La Sportiva Solution
Field test of the La Sportiva Solution rock shoe.
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The Solution won a 2008 Best in Gear (BIG) award from Rock and Ice, which says about all you need to know about this great shoe. The shoe’s P3 design (Performance Power Platform) retains the downturned shape of the toe, unlinke many similar shoes that lose their aggressiveness after months of wear. This shoe is for steep bouldering and power toe moves—it took me two weeks of breaking in before I could smear and edge. This is a specialized shoe, one I plan on bringing to Hueco this fall.
JUST THE FACTS
— Vibram XO Grip high-friction rubber sole, Excellent, sticky and durable.
— Expensive.
— Unique Velcro closure. A tab closes the shoe from two points. This seemed to such the shoe up into the arch of my foot really well. Also, a wide Velcro swath allows you to micro-adjust by closing the tab in different places. This is on e of the easiest on-and-off slippers I’ve ever used.
— The heel cup contains a little foam that helps dampen falls. It’s unnoticeable during climbing, but did interfere wiht some hooks.
— Cons: Forget about smearing.
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