Climbing Shoes

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

With space-disco styling, and the most ferociously down-turned last I've seen, this shoe is not for the fainthearted.

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.

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 Anasazi, a favorite among sport climbers and boulderers because of its grabby rubber, down-turned toe and lightweight yet supportive design, now comes in a women's version.

As the name implies, the Tradmaster reigns over the crack kingdom.

Now available in a lace version, the Coyote is an entry-level face-climbing shoe, featuring precision lacing nearly to the tip of the toes and a blunt chisel toe.

With the Katana, La Sportiva has made a low-volume heel that doesn't pop off your foot. A tensioned rubber rand cinches the heel, while side indentations contour to the narrow shape of a woman's foot.

The Galileo, essentially an updated version of Five Ten's time-tested Anasazi Velcro, is the first Five Ten shoe with its new Onyx rubber, a compound touted as Five Ten's stickiest and most durable.

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.

The Spirit is about as comfortable as your favorite pair of jeans.

The Mad Rock Hottie, soft, sexy and flexible, was the most comfortable of the women's shoes. With its padded cuff and dual external pull tabs, this shoe slid on and off smoothly.