Scarpa Techno X

I was hoping I could get input from wearers of these shoes on how much break-in/stretch to expect. Any tips on how to size, e.g. toes curled vs. flat out of the box? (I'm going for a snug but comfortable fit that I can wear for crack climbing, slab, and multipitch.) Comparison with the old Technos would be especially welcome, if anybody has used both.

For what it's worth, I wear a 41 Nike, 40.5 old Techno, 40 Scarpa Vapor V.

I wear 46 in street shoes and TC Pros (snug but comfortable all day). My first pair of Techno X were 46 - they fit small out of the box and never really stretched. I used them for ~10 long multi pitch days and they were still a bit too small for my liking.

I've since purchased 47s and they are perfect.

2nd that they do not stretch as much as a lot of other shoes of similar performance. The top toe rubber can make them extra painful in cracks if not sized for that kind of climbing.

I went up a half US size from my old Technos (44 vs 43) to get about the same feel after break-in.  They unfortunately have more synthetic that really limits stretch. 

Don't expect them to stretch very much or at all. I wear a  38 ladies techno x. after 2 years they're still a little tight. They were sized out of the box with toes slightly curled and they still fit that way. I need to take them off after 3 pitches. still, they're great for edging, smearing and standing on pebbles. I'd consider sizing up a to 38.5 for all day slab or crack.

I agree with the lack of stretch in length as others have posted. I have noticed, though, that my pair that is on its third resole is not nearly as supportive as my new pair. Maybe the uppers have loosened up after so much use? Still, both the old and new pair fit my particular narrowish and big feet like a glove. I wear 13-14 street shoes depending on brand and the Techno X size 48 is perfect for an all-day multi-pitch fit. 

Techno X are good shoes IMHO, but not the best shoes in terms of performance in that niche. They are very, very sturdy. Superior in that aspect. No stretch at all though after a number of years. Why, I don't know-kind of weird. That has good and bad aspects. A further bad aspect with my pair is that the whole front part of the shoe began to curl upward with use. I use them nowadays to train on the edging foot trainer board in my basement. Have been replaced with TC Pros as climbing shoes-- though the TCs aren't as durable, they perform better.

Mark Orsag wrote:

 A further bad aspect with my pair is that the whole front part of the shoe began to curl upward with use. 

That's interesting, I just noticed the same thing with my Technos. Not ideal, but doesn't seem to affect performance too much for my purposes.

AaronJ wrote:

 e.g. toes curled vs. flat out of the box? ... for crack climbing, ...

AFAIK the Techno X is designed for keeping your toes flat as it has a rather "thin" toe box and the sole itself has a completely flat shape. The first option for climbers trying to avoid foot pain when crackin' is to get away from curled toes. I've had mine for a couple of years. It is a very "sturdy", but still not clunky shoe. I've had many other shoes that has gone "soft" on me, sometimes after only a few months use, but these things don't seem to soften much. Even with a price above average, I still think it is one of the best value shoes I've ever had. I mostly do full day trad and I prefer an "all around" shoe instead of a specialty item.

I echo the no real stretch comments and they run a tad small. It's been a few years, but I think the pair I had were one size down from street/approach shoe. Same I would have vapor v or instinct in. Started with slight knuckle to big toe and always had it, could still jam in thin hands but it hurt.

Never did like the shoe though, pretty stiff and like armor in cracks, could climb friction slab a little easier than TC pros, but micro edging just sucked. It wasn't a structure thing, it's just that the inside edge of the big toe has a long gradual radius. It makes them less precise and I did not trust them on smaller crystals. Gave them a lot of mileage to see if I could adjust and it just never happened. I prefer comfy size katana laces or vapors granite trad FWIW.  

I sized my technos a half size bigger than my vapor v's. At first they killed my heels (I have Haglund's), but after maybe 15 pitches they got more comfortable. I sized them more for edging than for jamming, but anything that's thin hands or bigger isn't awful with them. I love them as a slab/edging/multipitch shoe. I'm bummed Scarpa is discontinuing them. 

Nick Drake wrote:

I prefer comfy size katana laces or vapors granite trad FWIW.  

Ive been thinking of going this route. Currently I’m in a 42.5 in the Katana which gives me a slight curl, but perfect glove like fit. Did you find when you sized up in the Katana that the heel didn’t fit properly? 

Tapawingo Markey wrote:

Ive been thinking of going this route. Currently I’m in a 42.5 in the Katana which gives me a slight curl, but perfect glove like fit. Did you find when you sized up in the Katana that the heel didn’t fit properly? 

It definitely is a little baggy in the heel, not as bad as every 5.10 fits my foot though :) Definitely can't heel hook anything technical. 

Like the miura lace sized properly that pointy low profile toe lets you wiggle secure jams in some finger crack pods very well. I should also note that going to this fit you are making a compromise in extremely thin edging for that ability to jam really thin cracks. I can still use crystals on granite just fine and have used them on some relatively thin stuff in the high 11 range. If the crux is edging a literal credit card I wouldn't trust them like I do a tight performance fit.  

This is good stuff, thanks for all the input.

It was between a slightly toe-curling 40 or a slightly roomy 40.5, and it sounds like for crack climbing and multipitch comfort I’m better off with the larger.