UKC

Just got two pairs of Scarpa Arpia home to try on - certain retailer has excellent price on them at the minute.

Cant decide which pair to keep.  Smaller size is tight but not agony - can move around without actually wincing but would definitely not want to wear them for long.  No dead space in heel but on one foot only, it’s very tight around my ankle to the point my flesh spilling out over the top (which takes some doing, as I’ve got fairly bony ankles).  I think this would cut in over the course of a session.

Larger ones seem to fit the shape of my foot well at present, small amount of dead space in heel.  But if they stretch much, they’ll be too big.

Anyone had a pair for a while?  Did the stretch/mold to your feet?

In reply to Sealwife:

I’ve had a couple of pairs of these, I sized them similar to yourself by the sounds of it....very tight but bearable. I found they bedded in after a few sessions and did stretch a good amount and lose some stiffness so it may be worth sticking with the tighter pair if you can. Once worn in they became one of my favourite pairs of shoes. 
 

Hope that helps. 
 

Sam 

In reply to Sheffield Sam:

Thank you Sam, that is very helpful.  

In reply to Sealwife:

I sized at a 42 compared to street shoe 44. I really like these shoes but they do stretch a decent amount, if you are sizing them and are debating whether they are too tight they are probably right, I could have gone down another half size in retrospect.

Also, get boot bananas and air these out properly as mine had a tendency to absolutely wreak in a way none of my other shoes ever have.

In reply to Jackspratt:

Thank you too.  

In reply to Sealwife:

I have a pair I got in March, I take a street shoe 45 and got these in a 44, they are just starting to break in now (due to not climbing as much due to lockdown.) Can wear them for 30 mins plus without my feet screaming and having to drop my heal out for a bit ( but I have only been climbing for less than a year so my feet are probably  still getting use to climbing shoes). I really like them, really sticky and a great shoe they do smell though so +1 for boot banana’s. 

In reply to Kryank:

I'm glad it wasn't just me on the smell front. 

In reply to Jackspratt:

Had mine out on the washing line for a few hours today, left them in my bag overnight and wow what a stink! Could be just my feet though! 😂

In reply to Sealwife:

I suppose all the usual concerns still apply - shoes will stretch to the shape of your foot (good), and increase in size a little (less good) and therefore a larger shoe will stretch less because you're asking it to mould to the same foot (which hasn't got any bigger just because your shoe did).

I've always been a massive downsizer myself - as a 43 street I wear Scarpa Stix in 40.5, Genius in 40, Vapour V in 41, Instinct Lace in 41 e.t.c. I ended up with a 41 Arpia.

I did, however, recently watch  a vid on youtube with magnus mitbo (of all people) sat down with Heinz Mariarcher (who designed all of these) for about 20 mins speaking about shoes. One of the things he says is that lots of these shoes weren't designed to be downsized that far - his words  (roughly) "you can get precision out of any shoe if you downsize far enough, but if you end up stretching the toe rand to bulge you will roll off of footholds due to the angle of pressure, or if you downsize a shoe that wasn't meant to be that tight you will waste the active randing and complexity of construction that's designed to provide grip". In reply, magnus is like "Yeah, so I go 2-2.5 sizes down in these (furia air)", and heinz is aghasp - one or one and a half only or your smearing will go shitty.

Anyway, perhaps this is me becoming a reformed downsizer.

In reply to neuromancer: I've also seen that video and was interested.  I'm normally a 42 in street shoe, inc. Scarpa and wear a vapor v  in 40 or 40.5. If I go with the 40's I can see my toe is pushing the rand forwards over the edge of the sole, which doesn't seem right, and I don't really feel any loss so I'm going to stick with 40.5 and see how it goes. 

Op, it sounds to me like your smaller pair sounds pretty close to correct

In reply to Sealwife:

Thank you everyone.

I kept the smaller pair (35.5 - street shoe size is 36.6).  Haven’t had the chance to climb in them yet, every time I have a day off, it rains.

In reply to Sealwife:

I hate to say it now you've bought them but it sounds like they just don't really fit you. If you have to size too small to get rid of dead space the heel/ankle likely is just not a good fit for you. 

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

There is an element of truth in this, but there is also a view that actually - even bouldering, most climbing doesn't actually require pinpoint heel hooking (the only time a baggy heel is actually an issue). I never forget the time I came across an old bloke in font in anasazi whites that were so baggy the heel may as well have been flopped down padding up 8as.

Was the shoe designed so that the heel had absolutely NO deadspace in? Do you know that? You can downsize a boreal joker until you have no space in the heel - but it doesn't make it a great use of the shoe?

In reply to Sealwife:

Update - managed to snatch a quick boulder about between the showers.  First impressions are good - very supportive, precise and extremely sticky rubber.  Not too uncomfortable either.

In reply to Sealwife:

How do you size these compared to Sportiva's?

I find street shoe comparisons difficult, depending on the shoe I wear anything from a 6.5 to an 8. I had my first tarantulace in a 40 which ended up a little on the big side after good use and the katana lace also in a 40 due mainly to getting a stonking price on an ex demo pair but I think I could possibly have benefited from a 39.5, the 40's are real comfy and a good fit.

Looking at the Arpia's from this certain retailer due to the price and I want another pair and to try XS grip 2 rubber for a couple of reasons. I don't feel like taking the plunge on something mightily expensive at the top end like Solutions a little under a year into the sport.

On another note just how moderately aggressive are they? Similar to the Katana Lace or a little more, if anyone can answer?

In reply to neuromancer:

Flappy heel is fine until you need to use the heel, and then it's rubbish. Whites always had a rubbish heel but were made for edge-tastic routes anyway so this didn't matter so much. 

I've also been sizing down massively for years and only realised this year that I actually should be wearing low-volume (often called 'womens' for some stupid reason) shoes in a bigger size. Currently burning through my current uber-downsized rubber then will make the permanent switch. 

I got a pair of low volume solutions recently and finally know what a good heel feels like. Holy mackerel! It holds on anything. The future is bright.