Katana lace sizing

I'm looking for some sizing advice on a pair of Katana Lace. I wear a 42.5 in TC Pros with an almost totally toes flat fit. My street shoe is about 44. I was thinking probably a 42 for the Katana. Thoughts?
Thanks in advance.

My street shoe size is 44.5 and I have 41.5 Katanas.

That's how I sized mine. 1/2 size down from snug but all day comfy tc pro fit. It was perfect. Wasn't happy about the near immediate sole delamination though.

I have a 43 TC pro. At some point I've had the Katana lace in all sizes from 41.5 to 43. I think the sweet spot is 1/2 to 1 size down from my TC which are not quite an 'all day' shoe. The cost/benefit of tight 41.5s don't do it for me anymore.

PM if you decided on a 42.5, I have a brand new pair.

Edit: Also have a used pair of 42 I'd probably sell as well.

Ha, I went through all this recently. I wear 40.5 in TC Pros and 40.5 in the Katana Lace. I did try the 40s and found them to be just too tight. The 40.5 are tight but with a bit more wear they should be comfortably.

My katanas are the same size as my TCs (39). The TCs are all day comfortable but the katanas are a tight performance fit good for only about a pitch or so. I'll probably get a second pair of katanas 1/2 size up for longer edging days.

I wear a 42 in my approach shoe (la Sportiva Boulder X) and went with the katana lace at a 41 and couldn't hack it, my toes would be screaming after a few pitches, than I upsized to a 41.5 and now I love them. I can wear them all day sport climbing and they feel great.

At a given size, how does the fit compare? I know that it is approximately the same last, so do they fit about the same at a given size? I have a 39.5 for my "performance" TCs (toes fairly curled) and a 40 for my "comfort" TC (toes almost flat). If I got a 39.5 KL, should I expect similar fit/comfort/performance attributes to my 39.5 TCs?

For reference, in running shoes I wear a 42.5 (9.5). I like my climbing shoes pretty tight. I take my shoes off between pitches...

Length to the tip of the big toe is about the same, the katana toe box is narrower with more vertical space to curl you little toes into. Gives a stronger outside edge imo, will feel tighter but not shorter.

I am 45 in street shoe, and currently wearing 44 in both TC Pros and Katana Lace. The fit seems to be pretty close. I am on like my 4th or 5th pair of Katana LU's and love them. But I am just about to give up on them due to the previously mentioned sole delamination. They just do not hold up for me long enough.

Size 7 street shoe, size 38.5 Katana Lace. Comfortable for cragging but not all-day, multi-pitch climbing.

I wear a street size of 10.5 and wear a 42.5 in the katana lace. this is my favorite shoe and 42.5 is the perfect size for me once they are broken in.

Thanks for all the input. I think I'll give it a shot in my TC Pro size. Worst case scenario: I have a pair of thin crack shoes!

JCM wrote:At a given size, how does the fit compare? I know that it is approximately the same last, so do they fit about the same at a given size?

No...the TC Pro sized the same as KL would fit similar only for their intended applications: TC for long trad & KL for more sport/bouldering...hey will not be the same length. If you intend to use both for performance crack+face climbing, KL would need to be 0.5-1 euro size larger than TC Pro.

I wear size 46 or 12 boots and runners. I tried a pair of Katanas that were 44s. They became so painful, although I took them off every lap I couldn't wear them. I broke in a pair of 43.5 TCs and even rocked a pair of 43 Muira VS. My new Muira VS are 44.5. I wanted the Katanas but can't do narrow I guess.

reboot wrote: No...the TC Pro sized the same as KL would fit similar only for their intended applications: TC for long trad & KL for more sport/bouldering...hey will not be the same length. If you intend to use both for performance crack+face climbing, KL would need to be 0.5-1 euro size larger than TC Pro.

Thanks reboot. I figured you'd have good input on this question. I'll need to give some thought as to which would be a better addition to the shoe quiver- a face-oriented KL or a crack-oriented KL. Decisions, decisions. No trips to the Creek (or Moonlight...) in the near future, so it would mostly be an Index/Squamish granite shoe. Basically looking to bridge the gap between the Testarossas and the TCs in the current quiver. Miuras (lace) have filled that niche for a while for me, but I'm fed up with how quickly the midsole breaks down on those and the stiffness and edging ability fades. Seems like the KL is a good replacement, as something pointier than the TCs but still pretty stiff. Those new 5.10 Verdons sound interesting too... Maybe I can find a shop that carries the KLs and/or Verdons sometime in the next few months. The in-store shoe selections in Seattle are pitiful compared to the Front Range.

Sorry, just thinking out loud here...

I use to go 1,5 size down, very uncomfortable but sticky on small feet holds, plus is all about what are you using your climbing shoes for, example- short routes and Boulder smaller tighter shoes - long walls and big routes, larger shoes for comfort ability, in average I can't keep my shoes on more than 20 minutes.

Kyle Goupil wrote:I wear a street size of 10.5 and wear a 42.5 in the katana lace. this is my favorite shoe and 42.5 is the perfect size for me once they are broken in.

Yep you got a good point here, the shoes are actually getting more comfy after are braking in, they melt around the foot better after some time lets say 3 to 4 climbing sessions and they will loose the tightness a bit.

Bill Kirby wrote: I wear size 46 or 12 boots and runners. I tried a pair of Katanas that were 44s. They became so painful, although I took them off every lap I couldn't wear them. I broke in a pair of 43.5 TCs and even rocked a pair of 43 Muira VS. My new Muira VS are 44.5. I wanted the Katanas but can't do narrow I guess.

Same thing happened to me. Just finally got a bigger pair (they were completely out of stock in North America!) and I freaking love them. The key is NOT downsizing aggressively, as the P3 and overall stiffness put a lot of pressure on your toes and the shoes don't stretch much. The trade-off, I discovered, is that you can size up and keep your toes relatively flat and still get killer edging due to the slight downturn. I actually took them bouldering and they performed surprisingly well considering the fact that they were so comfortable, I never took them off the entire session...! I wear size 12 1/2-13 street (I think actually 46.5), and 45.5 is perfect for me. I wear 45s in the Miuras and Moccs and could maybe get away with it in the KL if I was going for a super aggressive feel, but that wasn't what I was looking for in the shoe.

few points

- the katana lace are synthetic uppers, there will be a bit of stretch, but not as much as say miuras

- the sizing for me is basically the same as the katana velcro ... which is 1/2 larger than the miuras for me ... they shouldnt feel painful, just snug

- for squamish you dont want to downsize very much as you still need to climb cracks/slabs with em on a multi ... even at "normal" sizing the P3 allows you to do quite well on face climbs

- they take resoles VERY well, keeping a decent amount of stiffness and because they dont stretch too much ... ship em off for resole well before the rand wears through

;)

bearbreeder wrote: the sizing for me is basically the same as the katana velcro ... which is 1/2 larger than the miuras for me ...

Following up on this...

How does the fit (not just the sizing, but also the shape/fit) compare between the Katana lace versus velcro? No local shops in Seattle seem to carry the lace, but there is a shop that carries the velcro. How good a fit/sizing proxy would the Velcro be for the lace? Obviously the downturn and the performance characteristics will be very different, but what about the last/heel shape? Wider/narrower toebox, etc? Larger/smaller at a given size? Any signficiant fit differences to be aware to when trying on the velcros in order to size for the laces?