UKC

Hi,

I'm looking to replace my current climbing shoes which are Unparallel Up Lace. I love them and have got along great with them but have an issue with my toes squidging over the front edge when using small holds.

I mainly climb trad and am looking for a shoe that works well on small holds but also anything else you'd find on a trad route (cracks etc). The lace-up Miura look great but wondering if they might be  bit aggressive for long trad routes 

Any recommendations/testimonials for the Miura?

Cheers.

You can find cracks on sport routes you know! 

It's really going to depend on foot shape. I've found my Miuras good for granite both trad and sport, but they are tight as I have wide feet so to get a good toe fit they are tight across. I wouldn't wear them on multipitch routes. But foot shape varies hugely. Try some on is the only real advice.

Trying on is sadly not much of an option up here in the Highlands, tend to order online and hope for the best.

I use otaki's for hard trad, sized 2 full EU sizes below street shoe size.

Depending on where in the Highlands you are GoOutdoors in Inverness had otaki's a couple weeks ago.

3wisemonkeys in FW has plenty sportiva and brighams in aviemore sometimes a shout.

Might struggle to find miura's however!

Tried Katana Laces? Great for small edges and pockets, but comfortable enough for all day trad. I've been using them for bouldering a lot recently too.

Never tried the lace up, but I use Miura VS as my general trad shoe (one euro size up from my sport Miura VS) and have a pair of TC Pro for special occasions.

They are comfy enough for most usage, and OK in cracks, but if TC pro were as cheaply and readily available as the VS they would probably be my go to trad shoe.

Think the Miuras can fit quite narrow. As others have suggested, Katana lace is another option and is very good for both edging and cracks.

Depends if you have banana feet or monster munch.

What grades are you looking at?

Miura's are an aggressive shoe, and too much for my feet.

But it really depends on your foot shape, its really worth spending the time working out which brand shape fits you. I wish I'd done this years before. Once I discovered I'm a La Sportiva shape, everything became easier.

For reference I wear Katana Lace, which are excellent on small edges, and ok on everything else.

I'm happy with them in the E2-E5 range, but like most shoes, if you want performance then you need them tight enough you won't want them on for too long.

If the Unparallels fit your feet well, I'd try the Up Rise Pro - they are proper stiff and flat and superb in cracks - they were developed with Tom Randall's help! 

I'm the same size in all my Unparallels so you should be able to size them ok if you cant try before you buy

https://www.absolute-snow.co.uk/unparallel-up-rise-pro-rock-climbing-shoe?v...

As others have said, the Miura is an aggressive shoe and I wouldn't want to wear them for anything beyond a single pitch sport route or boulder problem - they give me a really sore point on the top of the big toe.

I've got a pair of Muiras, but I haven't worn them for years as I find Katanas can do it all.  Might put the Miuras in my bag if I knew I was going to be working a really hard (for me) boulder problem that had really precise feet but other than they're just not necessary for the grades I'm climbing.

It depends if they fit your foot shape. I find them comfy enough to use as an 'all day shoe', and only climb up to E1/6b.

How do these fit btw? Narrow, wide, high volume etc.?

Ta

Thanks for all the replies. Definitely won't be getting Miuras now! Can't stand super aggressive shoes. Will see if I can find some Katanas or the other Unparallels. 

I'd go for the new version TC Pros for the climbing you're planning to do.

Hmmm, Muiras don't remain aggressive for very long, in my experience. I've three pairs of lace ups and all three are like floppy slippers. They're certainly what I'd wear for long routes ! It's possible that they take a bit longer to arrive at that stage due to the lining.

I wouldn't really describe miuras as super aggressive, once they are broken in they barely have any downturn.

I use mine for everything, but they fit incredibly well compared to any other shoe I've tried, so much so that it isn't worth wearing anything else. I use a worn pair for all day and I've climbed 20+ pitches in a day in them lots of times. 

Another vote for Katana Lace. Kataki lace is also great. Both feel a little insensitive out of the box, to my mind, but soon feel great: reliable, comfortable, good on edges, smears and cracks; decent for trad or sport. Katana heel not best for aggressive heel hooks in my view, e.g. compared to kataki, but passable. Personally, I also found the UP lace imprecise, despite others climbing far harder than me in the UPs. Only thing about La Sportiva is you need to really downsize, as sizing is bizarre. E.g. I'm 45 in street shoes and find 43 tight in Scarpa, but 42.5 is comfy for La Sportiva.

Pretty sure Tommy Caldwell started projecting the dawn wall in these so they can definitely edge. They've got a nice tight heal as well. Great all rounder. Very comfy if they fit. Size snug as they stretch quite alot. I wore them exclusively for everything for about 5 years. Moved to skwamas which I think are slightly better and also an all rounder.

I love the Miura lace ups but I have narrow feet.  I use them for multi pitch trad.  Also agree you need to downsize massively. 

Have ended up ordering a pair of TC Pros as they were on sale at Banana fingers. Feel like they'll do me well. Thanks for all the suggestions folks.