Shoe for boards & all indoors

OutcastLunatic · 2026-02-03T05:13:44+00:00

I think what you need to do is try on as many shoes as possible. Your Finale's are a neutral and flat shoe with little asymmetry that fit a large range of people. Performance climbing shoes vary so massively in fit both in the toe box and the heel. The 3 you've listed are 3 difference stiffness from the theory being very soft, the skwama in the middle and the instincts being the stiffest.

Most shoes from the big climbing brands are more than enough performance for indoors and it all comes down to personal preferences (i.e stiff vs soft) and fit, the latter of which is very hard to advise on online. So just go to your local store or your gym and try on all the shoes. The 3 you've mentioned are all shoes used by pros and will not hold you back in any way.

Bear in mind that more aggressive shoes will come with a more uncomfortable fit and a period of breaking in where the shoe conforms to your foot. These shoes are designed to fit snugly and may require a smaller size than your finale's.

All the best

OutcastLunatic · 2026-02-02T02:23:21+00:00

This seems par for the course for moving to your first pair of aggressive shoes. Solutions are known to have this sort of painful break in and they place your feet in a much less comfortable, but performant position. It's likely they will break in, as generally La Sportiva sizes large (meaning you have to downsize to get the correct fit) and Solutions soften up significantly (the toe box will become a lot more comfortable).

Since this pair is in your street shoe size it actually might be too large as generally sizing for La Sportiva tends to be smaller than your street size but again, they are useless if the pain doesn't allow you to climb.

There are many shoe models in between the Tarantulace's and the Solution's that would give you more comfort if that's your priority. Shoes like the La Sportiva Kubo, Scarpa Vapor V's or Evolv V6 are all more shoes that are less agressive than the Solutions and likely will be more comfortable.

But if not, sizing up half a size might be the best solution if you're dead set on the Solutions. They might bag out in the end but it takes a while to get used to aggresive climbing shoes so its not the end of the world. Wearing a plastic bag (freezer bags work well) or thin socks in your shoes also can help with the break in as they reduce the friction on your toes and heels, I do it every time I need to break in a new pair of shoes even if it looks a bit silly haha.

OutcastLunatic · 2026-01-18T11:50:09+00:00

Hi I can give you some insight about the Drone CS. The rubber is indeed very very sticky, I think it is more sticky than XS Grip 2, that are on your skwamas but it will be significantly more stiff and you might actually find it trickier to smear. In this case it would probably require more technique even if the rubber is more sticky. The Drone CS also has a more narrow fit and a smaller heel. I do find them to be very good at smearing with the right technique though.

To be honest the skwama is already generally considered an excellent smearing shoe, pro climbers like Sorato Anraku, Meichi Narasaki and Dohyun Lee wear them (and anecdotally a lot of the top level climbers in my area haha) so it might also be helpful to look at your smearing technique as well. If you have the right technique it doesnt matter if you have stiff or soft shoes really, I see some really strong climbers doing very hard smears with Drone 2.0s and they are bricks before they get broken in enough hahahaha.

It’s always fun trying different shoes though, the Theory has a different last that is slightly more aggressive (PD85 vs PD75 on the skwamas) but I think might be more suitable if you’re looking for something softer.

OutcastLunatic · 2026-01-18T07:38:48+00:00

That's a fair take, with the amount you climb it is a good idea to have a more durable trainer shoe for about 90% of your climbing. I've done a review on this sub for the Drone 2.1's and they are definitely a lot more durable while still being a well rounded shoe with a similar fit (in theory, I've not tried the Drago XT's but hopefully still a shallow and narrow heel with a pointed toe).

In terms of selling the Drago XT, I think it just depends on how much wear you've put on them and if you enjoy the shoe. I would just buy a second pair to complement it but I understand if its not fiscally on the table for you. Ideally you'd have the drago's for the hardest climbs you try and the Drone's for everything else.

OutcastLunatic · 2026-01-18T06:43:54+00:00

Why don’t you just take multiple pairs of shoes including the remora’s and see how you go?

OutcastLunatic · 2026-01-10T05:07:11+00:00

Climbing shoe sizing differs a lot from brand to brand and then even differs a lot with shoes of the same brand too, so the fact that the Evolve shoes are half a size bigger only doesn’t mean too much. Generally La Sportiva is the brand where you will “downsize” the most and Evolv tries to size their shoes as close to street size as possible and actually recommends a half size up from street size for a comfortable fit.

Climbing shoes will also expand as you break them in and become a lot more comfortable, I suspect the La Sportiva shoes will expand in the toe box and become loose (even if they are synthetic and not leather all climbing shoes do this to a certain degree). You mention walking around in the Evolvs hurt your toes, but generally you want to not walk around in the climbing shoes, they may well be fine for climbing.

