Original Scarpa Boostic Re-Issue in Europe 2024/2025

Doug Chismwrote:

How does the sizing in the R compare to the blue/black?

I’m not the guy you asked, but I own the Rs and recently tried on the blue/black, both in 44. They feel nearly the same in terms of fit; the size/tightness was the same, but I did have a bit of pain on my big toe knuckle on the blue/black which is nonexistent in the R. iirc the blue/black is all synthetic and the R has some leather, so maybe the different materials are the cause?

Doug Chismwrote:

How does the sizing in the R compare to the blue/black?

I'd get the exact same number size as whatever you wear in the blue/black and I'd expect the newer boostic to stretch less and retain a bit more stiffness. (and it starts with more stiffness/support)

blakeherringtonwrote:

I'd get the exact same number size as whatever you wear in the blue/black and I'd expect the newer boostic to stretch less and retain a bit more stiffness. (and it starts with more stiffness/support)

My Blue Boostic sizing is at my limit for tight fit,  so maybe a half size up for Boostic R is in order.  I really wish Scarpa would include Boostics in their travelling shoe demos in the US *grumble*

I agree with Blake's assessment of Boostic R sizing. 

For reference, my performance fit in the OG Boostic is 42, in the Blue Boostic it is 41 (super tight), and in the Boostic R it's 41.5. I wouldn't want to go down to 41 in the Boostic R, and 42 in the Boostic R feels similarly roomy to 42.5 in the OG Boostic.

For a wide forefoot like mine, go half a size down from the OG boostic and half a size up from the Blue Boostic. If you didn't size down a full size for the Blue Boostic from the OG, you might have the same size in the R as the Blue.

Overall, I find the Boostic R needs to be fitted with more toe curl and foot compression to have similar edging power as the OG Boostic. It's quite comfortable worn tighter than the OG, but it somewhat limits its utility as an all-around, all-day shoe that can both jam thin cracks and edge on micro nubs like the OG.

For what it's worth, I've gone with the same size in all 3 versions and felt good about it. I wear 43 street shoe (which I like tight/snug) and 42 in all my Boostics. My Muira VS are 41 and back in the day I wore 40.5 Testarosas. 

All that being said... I do think I might like trying a half size down in the new one next time. I've only put 2 full days in them and I suspect they may stretch just enough to make me wish I had gone that half size down in these new ones. Not sure yet. In general, I used the original Boostics on granite routes where I want great micro edging but also need to jam my feet a few times so I havn't gone to the limits of tightness I could bear for straight up edging.

Just chiming in here as someone who bought 4 pairs of the new Boostic R after reading this thread.  In my opinion these shoes are way softer than the original Boostic, and climb very similar to the forever scorned "blu-stic" (blue boostic).   My first climbing experience in the new Boostic R was in the gym breaking them in on steep board climbing and they felt (alarmingly) good at this style - I was able to smear and bend the front of the shoe.   At that point I knew that the shoe wouldn't likley be a very good stiff climbing shoe.

I am currently at Smith Rock and the OG Boostic is the best shoe ever made for smith - very stiff but also extremely persise. Taking the new Boostic R to out to the crag I was immediately dissapointed - they are still very persise, but not stiff at all. I also have a new pair of Katana Laces and they are miles and miles stiffer than the Boostic R. But that being said, the Katana lace is less persise, which sucks for those of us who need both stiffness and presision. In the end, as someone who likes stiff shoes, at Smith I'd go with Katana Lace or Muira VS over either the blue or brown boostics, and I would also do the same for any kind of vertical granite climbing, especially multipitch.

So overall I could tell very little difference between the new flavors of the boostic (brown and blue) - they are good shoes, but they are not stiff shoes.  I think the ideal place for these shoes would be something like Siurana or the VRG - techy vertical limestone climbing where you need some stiffness, but also need a general all around shoe that can smear and isnt too stiff.  If pure stiffness is what you are after though, get a Katana Lace. 

And, of course, if you want the highest performance shoe for climbing 5.8 handcracks the TC pro is your best bet.

Turd Burglerwrote:

Just chiming in here as someone who bought 4 pairs of the new Boostic R after reading this thread.

Care to comment on your experience with sizing, both with respect to previous models and street shoe size? I was actually considering this shoe for board climbing. 

I personally havent noticed that much difference in sizing between all 3 pairs of boostics.  My street shoe is a 9.5 US, and I go between a 40.5 and 41.5 in the boostic (all versions) depending on the desired ratio of comfort to performance.  In la sportiva Katana / Muira VS I go between 39.5 to 40.5 for reference.  

