Acopa JB

To prevent continued derailing of another thread, I wanted to ask about other people's experiences with the Acopa JB. I have a wide forefoot, high arch, and relatively small heel and had been looking for an alternative to the TC pro.  I ordered the JB in the recommended size (1 us size down from street shoe) and the fit felt great, but when I tried them on the first pitch of salathe (10c fingers), I absolutely hated them. It felt like the toe box was huge and the rubber just slipped off of everything. The shoe did not work for me at all.  I promptly switched back to my (well worn and resoled) TC pros and climbed a bunch more finger cracks that weekend.

Should I give them another chance? Thoughts on the toe box height?

Sounds like they don't fit your foot. I have a pair of Legends that fit my foot like a glove and are basically a low top version of the JB. I've been very impressed by the sensitivity and stiffness, as well as the quality of the rubber and build quality overall.

The toe box is large and relatively high, not the best finger crack shoes, but great at edging at wider things. As I've broken in my pair and resoled them a couple times the height of the toe box has dropped but it's still not a low-profile shoe.

Give 'em another chance!  They're the best shoe I ever wore.

Also recently got some JBs, very comfy, but the toe box does seems pretty bulbous. I was using a pair of Butora alturas previously, very stiff and lower profile toe, but had a bad resole and sought out something else. I can’t tell if the JBs are a little floppy, but maybe I’m expecting too much coming from the alturas. I’ve done a little bit of OW, slab, and bigger cracks (ring locks and up) in them and haven’t been disappointed, but I guess I don’t know what to expect quite yet. I know a lot of people really like them, so idk.

Aaron Lieblingwrote:

To prevent continued derailing of another thread, I wanted to ask about other people's experiences with the Acopa JB. I have a wide forefoot, high arch, and relatively small heel and had been looking for an alternative to the TC pro.  I ordered the JB in the recommended size (1 us size down from street shoe) and the fit felt great, but when I tried them on the first pitch of salathe (10c fingers), I absolutely hated them. It felt like the toe box was huge and the rubber just slipped off of everything. The shoe did not work for me at all.  I promptly switched back to my (well worn and resoled) TC pros and climbed a bunch more finger cracks that weekend.

Should I give them another chance? Thoughts on the toe box height?

I agree maybe they just don’t fit your foot well. They do have a fairly high volume toe though so definitely not what I’d pick for finger cracks that I need to jam. But for most everything else they are amazing. I’m surprised you thought they slipped off everything. On my first day climbing in mine I ended up on some runout slab at Tahquitz/Suicide and I was scared since I hadn’t climbed in them before but they honestly were much more confidence inspiring than the Xs Edge. I’d say the rubber is a bit softer and probably a little less durable than the XS Edge but definitely stickier. 

I have a wide forefoot, high arch, small heel, and the Acopa JB had too much space in the heel for my liking. I primarily climb in new style comfy sized TC pros. I have a comfyish sized pair of 2022 Katanas for finger cracks. Heel problem is still apparent, but is not as bad in the TCs and blades.

I purchased a pair of JB's a few weeks back at half a size up from street and they were just a little too small for a comfy fit. While my big toe was flat, it was pressed hard into the front rand and I was afraid as they softened up my toe would start to hang over the front edge, and on top of that they would not be comfortable after a few hours of climbing. I returned them and I am waiting to receive a pair of legends a full size up from street which I am very excited to get. 

I also have a wide forefoot with long toes and a pretty large heel so they fit me well. I agree with everyone else that the toe box is pretty tall, if you are looking for other wide fit alterntives with a slimmer toe box check out the Evolv yosemite bum and Butora Altura. Personally I am not planning on having them be my go to thin crack shoes and i'm willing to sacrifice that ability for a much better fit than TCs while being reportedly great of faces and super durable.

how many pitches are folks’ JBs taking to break-in? recently picked up a pair and jamming #1s was not the most comfortable with very slightly knuckled small toes (big toe flat though), I’m wearing them 1.5-2 sizes bigger than my trusty sportier fit katana laces, but the thin hands jamming is about same level of comfort which I had hoped would be improved

I have had the same issue with my Acopa Legends. I had hoped for a comfortable multipitch trad shoe. They are well made and edge well. But, they have taken a long time to break in and, as noted up thread, the high toe box doesn’t fit well in thin cracks. I usually go back to my Katana laces on harder routes.

