In reply to Naomi : The campusing comment was, as you well know, very tongue in cheek. My comment about many good and better climbers not choosing to buy Boreal is valid. They may well be fine shoes, but the vast majority of people we both know don't wear them.
Wether that is down to a perceived lack of friction on UK rock, a lack of positive advertising or a common misconception about quality, I don't know. The last great pair of Boreals I wore were the Stingers. They were a fabulous shoe, sticky and sensitive, but they wore out quickly. Then I had a pair of the IRS slippers which were like clogs, then never went back. That was over 15 years ago.
Most people will wear what is recommended by their peers and from what I see at the crag and the wall, its other brands. It may well be different in other parts of the U.K. or the World.
Andy F