My mum and dad have taken me climbing to the indoor wall and various crags ever since I was born. I love the outdoors and have spent many a happy holiday playing at the base of a route wishing I could give it a go. When I turned two I was over the moon to fit my 'full body climbing harness' - next I was on the look out for shoes. Being a girl, style is obviously more important than comfort however my daddy insisted my shoes fitted well therefore I was very excited when UKC contacted my daddy about trialling the new La Sportiva Stickit kids climbing shoe.
The shoes arrived in the post and I had fun ripping the paper apart to get to the footwear inside, on opening the box I was not disappointed, a pair of super stylish little shoes that any young climber would be proud of. I can't quite tie my own shoe laces yet and the team at La Sportiva must have recognised this as they had supplied a nifty little velcro strap that I could easily fasten as it had a huge sticky velcro hand at the end of the strap. I am a kids size 26 (European) and the shoes fitted me perfectly. The cleverly thought out design allows plenty of stretch which is great as we all know how quickly feet my age can grow.
First impressions mean a lot to kids my age and I thought these were the bees knees - I pranced and danced around the living room looking more like a ballet dancer than a climber, the lack of mid sole made the shoe very flexible and the soft all leather upper and breathable elastic in built sock made the shoe surprisingly comfortable for a climbing shoe. I wanted to keep them on until my daddy took me to the indoor climbing wall but he refused saying that we weren't going until the weekend and as it was only Wednesday this just wasn't practicable (whatever that means?).
Saturday took a long time to arrive however I was happy to get to try my new shoes at Glasgow Indoor Climbing Centre. I donned my harness and my shoes and dipped my little fingers in the chalk bag, a final look at my shoes in the changing room mirror and my smile confirmed I was ready to go!
My daddy watched closely as I reached for new heights, he looked worried at the lack of rigidity in the shoe however after making a few moves his mind settled as the shoe performed almost as well as I did. The Stickit held firm on small features on the wall and were so comfortable that I kept them on the entire morning with no complaints, when lunch time came their design came into its own as my daddy easily loosened them off so that I could wiggle my toes. Following lunch I played on a few more routes before heading for some bouldering where once again the comfort of the shoes kept me smiling all afternoon.
Over the course of the next few weeks I top roped and bouldered many more times at Glasgow Climbing Centre and at Ratho (both of which welcome kids my age), I met other boys and girls who all complimented me on my shoes whilst their mums and dads asked about them as they look so small. I have also managed to try them whilst bouldering at my local quarry (Mauchline), the red sandstone made a bit of a mess of the bright yellow leather but this brushed off later the same day thankfully. The shoes have now lasted me several months and still fit me great. There is little sign of wear and tear so far which is testament (daddy gave me that word) to the quality of the materials that are used by La Sportiva.
La Sportiva Stickit Information:
- Upper: Suede leather and tubular construction
- Lining: None
- Sole: 3.5 mm FriXion RS
- Sizes: 26/27 - 28/29 - 30/31 - 32/33 - 34/35
- Weight: 190g per pair
- SRP: £40
In summary: I would really recommend these unisex shoes to any young monkey like me, they are really comfortable and allow your feet to breath and grow whilst taking part in indoor and outdoor fun.
The velcro 'hand' is ingenious and allows the shoe to be quickly adjusted by anyone old enough to fit in a harness - go on buy your kids a pair and watch them transform from the little kid who nervously climbs indoors wearing his/her trainers into the little monkey who feels like a 'proper grown up climber' and doesn't want to take them off......If pushed could I criticise any aspect of the shoe - maybe the colours, they don't match most of my outfits :)
The only downside my daddy says is that they don't come in a size 46 - see photo below! :)
UKC currently have a competition running to win one of five pairs of La Sportiva Stickit's courtesy of UK distributor lyon.co.uk/outdoor.
- To enter click here: UKC Competition
About Nyah Davidson:
I am now three years old, I started climbing when I turned two after wanting to take part whilst watching my daddy and my uncle climb outdoors in the Lake District. I love the outdoors and have recently climbed up Cairn Table, Tinto, Ben Lomond and Ben Arthur (with a little help). I love climbing as much as much as my ballet and hope to grow up and travel the world climbing in different places. I take my camera everywhere with me and these shoes have helped motivate me to reach new heights, see new places and take more pictures.
PS. Do you do pink crampons and mini pink ice axes as i have asked Santa for those and my daddy says Santas' elfs might struggle to make those in their factory ? :)
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