Otaki vs Skwama

Really like the fit of the Otaki but the local climbing shop did not have Skwama in stock. 

I primarily do outdoor bouldering with sandstone and occasional granite. Lots of smearing and mostly overhang. Colorado area. Coming from La Sportiva Tarantulas but want something more aggressive. TIA

The Otaki and Instinct have different design intentions imo... slightly different but still so. If you like the fit of the Otaki but more want something more aggressive I would recommend trying on the La Sportiva Solution (same design intent as Instinct but La Sportiva's verison) and see what you think.

I would say if doing a brand-to-brand comparison (others can correct me if they feel differently) that Scarpa Instinct VS is more comparable to the La Sportiva Solution not the Otaki. The Instinct and Solution both had similar aggressive shape, toe box, and sole. Although the Solution has softer rubber (XS Grip) vs the Instinct (XS Edge). Skwama is even softer than the Solution I believe. I owned both Solutions and Otakis but only shoe demo'd with Instinct and they very much reminded me of my Solutions. The Otaki and Solution fit my foot like a glove. If you're doing overhanging bouldering I don't think you'll go wrong with any of those decisions it'll just be down to your fit preferences.

Edit: People seem to like Skwama's too

Probably way more info than you wanted but yeah. 

If you're bouldering you want the Skwama over the Otaki, no question. I live in my Otaki's on everything from sport routes to big wall free climbing, and they'd get by on some bouldering, but the Skwama's softness, heel, aggressive shape, and sensitivity make them better for bouldering in every way.

Shwama. My go to were the solutions because I couldn't find the right size to fit me in the shwama. Once I did it was night and day. I also own the otaki but they are in my opinion better for vert or slightly overhung. The big difference in the mid sole. It has a stiff ball area and a very flexible mid and heel. Otaki are stiff all the way around. I tried the instincts. I liked 'em for all of 4 gym sessions and then the toe cap peeled right off on a overhang toe hook. For comparison I've had my shwama for months of indoor + out.

They’re night and day different shoes. Based on your description of what you’re going to use them for, you want the skwama. The otaki is quite stiff and edges really well, but isn’t particularly downturned or sensitive. The skwama is basically the opposite. Doesn’t edge great, but is super sensitive and soft and quite aggressive.  I like the skwamas for steep terrain with hooking and generally bigger feet and the otakis for tech vert and edging in general. 

You may want to try some Skwamas on before committing to them. I really like my Otakis, but have found the Skwamas in the same size have way too much dead space to work well. I found them to be much higher volume than the Otakis, so much so that I can't tighten the velcro without creating folds in the elastic bit that covers the top of the foot. Those folds quickly become unbearable hot spots. For my foot, I can't get rid of the dead space over the top of the foot without downsizing so much that the shoes become unbearably tight lengthwise. 

I’d second trying the Skwamas on before buying.
They fit me like a glove, but Otakis just don’t work.

Chris Stocking wrote:

You may want to try some Skwamas on before committing to them. I really like my Otakis, but have found the Skwamas in the same size have way too much dead space to work well. I found them to be much higher volume than the Otakis, so much so that I can't tighten the velcro without creating folds in the elastic bit that covers the top of the foot. Those folds quickly become unbearable hot spots. For my foot, I can't get rid of the dead space over the top of the foot without downsizing so much that the shoes become unbearably tight lengthwise. 

Yeah you will need to size the Skwama down at least a full size maybe 1.5 due to stretch compared to the Kataki/Otaki. I could not believe it but I went from 42.5 Kataki to a 40.5 Skwama, 41 everything else LS.