loves to wrestle. I got to test a pair this summer, and was both surprised and pleased to find that Evolv has finally produced an aggressive sport-climbing and bouldering shoe that I would actually buy....

Stop press! Five Ten makes slipper from Anasazi last. Sounds a bit dull, but we were amazed by what the combination does for this shoe. ...