My guess is that the main reason folks report a size difference between the old and new boostics is because the new shoes are softer, so they feel like they need them tighter to achieve the same level of performance as the old pair.

And finally, while I could board climb in the new boostic, I dont think it would be my preferred shoe for that unless I had some injury or health condition where stiff shoes were preferable.   Vibram Edge rubber and indoor climbing just dont mix well in my opinion.  For board climbing there are a huge variety of softer high performance shoes, but if I wanted something similar to the Boostic in fit and sizing but softer and with vibram grip rubber, Id go with the Booster.  

Anyhow, if anyone wants to buy some Boostic Rs in the 40.5 to 41.5 let me know, otherwise I was gonna light them on fire with white gas and send the video to Scarpa.

Are the Bluestics being discontinued in the US? Can’t find em anywhere. Looking for some in 44.5 or maybe 45 if you got any lying around.

New 42 feels significantly more comfortable and softer than the old 42 for me. I wear 41 instincts and drago lv and the old in 42 was performant for a handful of pitches, and the 41.5 was like super performance for a single pitch, really really sucked to break in. The new materials are definitely more supple and nicer, but I think that is part of the softer, more comfortable feeling. I bought new in 43 as well since that's my street and missed out on having OG boostics in a large, comfortable size for multi, and they were an absolute no go for me. Too big and not stiff enough, felt like I was really having to activate my big toe and dig in when standing on edges.

Turd Burglerwrote:

Anyhow, if anyone wants to buy some Boostic Rs in the 40.5 to 41.5 let me know, otherwise I was gonna light them on fire with white gas and send the video to Scarpa.

PM’d about the 41.5’s

Looking for opinions on best place to resole OG boostics, i have three pairs that need rubber. Im willing to pay, as it looks like the new generation just isnt quite the same. I have read god things about tahoe gripworks and i used to resole through rock and resole but this was before "factory authorized" became a thing.

Kerwin Loukusawrote:

Looking for opinions on best place to resole OG boostics, i have three pairs that need rubber. Im willing to pay, as it looks like the new generation just isnt quite the same. I have read god things about tahoe gripworks and i used to resole through rock and resole but this was before "factory authorized" became a thing.

GTG does great work. They're picky about what they accept so peruse their site before sending anything to them. They won't, for example, resole anything that's already been resoled by someone else.

RNR is dead to me.

Slim Pickenswrote:

GTG does great work. They're picky about what they accept so peruse their site before sending anything to them. They won't, for example, resole anything that's already been resoled by someone else.

RNR is dead to me.

Have they really gone downhill?  I've always had good work from them but it's been at least a year since I've had anything done.

Slim Pickenswrote:

GTG does great work. They're picky about what they accept so peruse their site before sending anything to them. They won't, for example, resole anything that's already been resoled by someone else.

RNR is dead to me.

Thanks for the feedback, sounds like GTG is the way to go. RNR is scarpa authorized correct? My past experience with different resoles did seem like quality varied widely.

 Thankfully I stopped climbing in all three pairs before they become to far gone, I think they still qualify for GTG process.

Cocoapuffs 1000wrote:

Have they really gone downhill?  I've always had good work from them but it's been at least a year since I've had anything done.

I'd used RNR for years. My past four pairs of shoes that they've resoled, in 2 batches separated by a few months, were all disappointing. One pair had the front rubber ground at a really weird angle, 2 pairs delaminated almost immediately, and I can't remember what with the 4th pair. Maybe one pair was actually fine, I don't know. There's a many page thread on here somewhere, and an awful lot of folks there have had similar experiences.

Either way, I've found GTG and they've blown me away with their quality work and quick turnaround. And now that they're doing Scarpa resoles, I've got virtually no reason to go with anyone else.

Been blown away by my first pair but never tried the parrots. I want to order more but the cost is wild, anyone have a scoop on getting around the import taxes? Anyone travelling to Italy soon?

I finally got a chance to try on the Boostic R and I agree that they feel very similar to the Blue Boostic.  The fit is very similar too.  If anything, the Boostic R is slightly more comfortable for the same size, and my pair isn't even broken in!  If you painted them blue I would probably not notice the difference.  That works out for me because I love it as all around sport climbing shoe, but I am seriously confused as to why they went through the effort to retool them.  At least they made the color shittier, so there's that.

Also, since Scarpa still seems to want to keep this shoe a Big F'n Secret in the US, I will mention that Miguel's at the Red has them in stock.  But I bought the last 41.5 pair, sorry!