[yetix]

Curious about the fitting of scarpa instinct vsr's. I've got quite narrow feet and have previously used drago's from scarpa but find they bag out on the heels quite a bit.

Otherwise I use five ten womens shoes for my tiny narrow feet.

[T_B]

The toe box is wider than on the Dragos. The heel cup is certainly more generous and higher than on some shoes e.g. the Dragon. I would say overall the Instincts suit a reasonably wide foot.

[User deactivated]

Curious about the fitting of scarpa instinct vsr's. I've got quite narrow feet and have previously used drago's from scarpa but find they bag out on the heels quite a bit.

Otherwise I use five ten womens shoes for my tiny narrow feet.

Scarpa boot demo at the depot on Wednesday mate. Be good to catch up if you are in.

[yetix]

Oooh, might have a gander! Would be good to catch up aye!

[tomtom]

I've quite wide feet - and find scarpa (in general) fit me better than 5:10 (in general) shoes...

[abarro81]

I have quite narrow, low volume feet.. and find scarpa (in general) fit me better than 5:10 (in general) so 
That said, the velcro instincts don't fit at all, not even close. I use Booster S for most stuff and the new Instinct Laces for toe/heel hooking...

[T_B]

I had a pair of Booster S and thought they were wider than the Instincts!

So, to conclude, you need to try them on. Obvs.

[yetix]

I have quite narrow, low volume feet.. and find scarpa (in general) fit me better than 5:10 (in general) so 

Aye 5:10 mens shoes are way to wide for me, I've used womens shoes mostly.

Scarpa Drago's were great for a brief period after the pain barrier stopped but then the heel bagged out a fair bit and I end up boarderline snapping the strap at this point trying to make them tighter (probably me just being a tit imo)

[Nutty]

I have quite narrow, low volume feet.. and find scarpa (in general) fit me better than 5:10 (in general) so 

Is this a reflection of the generally limited terms we use to describe foot shape (i.e. wide, narrow, low volume being about the extent of it) in discussing climbing shoes? Toe geometry (e.g. having a longer big toe or second toe), how high your arches are, width of both fore-foot and heel, ankle shape etc. all play a major part in whether a shoe fits or not. I love the Instinct S, but can't tolerate the Instinct VS despite being ostensibly the same last as the strap/buckle is really uncomfortable on my ankle. I should really try the Instinct lace.

[Fultonius]

Has anyone else found the VSR to fit slightly looser than the VS? I've 43.5 in most Scarpa shoes and have been through 2 pairs of Instinct VS's and one pair of Instinct Lace-ups - that's my size!  Picked up a pair of VSRs off a guy on UKC, worn once, also 43.5.

First day on them up at tunnel wall and the felt pretty good - nice to have that touch more sensitivity and stickiness, but yesterday at Dumbarton on Endurance I was finding them a bit baggy (the upper rubber on the toes was crumpling) and I was actually struggling on the lower crux so I'll be switching back to VSs for that.

Is it just the softer rubber stretching more under load? I am 80kg and the edge is about 4mm...

[Steve Crowe]

The Blue Velcro VSR (https://www.scarpa.co.uk/climbing-shoes/instinct-vs-r/) has 3.5mm "Vibram XS Grip Rubber"

which is a softer rubber than the

Orange Velcro VS (https://www.scarpa.co.uk/climbing-shoes/instinct-vs/) which has 3.5mm "Vibram XS Edge Rubber"

I think that the softer Blue velcros are better for smears whereas the harder wearing Orange velcro performs better on edges.

[chriss]

Another vote for 5:10 low volume. I've tried Scarpa, but not found a pair that fitted nicely.

[Fultonius]

The Blue Velcro VSR (https://www.scarpa.co.uk/climbing-shoes/instinct-vs-r/) has 3.5mm "Vibram XS Grip Rubber"

which is a softer rubber than the

Orange Velcro VS (https://www.scarpa.co.uk/climbing-shoes/instinct-vs/) which has 3.5mm "Vibram XS Edge Rubber"

I think that the softer Blue velcros are better for smears whereas the harder wearing Orange velcro performs better on edges.

Yeah, I got them as I thought a bit more smearing performance could be  good in a lot of situations, but it's more the fit feeling different that surprised me.

[T_B]

The fit is the same. I’ve had loads of pairs of both. The person you bought them off presumably had very wide feet and so stretched them?

[mrjonathanr]

What TB said ^^ These are the same shoe, with different colour trim plus edge vs grip on the sole. I suspect in your size the extra flexion in the VSR is more noticeable.

[Fultonius]

The fit is the same. I’ve had loads of pairs of both. The person you bought them off presumably had very wide feet and so stretched them?

He said he wore them once, and from the crispness of the edges it seemed legit - I guess it's just the softer rubber just making them feel a bit more loosey juicey.

[MischaHY]

Yeah it'll be the rubber. I'm also over 80kg and really notice the difference between the two.

