La Sportiva Venom Climbing Shoe - 2007 BCS

Venoms are pretty good shoes, very curved and edgy. Putting them on at first can be a pain especially if you sized way down. But it gets better.
I normally wear 10.5 shoes (street size) and I sized down to 42 for these ones, same as my Miura VS. Feels the same too.
The heel hook of the Miura VS is better than this one. But it's still good, just gotta be a bit more careful about slipping off.
Another issue is that after a while they still kinda hurt on the first route of the day whereas VS don't.

These are the end all be all of slippers! Great fit, for a slimmer foot, great rubber for good edging. The net toe box is genius for toe hooking and the heel cup is essential when bouldering. The beefy pull tabs are amazing as well.

Not stiff enough to be a pure edging shoe (i.e. not for Smith Rock!), but surprisingly versatile, with awesome sensitivity. They really excel on overhangs, tiny pockets, smears. A fantastic bouldering shoe: similar to FiveTen V10 slipper, but more comfortable.

Note that these stretch significantly. I'm a size 10 US street shoe, and have found that a 41.5 in La Sportiva climbing shoes (Mythos etc.) worked well for me. On a whim I decided to order the Venoms in a 41.0. Initially they seemed painfully small, and I thought I'd got a little carried away with the sizing. But after a few days of bouldering, they stretched out nicely, and now fit like a glove.

I'll buy these again and again until La Sportiva retire the design!

It is probably because my foot doesnt fit well in these shoes, but i hate them. Basically I can't heel hook in them. My foot is too wide for the size. Shoes are meant for slender foot

i love these shoes. i can put my weight confidently on the tiniest of footholds.
make sure they fit tight, and they'll get very comfortable once you wear them in.
- good for vertical, overhanging
- bad for crack climbing
- opposite to what i was told, they work fine for slabs, i have climbed 5.10 slab in them just fine.

great all around shoe. I use them in the gym a lot so they wear out pretty fast but what doesn't. They are comparable to the scarpa vision v. superb shoe out of the box and I'd buy them again.

If you are like me and have big feet (size 13 street) then this is the best shoe for you. I do a lot of bouldering and free climbing and these shoes are incredible. I have a hard time finding shoes big enough in good brands and a 44.5 in these is perfect. After the first couple climbs they fit perfect and don't be weary of the slip-on fit, they are tight and hug your foot like a kid hugs their teddy bear. I think crack climbing is their only minor weakness but I can still do it with confidence. Give them a try, you'll be glad you did.

these shoes need to fit pretty much exactly right, because otherwise you get strange dead space, and that is NOT what you want in a slipper (since they are not adjustable..) so if you have never tried on a pair of these, then DONT BUY ONLINE (unless you don't mind paying a bunch of shipping costs if they don't work out). these shoes are super technical, a great bouldering shoe. definitely not a route shoe though - if fit right, they are super downturned and tight and would HURT to leave on for long periods of time.

If you need a sticky pad on your foot for climbing V7 and above these are like gecko feet on rocks!

Really good shoe for steep and overhanging routes. The thin rubber is very sensitive. You can really work your feet. The guy who said they need to fit you correctly is right on. I suspect they are unforgiving if they don't fit you right. La Sportiva fit my foot perfect. I bought them a size and a half smaller than my street shoe - they were super tight, but not painful. However, during the break in they feel better everytime and fit like a glove. Solid design and function.

Great shoes, fit like a glove. Sportiva brand fits my foot really well; I have problems with 5.10s, they give me hot spots and are really painful. In the Venom, I downsized a size and a half from my street shoe - they were real tight, but not painful, and have been stretching nicely during the break in period. They seem to feel better everytime I put them on. The guy below who says they have to fit your foot right is on the money, if they don't fit you right I reckon you would suffer, but if they do fit you, you'll love them. Super sensitive, pliable shoe. You can toe hook and really work your feet on steep and overhanging routes. Solid design and function.

one of my favorite shoes. not my favorite (Scarpa Booster). but it is incredible. the only reason its not my favorite is because it doesn't retain aggressiveness after a long season. kind of flattens out. also the toe box is very narrow. i actually have scars on my toes it was so tight up there. it wasn't too small length wise just narrow. keep that in mind. could be good or bad depending on your foot. great heel. no bubble what so ever. slip-on stays on no Hook-and-loop necessary. the toe rand makes toe hooking much more solid. and the best part ... Vibram XS

I wear a street shoe size of 10.5 (US) and a climbing shoe size of 9-9.5 (42.5). They were very tight at first, but have broken in now. I enjoy them tight though, so I can feel the rock. They have superb traction, tight fit all around the toes, and the double loops on the back are great for helping slip them off and on.

As with most slippers, you will notice a if your feet are sweaty since your foot will move around inside and you cannot tighten them more. However, the elastic in the Venoms keep them snug. Great shoe!

this really is a great pair of shoes and they do fit nicely. the problem with them, as with any La Sportiva shoe is that they don't have Stealth rubber. i think the ideal shoe would definitely be this pair after you wear out the sole and have them resoled with C4/Stealth rubber. they slip off rock faces too easily. don't be discouraged, it's not a major problem. it's just those tiny nubs where these shoes fall short. they are definitely among the best climbing shoes available aside from La Sportiva not using the best rubber out there.

I've gone through climbing shoes. The Venom is the by far the best climbing shoe. For indoor and outdoor. I used it mainly for bouldering and sport climbing. Once the toe is worn out, I will be buying myself another new pair of venoms.

This shoe performs well for bouldering and bolt clipping. I would not use them for multi-pitch routes or crack climbing----mabey if you size them big---but this is not the shoe's purpose. I went down 2.5 sizes from my street shoe and they have stretched out about 1/2 size or so. Great fit and feel, good heel for hooking, nice toe for grabbing on the steeeeeeeeep!!

After researching to figure out the sizing, I found that downsizing 3.5 sizes from your street shoe was common. La Sportiva recommends downsizing 2-3 from street.They run big. I wear a size 8, 2E width street shoe and I went with a 36.5 which is almost 3.5 sizes smaller. (Aggressive sizing) but they will stretch approx 0.5 Eu size. If my foot was any wider I probably wouldn't buy this shoe. I wore them on/off round the house a couple times before climbing in em to break em in. Break in was a bit painful but worth every second. As they stretch they mold to your foot and create a suction as you take them off/on. They now fit like a glove, typical La Sportiva. They easily handled anything I threw at them (no crack). Very sensitive. I have no performance complaints whatsoever. I will probably buy a 36 next time to fit my smaller foot(0.5 EU diff) Soft, sticky, rubber - get your foot work right they'll last longer. Rubber webbing on the toe helps minimize stretch to get your toe hook on.