Shoes similar to Katana Lace

I have recently rekindled my love of the katana laces. It's almost the perfect shoe, providing comfort, performance, and the perfect balance of edging, smedging, and smearing capabilities. Unfortunately for me, they just don't fit the shape of my feet. They're size 41.5 and fit my foot perfectly width wise but I have about a half inch of room length wise. In case it helps, I wear an 8.5 in the pythons which are comfy if I take them off while belaying, and a 9 in the Evolv addicts which are super comfy.

I'm wondering if there's a shoe out there that would fit my foot better while providing a similar balance of edging and smearing capabilities. Does anybody have similar sized/shaped feet?

Here are some pictures show the size/shape of my foot, toebox, arch etc. I included a BD neutrino for size reference

Scarpa vapour

;)

^ +100

I will likewise recommend the Vapors, full stop.

From a silhouette (for want of a better term) perspective, you and I have similar feet–both in arch and top-down profile. Like me, you look like you may have a very slight Morton's toe. Difficult to say for sure, 'cause turning my laptop on its side isn't very helpful, but whatever.

At any rate, I've faithfully climbed in Vapors over two generations of the shoe, and I love them. If it's helpful, I moved to the Vapors from Miuras, which I also loved.

Have you tried the Anasazi Pinks?

Vapors are a little softer than Katana Laces. I have a pair of the newer Vapor V in 8.5 (41.5) if you are interested in buying them. They are a 1/2 size too big for me and I wear a 40.5 Katana.

I also think the new Sportiva Katana velcro type shoe would fit you better. They very much remind me of Vapor V's in fit and are higher volume than a Katana Lace. The Otaki flex is slightly softer than a Katana Lace in the midsole but still stiffer and more aggressive than the the Vapor V. I compared a size 40 Otaki to my size 40.5 Katana Lace and they were too big in volume on top of the foot and heel. I have low volume feet and skinny heels.

--- Invalid image id: 112020594 ---
--- Invalid image id: 112020595 ---

I haven't tried the pinks bit from what I have heard they sound like they may be a bit stiffer than what I'm looking for. The vapors look pretty downturns from the pictures on scarpa's site. Are they more downturned than the katana laces.

eli poss wrote:The vapors look pretty downturns from the pictures on scarpa's site. Are they more downturned than the katana laces.

No they are are not actually. Vapors are less downturned, less aggressive, less stiff, and without the cupped shape under the toes that makes Katana Laces so great for pulling down and edging in on things. Vapor V's are better at smearing maybe but not so good at edging unless sized tight since they are soft and lack a constructed toe shape underfoot to channel power.

A better comparison is
Vapor V = old Katana Velcro
Instinct VS = Katana Lace

The Instinct VS actually shares many climbing characteristics of the Katana Lace outdoors. The Instinct VS is a softer midsole, more sensitive everywhere, better heel hooking Katana Lace with the penalty of decreased edging abilities and support for standing on little edges. I often prefer the Katana Lace for outdoors such at NRG face climbs and Instinct VS for gym/bouldering/shorter outdoor routes and cooler weather climbing.

Edit: I don't know if people are talking about the Vapor lace or velcro version but there is a new lace up out that wasn't around for awhile. I would have preferred those and they are probably closer to the Katana Lace than the velcro Vapor.

--- Invalid image id: 112021353 ---
--- Invalid image id: 112021354 ---
--- Invalid image id: 112021357 ---

Try out the new Vapor lace. I tried both on and they fit me better than the katana lace, at least out of the box. Also just to note they are stiffer than the velcro vapor V's.

Evolv luchador lace is an extremely similar shoe to the KL

NCD wrote: Instinct VS = Katana Lace The Instinct VS actually shares many climbing characteristics of the Katana Lace outdoors.

Kind of a strange comparison IMO. While both have similar downturn (a bit more w/ Instinct VS) & asymmetry, the Instinct VS is very versatile bouldering shoe (great heel & toe hooking) with higher forefoot volume that encourages more bent toes, whereas KL has lower forefoot volume for more flat toes, making it suitable for crack climbing in a way the Instinct VS can't compare.

The old Vapor lace had too much forefoot volume for crack climbing too, but there's the new Vapor lace & (at some point) the new lace version of Instinct VS (not to be confused w/ the current Instinct lace).

Yeah, I would not compare an Instinct to a Katana...more like a Solution.

Depending on how you size them, the Instinct VS is way more of an all around shoe for me than the Solution, and comparing the IVS to a Katana Lace is not that absurd (original Katana with velcro is totally different). I've done a significant amount of granite crack climbing in my IVS, and they are fine until the cracks start getting small. I've tried to crack climb in the Solution but they are terrible for that for me.

The Katana Lace is probably a lot better for smearing and slab than the Instinct VS for most people.

I'm a huge fan of the new LS Otaki. It fits my particular brand of duck foot well. Just the perfect amount of downturn plus low profile toe for what I like to climb.

Ted Pinson wrote:Yeah, I would not compare an Instinct to a Katana...more like a Solution.

I think the overall point I was trying to make is that to me the Instinct VS is just more similar than the Vapor velcro to a Katana lace. I was disappointed when I got the Vapors and don't care for it much except the comfort. The Vapor velcro is definitely more like the Katana VELCRO. I don't climb cracks so that wasnt much of an factor for me but I do see what you are saying about the Katana Lace toe profile being sleeker. Cracks would probably be one of the Vapors stronger points I am guessing also.

It depends on what factors you are considering but I had two pairs of Solutions before the Instinct VS and it is much more of an all around shoe than a Solution. It is great for bouldering but also solid on routes of many types. It is one of the few shoes I feel like I could do anything in and I feel like it covers more of a range of bouldering and sport climbing than many specialist type aggressive La Sportiva shoes. Also, there is a big difference in the Grip 2 rubber of the Solution vs Edge. My Grip 2 resoled Instinct VS does feel sort of like a Solution but I wouldn't do that again. The toe shape is not the best for smearing and it is sort of awkward to climb in now for me.

The Instinct VS and Katana lace actually fit me very similarly sized a 1/2 size apart. I have bent toes in both and at times my IVS is even more comfortable. In fact breaking in my Katana Lace's was sort of a bitch on my toes and I even stopped wearing them for awhile in favor of the IVS. Now that they stretched the Katana lace is way more comfortable weighting my feet on slab type routes though. I've tried every shoe I could get my hands on and these two are the best fitting for me minus soft bouldering shoes like the Pythons that mold to your feet. The Solution fits nothing like the Instinct for me. Solution has a huge heel and narrow toes. Instinct has small heel and low volume and wide forefoot.

I have a pair of scarpa vapor v (new model) which I love for most stuff beside extreme edging or super steep. I recently got the new vapor lace because I wanted a stiffer shoe for long edgy routes (basically a katana lace that fit my foot better). I've worn them a couple times and They deffinitely feel nice with that one piece upper and the scarpa last, but they don't seem any stiffer than the v's. So if anyone wants a pair of almost new size 41 vapor lace, I'll be putting them up for sale soon.