La Sportiva Boulder X Approach Shoe - Men's

Climbs well, hikes well. comfy... what more can you ask for. Possibly not the best option for really wide feet. I have an average volume foot and this shoe is snug. I had to size up a full size from my regular shoe size. Can't beat the price.

This is a great shoe, one of the best approach shoes I've ever worn. I've worn them on backpacking trips as well on several occasions and have never had an issue. They are super stiff which I like in my shoes and boots and after having been worn constantly for the past 8 months they are still very stiff and supportive.

My first approach shoes and for the price I believe I chose well. Light weight feel, no break-in, cushy inside and sticky outside. Much more fun for quick-local hikes and scrambles than my hiking boots! The lacing works well and helps dial in the fit for scrambling as well as holding the heel back nicely for hiking. The sticky rand goes along the sides and up the heel (see images.)
True to street size in my experience, I have a moderately wide foot.

These are comfortable and well-built although a bit bulky. They've worn very well so far and will probably last a long time. My only long-term concern is that sole doesn't wrap around to the upper part of the shoe like soles on some approach shoes, so there might be the possibility of the sole pulling loose. But there's been no problem so far after considerable use.

Great for hiking and scrambling. Sticky on the bottom and comfy on the inside. I went all over Tuolumne in these guys, and they never let me down. They are a little bulky if your packing them up a climb for use on the descent.... but that's a really really minor gripe. Over all, I love them.

The Boulder X is exactly what i was looking for when I ordered my cirque pros back in 07. The Vibram sole is the #1 best upgrade to the shoes. The styling is much better and the inside is so much more cushy. They still have the nice solid feel of the cirque pros. The improvements to the shoes I couldn't have done better my self. It is like as if La Sportiva read my mind while I was going through my pair of cirque pros. I got these things right before I made a trip to Puerto Rico and these things worked great. They hooked up great on every thing from guano covered cave floors to the slippery slimy wet rocks in El Yunque rain forest. The sole on the old cirque pro I wouldn't have trusted in so much mud, but the new Vibram sole hooks up just as good on the mud as it does on rock slabs. Very impressed with this awesome shoe.

I have a pair of the cirque pros and i took them into the shop I work at to compare directly with the boulder x's. to be honest there isn't a huge difference except for the new sole and a general overhaul of the design. IMO is still actually prefer the old ones, but the new are definitely worth getting.

These are some of the best shoes I have owned. The Vibram rubber is oh so sticky and is great for approaches. I have done a 5.8 in these shoes as well. So comfortable and are also great to wear around town. Great shoe!

Sweet shoes! Just bought a pair about a month ago and I love them. The only piece that took a bit to break in is the extra padded tongue of the shoe. It was a little big at the front of the shoe and made my toes feel tight, but nothing a little break in shouldn't fix. Great approach shoe with very sticky rubber and durable outside.

by far and beyond the best appraoch shoe i've ever worn. La Sportiva finally put a decent footbed into the shoe so there is no need to put superfeet or some other custom bed in there. hikes well, climbs, well, and runs to catch the last shuttle in zion well. I will definately be buying another pair of these...

The only thing I'd say right up front... custom footbeds and/or orthotics are a major upgrade. Toss the napkin thin insoles and get something with FAT PAD and you'll be stoked.

I find the shoes very comfortable on 100 degree days in Idaho. Sticks like glu to greasy basalt. I love this shoe. I've run really short 2 mile burns in it and done fine. I do use an orthotic but that's not unique to this shoe. I pull footbeds in all my shoes and put in custom footbeds and orthotics.

For what this shoe is advertised for it's awesome. I can climb hard 5.9 to easy 5.10 in them no problems. I often take them on trail-scurry runs to blast off some calories and solo some easy stuff that a tennis shoe would blow off but these hold tight. They edge and smear above expectations to be sure. I wear a sportiva Miura VS size 44.5 and I got these in a dead 45.0 and love them. I cinch these babies down and I charge hard. These things SMEAR like nothing else. I love these things. I've smeared up dead vertical granite and had a ball. I had jugs to haul off and instead of using them as feet I smeared just for the test-drive and I nearly cried tears of heart-felt love.

SICK!

Great times!

I only had the shoe for about 1 week. I wore it daily for 3 days to break it in which really was not necessary. They fit and wore great right out of the box. The traction on the trail was great dry rocks, wet rocks no slipping. High boulder hopping was fine as well. The problem however was constant lack of lateral support. I probably turned both ankles 10-12 times, not an exaggeration while back and forth on approach. I became disgusted because I really liked the shoe but found the constant twisting of my ankles too much too take so I return them this week.

Wore these on a recent ascent. They preformed great. Plenty of stick and solid heel action. The other three in the party where green with envy.

Bought these for 4th/5th class mountaineering. The tight fit, thick (but soft) sole, and sticky rubber made the perfect shoe for the Little Bear to Blanca traverse in CO.

Ok,
people should write facts about this shoe - not stiff like "i liked it" or "i disliked"
1) arch support is very poor. you will most likely need your own insoles with arch support.
2) lining is made of synthetic material. i was going to use them bear feet, however, it is not comfortable at all. i am now looking for leather lining, or no lining at all.
3) again due to synthetic lining - in summer it is too hot in them. feet sweat.
4) using these shoes in the city is also not comfortable. sole is too stiff.
5) i bought size 9.5 and 10.0 well, size 10.0 feels more snug than 9.5, which is surprising.

Bottom line - i'd not buy them again if i had a choice. i'd buy with natural lining in the first place

A little tight out of the box, I have flat feet and I think these were meant for tiny Italian feet but after breaking them in they are great. a sturdy footbed that you can hike all day and carry a decent pack with. the edges are pretty stiff and will let you do some tough climbing. and the vibram rubber is way sticky!

I have wanted these shoes for some time. When the right price finally came along I snagged them up. They are tight and narrow which I do not normally like but these feel great and required no breaking in. Sticky sole, protected toe, supportive ankle, durable materials, an attractive design. What more can you ask for?

Love these shoes. I was a little worried at first since I bought these mainly for wearing around for every day use. I figured the soles would wear pretty fast, but that is not the case. I've been wearing them every day for a few months now and the soles still look new!

Same shoe as the Cirque Pro but with a new cosmetic story and slightly different sole. C'mon sportiva, bring your A Game.