[Littlejon86]

Anybody got these? Looking at getting a pair, they look and feel quality!  Not sure between them and speedsters though

[ghisino]

tried them briefly in font, alongside a few other shoes (it was a test day from a shop).

soft, the shape is a bit like katana lace but slightly more volume and "rounder" feel due to the softness. good shoe, but on the same day i was more impressed by boreal mutants. And in the same line i like the (much stiffer, same shape) otakis better.

[SA Chris]

One of our resident 9a climbers rates it;

[Catcheemonkey]

I love these shoes - they're my go-to pair for gym and grit. A bit softer than the Geniuses they replaced and with a way better heel (actually very good inspite of the marketing hype). The fit is a bit narrower than the Genius, as they use the same last as the Miura lace-ups - so I've found them good for my skinny feet. I downsized more aggressively than usual and they're still surprisingly comfy.

[Catcheemonkey]

I'm now slightly concerned I may have gratified a marketing troll.

[Duma]

I've never heard Stu described like that before...


FWIW while the heel felt nice in the shop, I rejected them based on them being so much wider across the forefoot than my futuras (over 5mm in a size 40)

[galpinos]

FWIW while the heel felt nice in the shop, I rejected them based on them being so much wider across the forefoot than my futuras (over 5mm in a size 40)

Wider! Damn. I have a pair of futura's that, whilst super comfy and well fitting give me no confidence standing on anything that's not a big jug. I've found myself wearing my pinks instead. I was hoping the Skwarma might be a futura with an edge.

Any ideas? I'm after something that fits like a pick but has a little more stiffness/toe oomph without being a pair of clogs.

[Catcheemonkey]

 I was hoping the Skwarma might be a futura with an edge.

They're certainly not what you're after then. They're kind of 'pseudo-no-edge', with a soft rounded edge rather than the full 'no-edge' the Futuras have.

[Duma]

Sorry, love the futuras, so not much help. Skwamas felt a bit softer too, so def not what you'd be looking for. Maybe the stiffer ones with the same heel (Otaki?) dunno how wide they are though.

[moose]

The Futuras are possibly my favourite shoe... but they took a lot of pain to break in. 

I bought the Genius hoping that they would just be a lace-up version - so I could size them a fraction larger and just tighten the lacing as they broke-in.  Unfortunately, in terms of performance, the Genius just seems a totally different shoe.  Feel clumsier and less precise.  But the most bizarre aspect is that whilst on poor footholds and smears they actually work well enough, they skate-off big footholds without warning.  The bigger and flatter the foothold, the less reliable they are.  It was really noticable whilst working Cold Steal / Stolen earlier this year.  The Geniuses stuck all the marginal smears but were pant-fillingly unpredictable on the biggest foothold on the route.  I never experienced that phenomenon with the Futuras - they were reliable on everything straight from the box.  Have admitted defeat in the short term and had my Futuras resoled...

[Paul B]

The Futuras are possibly my favourite shoe... but they took a lot of pain to break in. 

Given what I usually see you on, this surprises me. Would you entertain the Futuras on things like Cold Steal etc.?

[moose]

I would definitely have given them a go if they were usable at the time (if only for the heel-hook for the boulder problem of Stolen).  I wore my Futuras when I did Soft Option and they were great on all the tiny sloping footholds and smears, and not noticably bad on the bigger, flatter terrain like the Geniuses.  I also wore Futuras when I finally managed Zoolook; despite initially dismissing the idea, as there was a certain foothold that I had always thought demanded a good edge. 

Miura VSs are my standard shoe - but I find that they can go from great to useless very quickly whilst working certain routes.  Not a matter of the rubber wearing out, more that they suddenly become too spongy and start slipping off small footholds (which was a problem on both Zoolook and Stolen).  If my pair of back-up, resoled VSs had worn just a fraction more whilst working Stolen, I suspect I would have had to wait until next year to do it, as I would have had to wait to break-in / resole another pair.  That process of rapid degradation in performance without warning never really happed with my Futuras - they just developed a big hole but the stability / shape remained good.

[Dolly]

Skwamas are meant to be a non edge shoe aren't they ? (bit sceptical)
I've got a pair on sort of trial which I'll try out tomorrow and report back.

[Duma]

not no edge as far as I know/could tell. no edge does take a bit of getting used to.

