La Sportiva "Futura" Shoe Review
I’ve been in love with La Sportiva climbing shoes ever since I slipped on my first pair of Solutions. So naturally my plan was to get another pair of Solutions and keep it moving. Being the curious man that I am, I did some research to see if La Sportiva had come out with a new version of the Solution on the market (not that they need improvement but you know, a new color would be nice). HOLY CRAP! What’s this shoe that shows up in my search for “La Sportiva new solutions 2012”? The Futura? I’m intrigued. New “No edge Tech”, ill new color scheme, looks like the solutions, where can I get a pair? My search for retailers in the north east turns up only one, backcountry.com. So now the question is, do I take the chance and size them like my Solutions and order online? Then pray that their return policy doesn’t take forever? Do I order, only to find out that the size I want is no longer in stock and I have to keep a pair of shoes that are so tight that even if I could get my foot in them the only thing good about them is that it would make my feet more attractive to someone of the late Chinese dynasty era? I'll just get another pair of solutions.
Cut to Brooklyn Boulders.
As I stare at the Solutions I'm gonna get, I start talking to the Chris Peterson (Brooklyn Boulders retail manager).
Me: "So I was looking online for these new shoes the Futura but so far its only out in Italy, and only one place that sells them in the US is online."
Chris: "You know where else has them... Brooklyn!"
Me: "What?!"
Chris: "Ya right here in Brooklyn” (as he points to the back storage room)“ But there not on shelf yet.”
So after some hustle to get them into the inventory database, a couple of cartwheels and a back flip, and there they were on my feet. Wow they're sexy, ice water please.
Now let’s break it down.
The Futura is like a rebellious Love child of The Solution and The Speedster. The shape is very reminiscent of the Speedster, except for the closure system, which looks to be taken from the Solution. Personally I like the bright “Shut your mouth, I’m Talking here” teal color, and the yellow accents are the same styling you are used to on their other popular model, which is probably why some people were referring to them as “the new solutions”. I agree the color is not for everyone but let’s face it, all your shoes are going to end up the same dirty “chalk grey” anyway.
Alright, so the big deal with these shoes is their new “No Edge” design, which aesthetically means that they took a file to the edges of the shoe, rounded them out and in place of a sharp edge, put some sticky rubber there. In actuality this takes on a whole different meaning of how pressure is distributed from your foot to the wall while climbing.
The Feel: Now I wear a 41.5 in the Solutions so that’s where I started with these. Bad Idea; In order to get the same fit I had to go a full size down. Once I got the right fit the first thing I noticed was the way the shoe wrapped around your foot, molded to the shape of the foot and hugged your foot so closely that it causes a nice suction pocket that holds the foot in the shoe, much like the Solutions. Once strapped shut this shoe is not coming off. Now my foot is on the slim end about 3.5in at the widest, but one of the popular complaints I’ve heard about La Sportiva shoes are that they don’t fit people with wide feet. I thought the same, till my friend Nieves, who is about 200lbs with feet a little under 5in wide bought one. Thanks to the one side being open he had no problem fitting his foot into it. Once he found his size we did the “Heel Hook” test. This is a great way to see whether your shoe fits properly. So there I am watching my big footed friend hang himself off of one heel, waiting for the shoe to slip off his foot and go flying, and to my surprise he hangs there for awhile, then says “That’s not coming off”.
The no edge thing works fine for the sides of the shoe, however coming from the Solution there is a bit of a learning curve for me when using the front of this shoe. You see the Solution has a protruding beak of rubber in the toe which adds about a quarter inch to the length of your foot. The beak shape makes it hook onto holds, whereas with the Futura, precision is key. Instead of hanging off the beak like I usually do I had to really get in there and use my toe. The beak is replaced by a rounded toe of really strong rubber which once used correctly and gotten used to allowed me to stick to nonexistent, rounded foot chips pretty well. The Rubber on this thing feels nice and tough. The heel is very well made. The tough rubber makes the inside very comfortable. As a test, find a size you feel comfortable in, strap them shut, and heel hook on something while pointing your toe as far forward as you can. If it starts slipping, get a smaller size. Once fitted, providing your hamstrings hold out you should have no discomfort heel hooking. The tough toe rubber extends over the top of your big toe knuckle, making toe hooking just as comfortable.
The Price: I know what you’re thinking “$170 for less rubber on a shoe? If I wanted rounded edges I would stick with my old shoes, my old shoes have the no edge system too”. No, no they don’t. The shoe is made to contour to the foot, and give you more precision while climbing, with the same if not stronger rubber you’re already used to from La Sportiva. Your old shoes were engineered to do something different, and now that they’re old probably can’t even do that anymore.
Wrappin’ it Up: With aggressive styling, a sound theory that works so far, and a fit that works on even wide feet, the shoe is worth checking out.
