La Sportiva- Skwama

The La Sportiva Skwama is a feature-packed advanced bouldering and sport climbing shoe that’s known for a level of comfort unusual in such a sensitive high-performance shoe. La Sportiva have designed the Skwama to be adaptable across all types of climbing, and it will perform best on steep and overhanging technical routes that also include edging, smearing, toe hooks, and heel hooks. Probably their most versatile shoe for climbers seeking all-round high-performance rather than just single-area high-performance.

The Skwama’s P3 rand system helps maintains the shoe’s aggressive shape, and this combined with the split-sole designed to reduce deformation when edging still provides a decent level of edging stability and support in such a soft shoe. The Skwama really excels at toe and heel hooking, including both the S-Heel™ with an «incompressible rubber insert» to help create a solid and unmoveable hook on holds during torsion-heavy moves, and the elongated toe rubber that provides friction across the entire forefoot.

As for fit, the Skwama features a suede leather / microfibre upper which is lined only in the back. Being part synthetic and part leather, expect it to stretch up to half a size. La Sportiva recommend you fit the Skwama on the snug side for a performance fit. If you’re looking for a similar shoe but one that’s stiffer and more suited for all-round use, try the Otaki or Kataki shoes which are built on the same last as the Skwama.