UKC

I was hoping for some advice.

I've recently cut through the sole of my Chimera's on limestone and they now need replacing, I was after something that would be more durable on sharp edges and though about the solutions, they'd be used for sport and bouldering on a variety of rock types, would these be more durable/suitable.

Secondly, if they would be what sizing should I look for I'm a 42 in Scarpa Dragos and Chimeras.

Any suggestions/ help appreciated.

In reply to Jackspratt:

I am not intimately familiar with the Chimera, but Solutions are not immune from damage like you describe. Like many high performance shoes the Solutions are thin and light for close fit, between the suede interior « sock » and the outer rubber there isn’t much. The heel cup is quite solid, but not for any extra material included, just a different shape and construction. (This is as it was when I worked for LaSpo until 2019, the new comp Solution May be different although it looks to be even more pliable). 
 

Size wise LaSportiva is made to measure in Euro sizing. The actual distance from toe to heel on a 42 Solution is exactly the same cms as on a trainer. Most sport climbers and boulderers climb in 3.5-2 euro sizes below their walking shoes. This strategy is designed to give a lot of personalization to choosing size and matching it to your activity. Crack climbers wearing TC Pros or Katanas often wear the exact same size for walking shoes and climbing shoes, for example . Scarpa uses a somewhat less strict rule, sizing their shoes for their intended « performance » fit. Most sport climbers and boulderers wear only 2-1 sizes down from street shoes.

Because Solutions are built (as all la sportivas are) on a slip last with a soft midsole and this figure of 8 tension band (not all models are soft or have this) designed to keep the downturn at the inner arch from flattening out, they can feel a little weird if they’re sized too big. You want to feel under the bottom of the toe box for a little depression, and match that depression to the spot of your own foot under your big and second toe. If the shoe is too big or small the divet won’t alight and the downturn will be too far forward or back on your arch, and you won’t have that awesome springy feeling that Solutions have. 
 

in short, I don’t think you’ll find Solutions to be any more durable against knife edges or violent knobby limestone, but they are a lovely shoe. If durability and perfect fit are your goals and you are smearing and jamming, try TC Pros sized down 1-2 euro sizes. That shoe IS significantly bulkier and tough, although it is not particularly diverse (bouldering, the gym, technical sport climbing are not optimal in them).  If you buy Solutions you’ll likely want them a touch smaller size than your Scarpas. All my sportivas are 35.5, and all my scarpas are 36.5, and my trainers from both brands are 38. I can jam cracks comfortably in TC Pros 38, and uncomfortably with more precision on slabs in 37. 
 

Good luck! Sorry for the word cascade!

In reply to AtLargesse:

That's interesting, and I suppose makes sense in a way - at least it explains why Sportiva sizes seem so much bigger than most other brands. Though I also feel it makes sense, if one has, say, a size 39 foot, to expect to be wearing a size 39 shoe

(Presumably that equal heel-toe distance is internal?)

In reply to Jackspratt:

I take size 37 in la sportiva shoes apart from testerossa.I wore Scarpa shoes (booster s chimera and instinct Vs ) over 2 years.These were all in ' Scarpa 38 '.I stopped wearing Scarpa as they were to wide for my feet and didn't quite work for me.

In reply to thread:

Regarding their longevity - although it was the older model, a friend of mine had Solutions and the thin strap that holds the velcro tab snapped when he still had plenty of rubber left on the sole (he did used to tie them pretty tight).

He asked La Sportiva about it and they said that it's a high performance shoe that's really only designed for when you're attempting to send a project you've been working, and shouldn't really be used for daily wearing, so if it's a long lasting work horse you're looking for, I'm not sure these are right.

Maybe you need 2 pairs of shoes, one workhorse/all rounder like a Katana or similar, then a performance shoe like the Solution or Genius for when you really feel you need precision?

Personally I just wear Katanas for everything, my footwork isn't anything like good enough for a technical shoe to be of any benefit anyway!  I go a full size down from my street shoe size.

In reply to nufkin:

I agree, it takes a bit if thinking and experimenting with sportiva, less so with other brands that make the size reflect the optimal fit. I suppose if you’re going to pick a standard, you might as well pick the number of centimeters rather than the “intended feeling” simply for consistency’s sake. It strikes me now as a bit like “manual transmission,” in that you have to really know what you’re looking for in order to optimize the size. Other brands have a more “automatic transmission“ feeling to them in that they tell you how they want it to feel.

In reply to Iamgregp:

 

This was such an annoying and persistent problem with the first couple generations of the Solution, almost exclusively for men or for people with narrow feet who were wearing the yellow version. In 2017 they made the strap stronger, finally. And they made the low-volume version orange and blue instead of pink, which in a funny way seemed to open it up a bit more to men with high arches and more narrow foot width. I always encouraged men who find that strap wearing out to try the LV version. Unfortunately it is only available, as of 2017 but maybe it’s changed, up to size 40. So a man with a lower volume foot but who wants to wear a size larger than that is stuck cinching his shoe down really really hard and eventually damaging the strap. I find Sportiva‘s response to your friend infuriating and condescending. And ultimately they were wrong and they change the shoe to reflect that. 
 

The new strap does seem to be more durable, and as I said up to 2019 when I was working with them I didn’t hear people complaining about that strap weakness after the upgrade. Incidentally that same round of upgrades included a thinning out of the heel cup material for increased sensitivity, which for the original posters purposes makes the shoe less optimal.

In reply to racodemisa:

Just out of curiosity, what size do you prefer testerossas? Are you wearing the 2018 updated version or the original hot dog? 

In reply to AtLargesse:

Thanks for that info, it's good to hear that they've addressed that issue! 

Like you say, my friend was very infuriated when this happened, having a shoe with plenty of rubber left but no way to keep it on your foot is super frustrating!

Worth mentioning although he was a bit surprised and frustrated my friend accepted their explanation and carried on buying La Sportiva shoes afterwards, but I think he invested in a more durable all rounder shoe to save wear on the sending pair!

In reply to Jackspratt: One thought - the Chimera has 3,5mm grip rubber - get them resoled with 4mm grip as you won't feel a difference, and it's 1/2 mm more durable (! for what it's worth) or even go to 4mm edge as you'll swap a little bit friction for a little bit edge and durability.

What's between a Solution and a TC Pro - Katana?

In reply to wbo2:

 

In my (obsessive but dated) opinion, descending order from solution-ness (including all the soft downturns like skwama, etc) to TC Pro-ish would be something like this:

Python (RIP?)

the yellow Katana Lace (imminently being replaced by the Kataki)

Miura lace (or testerossa if that is your thing)

Katana velcro (completely different shoe and always weird to me that it shared the name)

Maybe mythos here but that’s getting off topic 

TC Pro

I have never found much use for Katana Velcro, myself, but I always recommended it as the second shoe that you buy when you realize you’re really into climbing and the tarantulace is no longer adequate. 

In reply to AtLargesse:

I use to wear 36.5 in the original model.I wear 36 in the mark2 model.The sizing has changed slightly imo .So I downsized half a size with no issues.Have worn them for 2 years and though the volume has increased the longitudinal stretch has been zero due to the harder heel helping push my toes forward .Performance wise they don't feel as down turned as the originals but a bit stiffer in the toe area so at least to me they've changed  but not drastically imo.