TC Extremes

I've just come back from a 3 month trip to Patagonia, where I got to thoroughly test the abilities of the TC Extreme, establishing a new route on the Central Tower of Paine over 41 days capsule-style. To start off, let me clearly state I am in no way supported by La Sportiva; however I find that their shoes do, in general, fit me well, and they are the primary shoe manufacturer I've used over the years. I got my pair of TC Extremes on sale at steepandcheap. In short, I think that this is the perfect shoe for the niche it's designed to fill, it did an excellent job keeping my feet warm and dry in sub-freezing winter conditions.

Fit and Comfort
The fit on these is great, at least for my particular foot shape. I usually wear a 41.5 TC Pro or Miura, I got these in a size 42 because half sizes are not available. I found the fit to be excellent both barefoot and with a thin liner sock (Darn Tough). They are a very comfortable shoe, I was able to wear them the majority of our 26-hour summit push without issue, and my feet stayed dry and warm throughout the day. By nightfall we were rappelling and I had double boots on.

Performance
Outstanding. These shoes handled just about everything the wall threw at them with ease. Hand cracks, corners, smearing, and technical edging on pitches up to 5.12+ the shoes felt sticky and precise. I brought a pair of lace up miuras (my performance shoe of choice) but they stayed in the bottom of the haulbag. I never felt like I needed a different shoe. The gaiter works well--I was able to climb pitches flowing with water and my feet stayed dry, as well as stand in snow for periods of time without my feet getting cold. Not once did my toes get cold wearing these shoes. However, we generally avoided climbing on the coldest days, I would estimate I probably wore these in temps down to the mid-20's farenheit. Additionally, I found them quite easy to put on and take off, or at least as easy as a TC Pro. The inner climbing shoe is a regular lace-up, and the gaiter then zips over that. I had no issues with the laces getting caught in the zipper.

Durability

Excellent. They handled many foot jams well without causing much noticeable abrasion to the gaiter, nor did the zipper get damaged at all. The action on the zipper is as good as new. Granted, 41 days (although more counting days getting established on the wall) isn't the longest amount of time to truly destroy a shoe, I anticipate these lasting a long time.

Overall I think these are an excellent shoe for the performace-oriented alpine rock climber. I don't really have anything bad to say abiut these, and am impressed by La Sportiva's ability to nail it. The one down-side I can think of is that they turned my feet yellow, which only added to the gross-foot-factor up there.

No pics?!
I’m pretty sure that there was another thread on these shoes where E Mann was disappointed in the performance. Glad to hear they worked out for you.

Cory Nwrote:

No pics?!
I’m pretty sure that there was another thread on these shoes where E Mann was disappointed in the performance. Glad to hear they worked out for you.

I'll edit with pics of the shoes in a few days. We (the team and I) are still shuttling gear out (shoes included) but we're still recovering in town.

Cory Nwrote:

No pics?!
I’m pretty sure that there was another thread on these shoes where E Mann was disappointed in the performance. Glad to hear they worked out for you.

I am starting to come around to them more after using them more in the Chalten massif this season (shady route on Fitz in a cold window) and some snowy-rock climbing around Colorado. Still don't have as glowing as a review as the OP but they are quite a bit warmer than standard TC's (particularly in wind) and the stiffness issue, which was my main gripe, was less of an issue for me when it never got above 40F. I will say that sock choice will play a HUGE roll in warmth. Too thick and your toes won't get blood flow and they'll be colder than if you didn't wear socks at all, too thin and you lose performance and warmth.