La sportiva katana lace

I was wondering what was everyone's opinions on the la sportiva katana lace shoes. Size and stretch fit, wear, support and general use.

Don't leave them in a hot car the toe rubber will delaminate (happened to mine, seems to happen more to la sportiva shoes from what I've read). Other than that they are a great shoe, I love mine. I sized mine halfway between comfortable and uncomfortable and they perform great. I have a couple friends climb in them and they like theirs a lot too. Highest rated shoe on outdoorgearlab if that means anything to you. Just aggressive enough but not too bad. I might send mine in to sportiva and try and get the toe rubber fixed and then I would be super happy.

i like them better than my miuras. Wider toe box with a slight downturn to the toe. Tongue is a little padded which is nice for hand cracks. i wear a means 8.5 and my katanas are 41 or 41.5 cant remember. Toe lies almost flat but my last three are still curled a decent amount - i have a wide forefoot with skinny heel. What i do really like is how they just suck on to your foot. Do really well in thin cracks as well, edge great, theres a little indent under the toe the makes smears da bomb. All around think Mocassym comfort with edging performance of miura.

Mine lasted two resoles and then the leather at the pull tab on the heal split. Still use them as my gym shoes and will beat them till the rands are toast.

I second Bryan E's comments. Had to resole early on, really comfy for a good performing sport shoe. Running on my second sole right now and loving them.

They delaminate even without the hot car .... Many sportivas do

They are precise, and fairly stiff

They also take resoles quite well, having minimal stretch

A wider fit than the miura

On squamish granite they stand on crystals quite well

;)

It's my favorite shoe I've ever climbed in. Mine are sized tight for a performance fit and they are insane edgers. I don't think I could fit my foot in a half size smaller. After a few weeks they became comfortable for a few pitches. I generally save them for hard outdoor climbing as they make my feet weak from being so stiff. Seriously crampon stiff. You can edge for days. Just set the toe where you want it and forget about it.

I did climb a crack on accident in them and was kinda shocked that my toes weren't screaming. I think my next pair will be a half to full size larger for a performance trad shoe.

They don't stretch much if at all. I kinda think your feet just get used to them.

Great shoe, but very stiff, so don't go crazy sizing them aggressively. They don't need it, anyways...the P3 lets you edge like a dream even in a comfort fit. I mainly use 'em for trad/multi pitch, and they're sized comfortably (street 13 US, I wear 45.5 KL), yet edge incredibly. I wouldn't wear them on anything significantly overhanging, but for vert/slab to slight overhang they can't be beat.

They are wonderful, easily my favorite shoe. They don't stretch. Don't size too tight, save that for your Solutions. I just got a pair back from Rock & Resole and if anything they're better than new (didn't specify rubber, might be C4?).

Hmm...Katanas with C4 would be super weird. Might be better for smearing & indoor climbing, though. Kinda like the purple Anasazis vs tan.

Thanks for all the replies. This will be my second pair of shoes and my first pair was way to big but i still climbed in them for over a year. I have been looking at the katanas and couldn't decide if I should go with the 40.5 that pinched the hell out of my toes but only when i got on the wall or the 41 that was very comfortable. If the toe box isn't going to stretch than i think i will stick with the 41 otherwise i would go with the smaller pair and break them in.

Go with the 41. They really don't stretch much, and with the stiff toebox, you can cause some toe damage if you go too tight. Plus, the P3 lets you edge well without having to downsize too aggressively. They should feel snug, but not painful; if you feel pain when you weight them (stand on a hold), they're probably too tight.

Speaking from the experience of someone who had to buy 2 pairs because the first was too tight. :/

What's the consensus on sizing to get your big toe mostly *flat* for cracks? Half euro down from your street shoe? I want to be able to jam and still stand around on granite crystals.

I tried on a 40.5 and it was a good edging performance fit that seemed decently comfortable. My toes were knuckled enough that I would not be able to jam straight in on thin hands. Unfortunately the shop didn't have a 41 and 41.5 to try on.

