Customer Reviews La Sportiva Katana

Awesome shoes! If you're doing advanced bouldering (v7+) you may want something a little more sensitive and down-pointing. But for intermediate bouldering these shoes are fantastic. The Good: Almost everything! Great for edging, smearing, and heel-hooking. Rubber stickiness is excellent and sensitivity is good. These shoes look cool, fit great, and have the best Velcro system of any shoe I've ever tried; the wide straps strap down tight and you get some customization in terms of where you want the straps affixed due to the large circular Velcro patches. Also the opposing-direction straps (one strap pulls one way, one the other way) provide a balanced fit, whereas most Velcro shoes are being pulled to one side. Lastly, the shoes feel very well made and they're made in Italy. The Bad: The trim around the heel cup digs into your Achilles area somewhat - it's not terrible but definitely noticeable. However, over time it will soften up and become more comfortable. Also, the metal "rung" that the Velcro passes through can be felt on your foot (on the inside of the shoe). I haven't noticed it being a problem/painful while climbing, but it's still worth noting. Overall I love these shoes and highly recommend them. When these wear out, I suspect I will replace them with an identical pair. For sizing, I would go down one full size from your shoe size for comfort. 1 1/2-2 sizes for performance (any smaller than that and these are going to be punishingly tight).

I have a big foot and I was looking for something somewhat comfortable. These are great. I climb well in these shoes.

All-around climbing shoe - The Katana is a great shoe for all-around climbing. I had a pair of Mad Rocks that were a 42 ½. They felt small and squeezed my feet too much, eventually cutting off the circulation. The Katanas I got are a 42 and fit like a charm. They go on and come off with great ease. The rubber sticks to basalt perfectly. The toe is aggressive and the rest of the shoe works out great all the way to the heel. I would definitely recommend this shoe to climbers.

Awesome Shoe - After trying on a dozen shoes, La Sportiva was the only brand that fit my big toe section... this shoe is great if u have a wide toe area and a pretty narrow heel/foot... amazing fit but still haven't taken climbing yet...

These shoes are very narrow! If you have wide feet be sure to try them on in a store before you buy!

Great shoe- I never realized I didn't know how to use my toes till I put a pair of these shoes on. What an amazing difference. I love the fit, and once I trimmed the velcro straps, they seemed like the perfect shoe. They aren't too good for wide sharp cracks (or maybe my feet are too soft!), but they boulder and climb steep stuff great! I'm bummed they are discontinued! I'll have to try the Barracuda and see how it performs.

Great Climbing Shoe - Great edges. I went 2 sizes down from my street shoe size and although it was painful at first, the shoe stretched and fits my foot perfectly after about 3 or 4 outings. Easy on, easy off. Sticky rubber. An overall great shoe.

Excellent fit, excellent performance - I tried on a lot of shoes when I was ready to upgrade from my Cliffs to a more positive, precise shoe. These not only fit better than all, But I couldn't be more please with the performance.

Wow - I used these shoes at the red rocks Rendezvous as a demo. Not only did I I stick, I overall climbed much better.

La Sportiva Katana - This is my first rock climbing shoe, so I had no idea what to expect. I couldn't get over the great look of these shoes, so I bought them not even really thinking about comfort. This was a big mistake at first because they dug into my ankles and made them bleed for a few months. After I quit my whining and stopped taping my ankles they felt great! All they needed was to be worn in. They have nice pointy and grippy heels for heel hooks, which I love. I doubt I'll ever get anything other than La Sportiva for climbing.

The La Sportive Katanas are amazing aggressive rock climbing shoe that offers great heel hooking, fantastic edging and support. They are perfect for the intermediate to advance climbers all around!

Small toe profile is great for jamming in cracks, but the toebox is roomy enough that you should have some curl in your toes. I would size these at least a half size below your street shoe. Wear an 11.5 D and a 45 would be too big in this glove. The heel is awesome and the Velcro pads, while magnets for chalk are great for customizing the fit. These shoes feel like they'll breathe really well and should make a great all around shoe. The sole doesn't seem as stiff as similar Fiveten competitors so it'll take a bit more foot strength to stand on tiny features.