[moose]

I had no teething problems with the Futuras.  No conscious effort to change my footwork - they just functioned like any other rockshoe but were notably great at staying put on smears and sloping footholds. 

This might sound like bollocks but I think the problem with the Geniuses for me is the relatively bulbous shape of the toe-box.  Futuras have a relatively slim / low-profile front end - so I can clearly see the contact surface between toe and rock and instintively and precisely place my feet. 

The Geniuses have a more bulgy toebox that conceals the contact surface with the rock  / misleads where it is - its not at the visible edge, but further around, underfoot.  I think that leads to me always being slightly "out" with how I weight / position my feet when I wear them.  A feeling akin to those games of snooker / pool where you keep missing by a very fine, consistent margin (say, 2 mm to the left every time).  Perhaps if I bear with them I might get used to it - or they will soften and become sensitive enough that I don't rely on visual cues so much.

Back on topic - how does the toe shape of the Skwarmas compare with the Futuras / Geniuses etc?

[Whyatt]

Anywhere in the UK stocking them?

[Dolly]

I only wore them for a few minutes at the end of the session, so I don't really have much to feedback on yet apart from that the heel seems quite good on first impressions

[tomtom]

I still need to get those instinct slippers from you Dolly.

[cha1n]

Sat bored in a waiting room, so thought I'd comment on my Skwama which I've worn for a few sessions now.

Firstly, as suspected, the s-heel hype is bollocks. They roll when pushing sideways on the heel, just like most shoes. I also don't find it particularly deep, so am always worried it's going to pop off but it hasn't yet. It's got a very similar heel to the solution, so think huge amount of wasted material and rock solid. Probably good in some situations but doesn't inspire confidence on low textured indoor slopers like a softer heel does. Personally, I find the instinct vs heel the best I've ever tried on any shoe.

I don't find the Velcro strap very adjustable, even though they claim there are two positions for it. I'd have liked to see the same strap system as the futura/solution which I find excellent on my Futuras.

Fit wise, they're quite wide, similar to the solution (or at least the mk1 solution). That suits me, they're also not as down turned as the solution. The toe rubber coverage is really good and the edging feels precise.

They feel quite stiff out of the box but I sized mine small and with no way of tightening around the arch and toebox, they'll no doubt stretch out. The rubber is good, glad they went for xs grip.

Build quality isn't excellent for La Sportiva, quite a lot of excess glue visible and they definitely don't feel as premium as the solution.

Will update once I've given them a decent trial.

[JonB]

Any further thoughts cha1n?

Got my eye on these as a less aggressive/softer option than my solutions, think I can take a punt on sizing them the same?

Edit; from reading some more reviews, people seem to think maybe go down another half size from solutions, yikes.

[Dolly]

I dont know about the sizing but here are a couple of thoughts having worn them yesterday on my board and today at The Wave.
They're stiff - at least when they're new. Almost too stiff which is my I've worn them 2 days on the trot to try and break them in and softern them a bit. I do like stiff boots but for me they were just a bit too stiff to be wearable for long.
Very good at clawing in
The heel is very good as well - lots and lots of rubber and again its stiff so doesnt deform when its weighted -even dragons do that and they were my previous "best heel" boots.
I know I said before that they were meant to be a "non edge" boot but that doesn't seem to make any difference in practice although I've only worn them outside once on a heel problem

[Oldmanmatt]

I use the Otaki. Made on the same last but supposedly stiffer (which I like due to a dodgy toe). I think they're excellent. Best shoes I ever had. Ok, I still have Anasazi vcs for smeary stuff and maybe one or two (or five) other brands/pairs for this and that. But they're my favourite right now.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cha1n]

As mentioned, they do feel stiff out of the box but I've seen a youtube video of someone rolling the toebox up one handed, so I think they'll soften up, especially with the hole cut-out in the sole.

I've not used them much but that's because I've mainly been climbing technical, slopey stuff that's not very steep and I love my futuras for that. I used them on a steep woody on the weekend and they felt perfect for that and I've used them for horizontal roof climbing which they also felt perfectly at home for. I don't think I'd use them for technical climbing myself as I prefer something a bit flatter (either instinct vs or futura depending on rocktype) but I really rate downturned shoes for when it gets steep.

Sizing wise, I'd wear Solutions in a 42.5/42 (if they didn't knacker one of my toes) and my Skwama are 41.5. Quite painful initially but they seem to be stretching out quickly.