[steveri]

They used to angle the VSR description to ‘lighter climbers’ but seemed to have dropped that in favour of softer/stiffer for blue/orange. Still early into my first pair of the blues but they seem to fit roughly the same. Blues broke in quicker than oranges but assume down to stiffness.

[warmonke]

I've got a similar issue with VSRs feeling loose and farty on the heel, mainly around the sides. Love everything else about the shoe but they just don't fit me right. Does anyone have any recommendations for similar shoes that might fit better?

I'm tempted to try the women's VS but I do like a softer shoe and I'm a bit put off by the stiffer rubber, otherwise I was maybe going to look at the UP Flagship or LS Skwama.

(Apologies for reviving this thread it seemed like the best place to ask)

[MischaHY]

Skwama is the one. Similar width with a lower volume heel.

[M1V0]

I would suggest laced shoes are good for reducing dead space in the heels. I used to wear instincts fairly exclusively, currently wearing UP Sirius, but get good mileage from Testarossas. Oddly never tried laced instincts. In general I find that you can pull the laces tight which draws in the material more effectively than straps.

Anecdotally, I had a pair of Skwamas and hated them, the toe positioning never felt close enough to the end of the shoe. They were very different to instincts. I got rid of them very quickly.

[User deactivated.]

I've got a similar issue with VSRs feeling loose and farty on the heel, mainly around the sides. Love everything else about the shoe but they just don't fit me right. Does anyone have any recommendations for similar shoes that might fit better?

I'm tempted to try the women's VS but I do like a softer shoe and I'm a bit put off by the stiffer rubber, otherwise I was maybe going to look at the UP Flagship or LS Skwama.

(Apologies for reviving this thread it seemed like the best place to ask)

The UP Flagship is higher volume than the Scarpa Instinct in the toebox at a similar width and the heel is quite a bit higher volume. The UP TN Pro is a more similar shoe to the Instinct and is slightly narrower in the toebox and a decent amount narrower in the heel. (size 8 instinct = size 9 TN Pro). I also think the rubber on the TN Pro is better than Grip 2

[warmonke]

Thanks for the help.

I'll have a look at some lace-ups but I've pretty much always worn velcro/slippers and not had issues before so I'm hoping I can stick with them for the sake of laziness.

I'll check out the TN Pros too, I should've said I was looking at the Flagship LV as I had heard that the standard Flagship has a higher volume than the Instinct. Is the TN Pro not a lot stiffer than the VSR?

Will have to get down to Outside to see what fits.

[User deactivated.]

I haven't tried the Flagship LV's but have heard both the LV and HV become very soft quite quickly. TN Pro's are a little bit stiffer than VSR's, but there's not much in it. They are my do everything shoe. The toebox is rounder, which I prefer on most footholds, but it wouldn't be as good on pockets.

[danm]

I would suggest laced shoes are good for reducing dead space in the heels. I used to wear instincts fairly exclusively, currently wearing UP Sirius, but get good mileage from Testarossas. Oddly never tried laced instincts. In general I find that you can pull the laces tight which draws in the material more effectively than straps.

Anecdotally, I had a pair of Skwamas and hated them, the toe positioning never felt close enough to the end of the shoe. They were very different to instincts. I got rid of them very quickly.

It was the pseudo no-edge rounding of the contact point which ruined the Skwama for me, I never felt solid on small edges. It felt like buying a pre-worn sole unit. I pity those whose feet don't suit Instinct VSRs because they suit me so well I doubt I'll ever try another shoe again.

[MischaHY]

Thanks for the help.

I'll have a look at some lace-ups but I've pretty much always worn velcro/slippers and not had issues before so I'm hoping I can stick with them for the sake of laziness.

I'll check out the TN Pros too, I should've said I was looking at the Flagship LV as I had heard that the standard Flagship has a higher volume than the Instinct. Is the TN Pro not a lot stiffer than the VSR?

Will have to get down to Outside to see what fits.

Lace shoes are 1-2 seconds more faff than velcro, don't sacrifice a significant difference in fit for the sake of some idealised 'speed'. It's missing the point entirely.

[M1V0]

I would suggest laced shoes are good for reducing dead space in the heels. I used to wear instincts fairly exclusively, currently wearing UP Sirius, but get good mileage from Testarossas. Oddly never tried laced instincts. In general I find that you can pull the laces tight which draws in the material more effectively than straps.

Anecdotally, I had a pair of Skwamas and hated them, the toe positioning never felt close enough to the end of the shoe. They were very different to instincts. I got rid of them very quickly.

It was the pseudo no-edge rounding of the contact point which ruined the Skwama for me, I never felt solid on small edges. It felt like buying a pre-worn sole unit. I pity those whose feet don't suit Instinct VSRs because they suit me so well I doubt I'll ever try another shoe again.

I found that on small edges I felt like my foot was still six inches from the wall. Precise footwork was non-existent.