LA SPORTIVA
La Sportiva has been at the forefront of climbing shoe innovation for over 40 years. Climbing shoe technology like downturned profiles and slipper closures have their origins in La Sportiva’s workshop.
Location: Ziano di Fiemme, Italy
Athlete Ambassadors: Adam Ondra, Alex Honnold, Tommy Caldwell
La Sportiva Skwama
La Sportiva Futura
La Sportiva Miura VS
La Sportiva Katana VCS
La Sportiva Miura
La Sportiva Katana
LA SPORTIVA SHOE TECHNOLOGY
It’s not a coincidence that La Sportiva makes some of the best climbing shoes in the world. Their clever R&D team has come across some clever shit over the years, which has not only kept them at the forefront of the game but has helped push the development of climbing shoes.
Ever seen a pair of slip-on climbing shoes? That was a little something La Sportiva introduced in 1984. They were also some of the first people to start making lined shoes and competition-specific models.
La Sportiva SIZE GUIDE
As with any shoe brand, you should put some thought into how to size La Sportiva climbing shoes. Historically, La Sportiva sizing has had a reputation for creating narrow shoes, although this is certainly no longer the case. As you can see from the graph, they have something to fit every foot shape.
Generally, LS recommends downsizing climbing shoes to get that glove-like fit, although knowing how much to downsize by is the trick. Their shoes are made using European shoe sizes, as this allows for more size variations compared to the US or UK shoe size guidelines.
If you are trad climbing, or spending extended periods of time on a wall, you will want a little bit more comfort out of your shoes, compared to boulders who won’t spend more than a couple minutes at a time climbing. A softer shoe might also need to be sized slightly smaller than a harder rubber compound, as these styles of shoes rely on that snug, ‘elasticated’ fit.
Most people will find that the right La Sportiva climbing shoe size for them will be within one or two (European) sizes of their street shoe.