First off, I bought a size 10, which is what I normally wear in New Balance shoes (and have been fitted as that size at one of their stores before). New Balance is normally my go-to shoe company for shoes that fit my feet well.

Right after wearing them, I wore them as approach shoes for climbing. I immediately noticed the rubbing on the outside edge of my pinky toes, causing blisters. Lots of dust and grit got into the shoe, so I chalked the blisters up to the grit. I chucked them in the back of my car and didn't have a chance to use them for a while.

Tonight, I decided to give them another try, this time on a treadmill at the gym. I figured no dust, so I should be fine. Wrong... I had to stop after 1 mile because I already had blisters. I looked on New Balance's website, and see lots of complaints about this also.

Bottom Line:
Pros: super light, rock stop works great
Cons: mesh upper lets grit & dust in, outside edge rubs on your toes giving blisters, insoles wad up every time you take the shoes off after wearing them barefoot

I bought this for gym bouldering. It's everything I expected, and nothing that I didn't. It doesn't tip over, doesn't leak chalk in my car, is big enough to get both hands in, and the mesh side pocket is big enough for a big & small brush plus my keys. I dumped about 2/3 of the largest bag of Black Diamond "White Gold" chalk in it for the first fill.

I bought these about about a month ago to replace my pair of La Sportiva Boulders. The thing I didn't like about the Boulders was that they were very, very tight in the toe, even ordering a size up. No such problems with the Patagonias! I haven't put them through their proper paces yet outdoors, but I've worn them every day walking around the hilly streets of San Francisco and tested their grip doing easy bouldering at an indoor climbing gym.

The Good:
*Vibram rubber grips steep slopes well and foot holds
*Sole is stiff enough to edge on easy climbing
*Footbed has a perfect combination of enough give to not wear out my feet but firm enough for scrambling
*Sizing matches street shoe sizes, without being overly snug or loose
*Material feels very durable, and will be able to take scuffing on rock

The Bad:
*The stiff sole and rubber will take some time to break in. Do not buy these the day before you head for the mountains. It took me about a week of wearing them every day to soften them up.
*The fat laces aren't great at staying snugly tied. I'd suggest they copy NuBalance's laces which alternate thick/thin.
*If I crank the laces really tight, the second row of lace loops put pressure on the top of my foot. Normal tightness is fine.

Bottom Line:
A solid approach shoe that can actually do what it's name implies.

I bought a pair of these around May, and just had to retire them. Unlike other synthetic uppers/linings, the perforated Prisms stretch... A LOT. Climbing 3-4 times per week for 3 months had them stretch about 1 full size on me, which was far more than I expected for a synthetic. In the end, they had stretched so much that the laces were bottomed out, and I could no longer tighten them enough to prevent my foot from rolling inside the shoe when I edged.

In addition the combination of the chisel tip and the super soft Onyxx rubber runs into problems as the rubber breaks in. I found that the side and upper rubber stretched about a quarter inch outwards over the chisel tip, actually making it more difficult to edge. Also, this caused the sides to show much more wear than I normally see.

Finally, while the very soft Onyxx rubber is amazing for slabby work, I found the combination of it plus the extra soft last to be extremely painful whenever I put my feet in any crack and cranked.I would buy these again if they were redesigned with a stiffer rubber/last, a reworked chisel tip where the sides did not bulge over the sole, a non-perforated synthetic upper (or synthetic lined leather), and a snugger heel.

Oh, and just like seemingly every other synthetic shoe, they will smell putrid if your feet sweat a lot. This did not factor into my rating, but others may want to consider it.

Quite pleased with these. I picked them up to replace a pair of 5.10 Prisms that had overstretched. I compared the VS against the Miura laceup and Evolv's Pontas. My feet are pretty flat, with a low arch and wide front. The Miura laceup had a weird dead space above the toe, and the Pontas was too narrow. The VS just fit my feet perfectly, and had the added bonus of a downturned toe. So far, I've only used them bouldering in the gym, but they have amazing edging and cling to holds on overhangs. In addition, the last is stiffer than my old Prisms, so I'll be able to use them on outdoor sport routes without feeling like every crack is torture.

For sizing, I went with a 41.5 compared to my size 10 (43) street shoe. I also found the "size 0.5 down from Miura" to work. I went to a local R*I to get base sizing off those, then was able to confidently order the VS online.