Mine broke in fast and are super comfortable  but I've mostly used them on hand cracks and bigger.  I've used the Legends on thin cracks and they worked good.  

Mine also broke in very fast. Were more comfortable right away than all my other shoes and after 5-6 days out they were perfect. But also agreeing with others, the only thing I wished were different about them was the toe profile. If they were slightly thinner (less tall) and had a slightly more pointed toe they would be the perfect. They’re still my favorite shoes that I wear for almost everything, except thin cracks that I know will be close to my limit. 

Josh Bwrote:

how many pitches are folks’ JBs taking to break-in? recently picked up a pair and jamming #1s was not the most comfortable with very slightly knuckled small toes (big toe flat though), I’m wearing them 1.5-2 sizes bigger than my trusty sportier fit katana laces, but the thin hands jamming is about same level of comfort which I had hoped would be improved

Reviving this thread. How did you find the JBs after breaking in? I just got a pair and seems like a similar fit to you. They feel great but I want an all day trad fit with flat toes but snug toes. Big toe flat, 2 and 3rd toe slightly curled. 

Ryan Dwrote:

Reviving this thread. How did you find the JBs after breaking in? I just got a pair and seems like a similar fit to you. They feel great but I want an all day trad fit with flat toes but snug toes. Big toe flat, 2 and 3rd toe slightly curled. 

I’ve been wanting to return to this thread but I haven’t had enough pitches in the shoes honestly, but will share my experience since you asked— I took them to the valley and got them on a few hour/6 pitch route (w/ various size jams) and they were also too tight for that, and then I experienced a very minor delamination issue which the acopa crew went above and beyond to take care of and it hasn’t returned (I cannot say enough good things about acopa’s customer service!! especially if you need split sizing) 

I actually sized up half a size on each toe from that last comment (I’m wearing a split size- more bonus points for acopa) and with that (all toes flat + wearing the lightest weight merino sock) they feel considerably more comfortable in #1s with seemingly almost no reduction in edging or smearing power, I loved them at the creek for everything down to #1s, straight in jamming smaller might be tough with the bulk, but they seem to rand smear fairly well

currently dealing with a pulley injury which has limited my ability to keep test driving them (I probably don’t have enough pitches on either size to give a true fully broken in review) but i do plan to update my review at some point

Ryan Dwrote:

Reviving this thread. How did you find the JBs after breaking in? I just got a pair and seems like a similar fit to you. They feel great but I want an all day trad fit with flat toes but snug toes. Big toe flat, 2 and 3rd toe slightly curled. 

They’ll definitely conform to your foot well and will become more comfortable after break in but they’re not going to stretch lengthwise, so your toes are probably gonna stay curled. Maybe get a second pair half a size up and use one for shorter climbs and one for all day. That’s what I did and I’m happy with having two pairs. 

Returning to this thread. I ended up sizing up a half size to my everyday shoe size. I wear them with thin socks and they are perfect with snug but flat and comfortable toes. Comfortable out of the box but really started to feel great after 7-10 days. Now they are absolutely perfect. My favorite shoes ever now. I've climbed a mix of styles in them and they perform really well with flat toes. I even climbed some slightly overhanging 5.12 sport in them and while maybe not the best choice they performed better than expected! As others have mentioned, not the best shoe for thin cracks due to the toebox profile. Only other dislikes are that they don't actually cover my lateral malleolus/ankle bone while the TCs pros do. You can see from a picture that the high top swoops down and leaves the lateral malleolus exposed. Maybe I should just improve my crack climbing technique but a little more ankle protection would be welcome. Also had some minor delamination issues where the rubber meets the leather upper. I believe this happened after keeping them in my hot car, but willing to put up with it because they are so comfortable. I'll just put some barge cement on them and call it good. 

Acopa also earns extra points for the awesome customer service and split sizing! I really enjoyed the level of customer support they gave me when trying on pairs and split sizing.