Ben A

I'm of the opinion that the most important thing about a climbing shoe is fit so it is hard to review.

That said, the Katana strikes a nice balance between a highly technical shoe that you can't keep on for more than 5 minutes and something so clumpy that you couldn't climb a tree in them.

Comparision to the velcro: I have had 3 pairs of velcro Katanas which I find very comfy and fit well except for a little too much room in the toe area. I thought that the Katana lace might be the solution to this fit issue. In practice I think that the Katana lace is a whole new shoe.

First off the sizing seems different. I was a 39 or 39.5 in the velcro (39 was a performance fit). I had to get a 40 in the laceup.

Secondly the toe area of the sole seems stiffer - like they have added an extra stiffening layer.

Finally the laceup is more downturned than the velcro katana.

Basically I like them, but I think that the down turn makes them a little less relaxed than the velcro version - great for those crimpy 5.13 limestone routes but as I can only climb 5.11 I think I'll opt for the comfort of the velcro again next time.

5 stars because like all the sportiva shoes that I have had they are exceptionally well made. It all comes down to what you want them for and fit.

I bought these with the mirror sensor lenses. They fit my small face reasonably well, and the lenses are great. My only issue is that the clip at the back of the strap is bulky and the strap for securing goggles on my helmet won't fit over it. Time for a new helmet?

I borrowed my girlfriends old squall a few times and thought that it was a great simple pack except that it had no sleeve for a drinking tube and I was not convinced by some of the fabrics that were used.

When I saw that they had brought out a new version with tougher materials and a drinking tube I bought one. The new fabrics look good and the pack is simpler and more streamlined making it fine for riding lifts and having enough room for a day in the backcountry. Unfortunately BCA decided to remove the divider between the avy gear and main compartment, and the opening to get to the avy gear (top) has become a strange combination of a drawstring and a velcro and a rolltop closure. The drawstring does allow you to create a little more room in the pack (say for a helmet on the up track) but this opening is fiddly and I think that I would prefer a zipper to the velcro. The roll top doesn't seem to add any benefit that I can see. If the current design had a zipper to access the avy gear and a divider between wet and dry then it would be no less than perfect.

It loses 1 star for the fiddly closure and the lack of a divider.

Given that airlines are getting stricter about weight this bag seems to be about right. Not too heavy but enough padding. Big enough for me to get 2 pairs of skis + poles + boots + avy gear. Any bigger and it would be overweight if you used all the space.Sizing: I got the 190 and there is over 20cm extra length when I put my 178s in there. I haven't measured the true length but I suspect that it is oversize and I might have got away with the 170 length.

I think that the range of features and the integrated avalung are great, but I just couldn't get it to fit right.

I measured my back in the manner described and came up with a measurement of 18". I bought the pack in the smaller size and in spite of that, the back of the pack still came up very high behind my neck and restricted my movement if I was wearing a helmet.

I gave it a '3' because of the fit, but if you are the right size/shape then it looks like a great pack. If you are shorter then make sure you demo in a shop first.