UKC

Rob Greenwood and Penny Orr are mighty impressed by Scarpa's latest slipper. Combining all-day comfort with a surprising degree of performance, the Vapour S redefines what a slipper can do, says Rob.

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In reply to UKC Gear:

as an ocasional vapor-v-wearer this is a review i’ve been waiting for. interesting to see how we’re increasingly getting a lot of good use out of middle-grounds between the traditional solutions to things: more and more manufacturers use systems of zig-zagging straps that effectively bridge the gap between lace’s forefoot adaptability and velcro’s speed. the single-strap slipper has become practically ubiquitous and is a compromise between the slipper and the (2–3 strap) velcro shoe. you get the slipper’s instep real estate and the velcro’s more secure fit. the vapor s’ system seems again, an inbetween of the single strap slipper and the full slipper.

i’m somewhat surprised to read that both the instinct s and the vapor s fit your feet well, rob. while i believe the instinct s to be on the narrower end of the overall really wide instinct line, the vapor line is supposed to be among the narrowest of scarpa’s shoes. (as evidenced by them fitting my narrow, low-volume feet pretty well and the instincts all feeling like flippers i could use to swim ashore after a DWS mishap)

In reply to UKC Gear:

I'm also surprised but pleased to see width working well for both the S shoes! 

In reply to UKC Gear:

Do we think that either the Vapour range (or maybe even the instinct range) are Scarpa's sort of midrange lines, as opposed to being top of the line performance models, now? I had thought that the Vapour and the Instincts were as high performance as it gets, but I was interested to see Scarpa (at least in the UK) have dumped the Quantic and Quantix after basically just a year. I've come to really love my Quantic and Quantix https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/footwear/climbing_shoes/scarpa_quantic_and_... to the extent that when I saw that Rock and Run has seemingly bought up all the stock of them cheap and were selling them at half price I just bought myself a second pair of Quantics to use when the current ones fall apart - although I think I'm also going to send the first pair off for resoling before they are knackered anyway! But at least last year I thought they were basically selling the Q-shoes at the mid range and then Vapours/Instincts/Boost.../Dragos etc as the top of the range but for different disciplines. But perhaps the vapours or the instincts cover that mid range ground well enough without the Quantic/Quantix? It's confusing when brands make so many different models of shoe!

In reply to UKC Gear:

I splashed on a pair of these before any reviews were out and have been oddly eager to see others opinion on them!

The review chimes with my own thoughts - I wanted an all day Drago but slightly better performance on edges. Whilst the Vapour S’s edging isn’t quite on the same level as a proper stiff trad shoe, it is noticeably better than a Drago and it is noticeably more comfortable to wear for longer periods than a Drago.

I’m not totally sold on the strap system, I’m not convinced it’s durable enough if you’re constantly cranking it onto your heel. Although saying that, it’s not really a first choice shoe for hard heel hooks anyway. I think it’s going to be slipper ‘mode’ for me 90% of the time, nice to have the option for that 10% though - if I don’t lose the strap!

In reply to TobyA:

I think the Vapour range is designed as a mid range shoe, whilst the Instinct range is slightly more performance orientated. That being said the fit between the two, to me is quite distinct. Realistically, pick the range that fits your foot best and I don’t think the shoe will be the thing holding your performance back.

In reply to UKC Gear:

Any more detail on sizing from anyone?

Last 6 pairs of various Instincts and Vapours have been same size for my wider/flatter feet. Rock and Run size-o-matic chart suggests maybe 0.5 smaller for the Vapour S. The answer is clearly 'try them on' but happy to hear more.

In reply to steveriley:

My shoe size is 42.5 and for Scarpa I usually drop a half euro size. I actually bought the Vapour S’s in a 42 and a 42.5 to feel the difference. They both felt fine at home but I opted to stick with the usual half euro size smaller than shoe size and kept the 42’s. Glad I did as either they have stretched a tiny bit or my feet have moulded to the size as they feel just right after a few months of use.

If you get other Scarpas in the same size as your shoe size, I would do the same with the Vapour S’s.

In reply to TobyA:

the way they subdivide their lineup on all their websites except the UK one is:

‘specialised performance’ (i.e. performance priority): booster/boostic/mago, drago/drago lv/chimera/furia s, all the instincts

‘precision’ (i.e. competent allrounders): vapors, quantic/quantix (they also group the dedicated trad shoe lines – maestro and generator – in there, and the arpias used to be there as well)

‘relaxed fit’ (i.e. comfort priority): origin/helix/force v, reflex/velocity, the veloces

and in terms of model comparisons, i always read the instinct line as scarpa’s answer to the solutions (stiff forefoot, more flexible at/behind the ball of the foot), and the vapors more akin to the katanas and finales. so, not ‘casual’ shoes by any stretch, but not performance at all costs models either.

after all, their flatter toebox lends itself much less towards a highly cranked down fit (but is much more comfortable), they aren’t highly downturned, they skimp on performance features like big toe patches, and they sure sacrifice heaps of sensitivity for support. (i wear mine whenever i’m climbing stuff with undemanding feet on rock. the xs edge doesn’t work well for me indoors, and when i need to feel where i’m stepping on rock, i put on the dragos.)

but i’m 100% with you that it is becoming harder and harder to see a clear concept underlying all their models. some group clearly into familes, like the wide variety of instinct models, or the drago/chimera/furia-bunch. but many others seem to sit in roughly the same middle ground without much obvious differentiation. (see also: their 5 different low performance models)

In reply to gekitsu:

Sorry for the delayed reply, I've been off on holiday for the last couple of weeks.

It's interesting, because the Vapour S is listed as 'narrow' on the Scarpa UK website, but I'd go as far as saying that's wrong, as it's actually quite wide - certainly a whole lot wider than the Vapour V.

Comparing it side by side with the Instinct S they're very similar width-wise at their widest point, but obviously differ significantly in terms of their toe profile, which gives them a very different feel (i.e. Instinct is more performance oriented, Vapour is more comfort oriented).

In reply to TobyA:

I've always considered the Vapour has being more mid range than performance model, but I guess it's at the performance end of the mid range

The Quantic/Quantix that you reviewed maybe fit that more traditional mid range, although I'm unsure as to whether or not they've been discontinued entirely or if there's an update arriving.

Hopefully we'll have some more answers at OTS...

In reply to UKC Gear: I think the round toe profile and particular the very soft rubber on the Instinct S given it a lot of slack to cover different toe shapes.

I'm intrigued to buy these.  I used Vapor Vs for some years, but then moved to Insincts.  Despite Scarpas chart i tried a pair of Vapor V's a couple weeks ago, and they felt great!

So, for a comfortable allrounder, S or V? 

In reply to wbo2:

This is a tricky one to answer, as I the actual answer depends on whichever fits you (and what you want to do with it) best - and it sounds like the V fits you well.

That said, having used both I thought that the V was the weaker shoe. It may be worth reading that review I wrote and the comments from other users, as there was a lot of feedback from people who felt the same way. Basically, the previous versions of the Vapour V seem to be more popular than the modern ones - at least amongst a certain audience - and the Vapour S has a lot more in common with first and second generation V courtesy of its full length sole/midsole. This isn't to say that it's the same, because it's not - it's a lot better - but it doesn't have that same sense of disconnect that the latest version has between the front and the back. 

Here's a link to the review: https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/footwear/climbing_shoes/scarpa_vapour_v-118...