first off, i am wearing it straight out of the box. right now.

i bought these shoes a little over a year ago, but they were the non-vibram xs version. after thrashing them and breaking them in very painfully, i debated if i should get a different shoe. i tried the boosters but it didnt have the neat little space for the toes like these shoes did. so i got the same ones, except i thought i needed a 1/2 euro size up since the last ones were so dang uncomfortably tight. a couple days ago the larger size arrived. i tried them on and uh-oh... they fit like i wanted them to fit... if they were stretched out! did that mean i needed the same size?

back country hooked me up with a free-shipping exchange. i got them and i just want to say, they are really tight, but i can tell these are going to be heaven-on-earth fitting climbing shoes! the heel even fits better! the leather seems more supple and the shoe is more of my foot-shape than the last pair. in fact, the last pair seemed like it was really tough to break in. it was super painful to even put on.

anyway, i'm super happy. and i cant stop grinning.

bottom line: these feroces dont fit like the ones before. they're better.

i've actively climbed in this shoe for 10 months (but owned for almost 2 years...). this shoe is pretty nice. but no matter what the manufacturer says, synthetic will still stretch a little. if you're ok with a little more room (or not), be prepared for it. my shoes now lace up to the minimum possible size, which is just right.one of the things i do not like about this shoe is that it's hard to get the smell out. i dont have particularly stinky feet at all. but it is pretty gross. ive washed it out a couple times and it's bad. baking soda works ok.the second thing i dont like is that the heel doesnt hug as well as i want. the scarpa techno's have a little tightening mechanism to allow a more snug heel. but those shoes cost a little more.the rubber, like the reviewer before, is sticky. i like them! and although the heel ridges look awesome, they only provide a slight advantage. dont rely too much on it.they're a comfortable all-day shoe. and what i love is that there is very little variability in sizing from the time that i bought them months ago and now (i go anywhere between 1-3 times indoor each week... i very rarely miss a week). few times outdoors at castle rock.laces are a bit long, but you can always shorten them and seal the ends with shrink electrical tubing (from radio shack).these are great for either bouldering for beginners (since they're relatively forgiving) or top ropping. but i've heard la sportiva's are the most comfortable. eh whatever.since i primarily boulder (actually, almost exclusively), i've since switched to the scarpa feroce, which is more aggressive but not severely down-turned to hurt.btw i wear a 9.5 in all shoes (addidas and skate shoes) and have a 42.5 / 9.5 in this shoe. pretty true to size. got these guys from REI since they were my first and had to size them on my feet instead of guestimate online.

so i was looking for a next shoe, having come from a more comfortable all-day evolv demorto shoe. being primarily a boulder-er, i was looking for a slightly more aggressive shoe, but not ready for a slip-on or a really really down-turned shoe. from the reviews here, it turned out the feroce was an excellent choice. however, there was nowhere to try it on since none of the places in the SF bay area carried this shoe. why is that??? REI had the veloce and technos. no offense, but REI fremont has nothing. BUT after i read some of the reviews here and tried to do an educated guess (totally a shot in the dark, actually) for what size would fit me in these shoes, i ordered a 41.5 (even though the techno 42's were perfect for my feet - slightly cramped for brand new shoes of course). just like the techno's, however, the 41.5 feroce's would not allow my heel to get into the shoe, no matter how much i tried. i measured them side-by-side (at REI) and they were near identical. of course the shapes varied a bit and shape too, but the sizing is pretty much the same.

i dont know if i should say "dont listen to the reviews on sizing". but if you need an estimate, please try on the other scarpa shoes. they arent going to be far off.

on to the actual shoe. it's awesome because it's not a flat board your toes/ball step on. the toes curl under the box and gives you more of a feel of the edges of the shoe. it actually locks it in place. i know for my previous shoes, they would eventually shift over to the outside over time, which is annoying. the three velcro straps keep everything in very well and snuggly. these are just awesome shoes!

oh i should probably add that these are not very aggressive as the pictures online show. when i got them, i thought to myself, these look flat. but they're not, side-by-side with my day-long shoes. but not enough to wear them out after 30 mins of bouldering.

i'll write more once i get a really good feel for them!