I'm a 42 street/approach shoe
40.5 TC pro performance fit (ever so slightly knuckled big toe after break in)
39.5 python
41.5 vapor

1/2 size to whole size, depending on how loose you wear your street shoes. I usually wear size 13 US street and my Katanas are 45.5...toes are pretty flat, maybe slightly curled but it hasn't affected crack climbing. Keep in mind that the toe is slightly downturned, so it'll feel a little different than a TC Pro or Mythos, although some people have reported this helps with thinner cracks.

I love mine! They are about to go in for their first resole!

Pros:

- They fit my foot wonderfully!
- They are aggressive and secure without being too painful
- Most of the shoe is high quality and will last

Cons:

- mine de-laminated... This seems like a quality issue, be really picky and look for early signs of de-lamination when you buy them. They are worth it, but just be careful.

Nick Drake wrote:What's the consensus on sizing to get your big toe mostly *flat* for cracks? ... 40.5 TC pro performance fit (ever so slightly knuckled big toe after break in)

I have TC Pros and Katana Lace, both in 43. The TC Pro is comfy enough to wear on long multi pitch. The KL is a nice single pitch performance trad fit, tight enough to face climb, comfy enough to jam. I also have the KL in 42.5 which I only use occasionally, for thin face sport redpoints. They are tight and feel better on really thin feet.

I might be an outlier here, but I think they're just OK. Don't get me wrong, they are incredible at edging and have a great fit. I just feel like they aren't sensitive enough. If I'm climbing in slow motion and laser in on every foothold, they are very precise. But for some reason I feel more likely to miss the right part of the foothold. Unless I need a very precise edge and stiffness, I usually reach for my Anasazi Pinks for general confidence inspiring stickyness.

As for sizing, I wear 10.5 Pinks, 10 Moccs (comfy fit), 43.5 Katana Lace (medium tight), 42 Solutions

I would also agree with not sizing Katanas too tight, I had a pair of 42.5 that were excruciating. Being as stiff as they are, may as well size them big so they don't suck in cracks like mine do.

Yeah, I would definitely agree that sensitivity is their weakness...I wouldn't want to climb roofs in them, and I generally don't wear them for sport climbing unless it's something vertical/slabby with REALLY thin edges. I'm curious as to how they compare to TC Pros, for those who own/have owned both; do the TC Pros edge as well? More/less comfortable? I'm guessing that Katanas will fair better on slightly overhanging routes, but then I'd usually reach for a pair of Moccs...it's a tricky niche. If you only owned 1 pair of shoes, they're probably the best you could get...but who does that? :p

I love mine as well, but I bought too small. I wear a 43 in the Nagos, and should have bought these in a 43 as well. I have a 42.5 and they kill me on longer routes, but they work well. They are a lot less sensitive than the Nagos as well, which took some getting used to (as would any higher performance shoe).

Luke R 84 wrote:I love mine as well, but I bought too small. I wear a 43 in the Nagos, and should have bought these in a 43 as well. I have a 42.5 and they kill be on longer routes, but they work well. They are a lot less sensitive than the Nagos as well, which took some getting used to (as would any higher performance shoe).

You might be able to go even bigger than that, I wear my Nagos a size and a half smaller than my Katana Laces.

11.5/12 Street shoe
43.5 Katana Lace (Tight Performance)
44 TC Pros & Mythos (relatively flat foot)

I only put on the katanas for overhung climbing; everything else goes to my TCs. I find they edge pretty similarly, even with the size difference, while the tc pros smear much better. Probably if I buy them again I'll get the 44 and just crank the laces down more when I need to.

Yeah, that's what I do...nice thing about laces. To be honest, downsizing aggressively on the Kl is pointless; if you're going to do that, you may as well get another shoe (like the Miura VS). The advantage of the Katana is that they edge well without downsizing, so you can be comfortable on longer climbs without feeling insecure in your footing.