Sizing new Solutions relative to Katana Lace?

Heya everyone,

Ich decided to give the latest Solutions a try (heard not much has change compared to the previous model). Can you help me out with sizing? I already read  most of the relevant threads about this. I was thinking about going down to something like 39.5 to 40.5. For reference I wear a 41 in Katana Laces (snug with toes slightly knuckled, good for like half an hour comfortable wear). Street shoe size is 42. I don't have a store nearby where I could try them so I need to order online. 

Thanks in advance!

Moe

I think I've got a pretty similarly sized foot. When I'm off work today  I'll try and let you know. 

I sized my Solutions a size and a half down (44) from my Katana laces(45.5).

@Ted: Yeah that is kind of what I have in mind since i also heard they stretch a bit - can you confirm? Thanks man

@Tyler: Nice, eager to hear it!

Ryan Swanson wrote:

Weird.  I can fit into a 43.5 Katana lace and tolerate life, but a 44 Solution wasn't going to happen.  

That's also pretty interesting, maybe I have to order a few more pair than I originally thought lol.

I don't wear Solutions so I can't speak with too much authority on that model but it's my experience over 25 years of climbing that La Sportiva is consistent with sizes across their various shoes.  I wear 39.5 in Skwama, Katana Lace, Mythos, Miura VS, and would be the same in TC Pro, Kataki, Otaki since I've tried them on.  Maybe with the Mythos I could go down a 1/2 size or more because they stretch a lot, and the same with the Cobra which I used to wear.  I'm sure you could go down in size but I doubt you would add anything to the fit other than discomfort.  Now this does assume that you've sized the Katana Lace for all around fit and not for long days in the mountains or such.

Ryan Swanson wrote:

Depends on your foot shape.  Every single pair of scarpa's hurts my Achilles like a sonofabitch.  A Muira VS fits halfway decent in a 45, but a 44 in the Otaki/Kataki is great.  I might bump my next pair down to 43.5.

You've got to have some store where you can try on a pair and get an idea before ordering right?

Yeah kind of the same for me. Though Scarpa shoes don't hurt my heel they just never fit right in that section. It's the same for their mountaineering boots, climbing shoes and approach shoes (at least for the models I tried), the heel never fits my feet. 

I live in a well let's not say remote area in Germany but climbing is not really popular here, I think I would need to drive at least for 2 hours to the next store that has them. I kind of prefer to order them online anyway (though it can get annoying if you have to return a trunk load of shoes that all don't fit) because this way I can try them much longer than I would be willing to in a store.

My solutions are 46 and a bit tight. My Otaki, which is like a Velcro Katana is 45.5 and feel good. 

Moe Montana wrote: @Ted: Yeah that is kind of what I have in mind since i also heard they stretch a bit - can you confirm? Thanks man

@Tyler: Nice, eager to hear it!

Yeah, they do stretch if you size them tightly.  I was a little dubious to even try them on, as my street size is 13 (47?), but they’re actually really comfortable and I have very narrow heels, so I had to go that low in order to eliminate dead space.  Out of the box they felt very tight (like the shoe was squeezing my foot), but not painful.  By contrast, a 44.5 Katana Lace caused me considerable pain and I had to give them away...I think the relative softness of the Solution vs the stiffer Katana plays a large role.

So the results are in.

The katana lace fit my size 40 foot well, with some space in the heel. I would probably go with that size due to the stiffness of the shoe.

The new solutions fit well in a 40, but I would go to a 39.5 to fill the heel and bank on them stretching a bit.

I found for my foot the fit was similar, and the stiffness and materials are important. 

Tyler Newcomb wrote: So the results are in.

The katana lace fit my size 40 foot well, with some space in the heel. I would probably go with that size due to the stiffness of the shoe.

The new solutions fit well in a 40, but I would go to a 39.5 to fill the heel and bank on them stretching a bit.

I found for my foot the fit was similar, and the stiffness and materials are important. 

Tyvm Tyler! I'll let you guys know how I decided sizing wise. Cheers   

Got the Solutions delivered today and sadly they don't fit at all. I heard they run rather narrow and was hoping to get along with them after breaking them in. Well that ain't happening, the toebox squishes my toes together much too much in  2,5 sizes down (which seems to be the absolute minimum, otherwise the heel won't fit). Even with that amount of downsizing I got air pockets around the heel. Bummer since I really love how that shoe looks and the materials feel plus I heard only good things from climbers which got them to fit (ignoring the velcro strap issue). Well guess that's how it is, currently deciding between the Shaman and BD Shadow. Might take another look at the Instinct VS in the future again but I tried these on in a store once and the fit didn't covince me, much the same as for the Vapor.

Have a nice weekend all of you, hopefully full of climbing!  

Agh, that sucks man...sorry they didn’t work for you.  I had the same problem with the heel even with downsizing, which was why I had to go so low, but I guess your forefoot must be too wide.

Bummer they don't fit. The Shadows are a great shoe, but they don't fit many people. If the BD shoes fit you in geneal they'll probably work.