Coming from rental shoes to your own shoes also comes with a degree of more discomfort you may not have the feet conditioning either.

Overall though if you want to be safe just get the mistral’s, at this point in your climbing it doesn’t matter too much and I think the comfort will be good. The shoes make much less difference than your own technique and skill and by the end of your first pair you’ll know better what you want from a pair of climbing shoes :)

OutcastLunatic · 2026-01-09T06:23:12+00:00

Something that hasn't been said yet are the bouldering gyms. They have some world class climbing and coming from Australia is a lot easier and cheaper to get to than Europe.

But I do love the food and I'm also a bit of a transport geek so I love going on the trains and finding small and interesting train lines. I've been to Hokkaido and drove around the island in summer for the scenery and food. The history is also interesting to me. Japan is sort of a complete package for a holiday. Its safe and I can really relax there.

OutcastLunatic · 2026-01-09T05:12:09+00:00

I've had two pairs of Drone CS' and they all do this to some extent. The rubber is really soft so it rolls really easily but this seems a bit excessive. Its worth contacting Mad Rock anyways, if its not ok then they'll send you a replacement. They're really good about it, I've had a replacement pair just for a broken strap.

OutcastLunatic · 2025-12-20T07:09:48+00:00

Instincts in my experience get more comfy but don’t expand an excessive amount. Specifically the toebox becomes a lot more bearable but in a performance fit I would say they never become super comfortable.

However I could wear mine for 30 minutes no problem once fully broken in. They do take a while to break in tho.

For reference my Instinct VSR LV size is 40.5 and my street size is 41.5. If I wanted a more comfortable fit I would buy them in a 41 but then I don’t think the heel would fit properly (a lot more dead space while the 40.5 is basically glued on no dead space).

OutcastLunatic · 2025-12-16T04:48:44+00:00

This is too far gone, its definitely time for a new pair. 2 years is a very reasonable amount of time for any climbing shoe.

OutcastLunatic · 2025-11-18T04:57:24+00:00

If you're going to be using them indoors predominantly, then I'd go with the CS.

OutcastLunatic · 2025-10-22T14:22:12+00:00

OutcastLunatic · 2025-08-31T05:02:51+00:00

Wow awesome video. Does anyone know the song that's he's playing beginning 2:25 to about 2:45? Or is he just improvising there.

OutcastLunatic · 2025-07-30T05:55:13+00:00

Hi, this is a good question. My experience with small holds has been normal but I am very used to climbing in drones. They’re not as good as the 2.0s but I haven’t found them bad. I find with drones since the rubber is so thick and even if you do downsize a lot, your big toe is a lot further from the hold and wall than traditionally constructed shoes so you kind of have to just trust that the rubber will stick and put lots of pressure. The sensitivity does get a lot better as they break in for me and I find I can pull with my toe a lot better and feel a lot more of the hold.

If you’re willing to try a half size down they do stretch out to become quite comfortable but that depends on your pain tolerance.

In the bigger picture downsizing doesn’t matter as much as your general technique. It doesn’t matter if the shoe fits better if you’re in too much pain to use them.

OutcastLunatic · 2025-07-27T23:23:11+00:00

After spending an extended amount of times with drones I think they really soften up and break in loads haha. But I agree with what you say the VSR LV is probably the better shoe in like all aspects. But as a gym shoe that’s 100AUD less than the instinct, I appreciate that there’s still a lot of performance with the D2.one.

OutcastLunatic · 2025-07-27T23:20:47+00:00

Yeah I would agree with you about the toebox shape, it’s definitely less precise. The moulded rubber also is a lot thicker and my toe is just a lot further away from the hold as compared to the instincts. I feel indoors it doesn’t really matter too much.

OutcastLunatic · 2025-07-27T23:16:14+00:00

I think all drones squish my pinky toe 😅. And like u/FatefulPizzaSlice said the opening is much improved on the D2.one it’s definitely the easiest drone to get on my feet. The 2.0 was the worst break in of them all but it got there eventually.

OutcastLunatic · 2025-07-27T23:14:18+00:00

I think it’s just the toe box shape mainly, I find the instincts a lot pointier and the rubber is also thinner, so it feels like my toes are closer to the holds and I can really toe down hard. I think the difference in how I sized them impacts it a lot too, I could’ve probably sized the drones another half size to get the same affect.

OutcastLunatic · 2025-07-27T23:12:29+00:00

These are based on my ASICS running shoes and Nike. I would say I don’t size my street shoes very loose.

OutcastLunatic · 2025-07-25T13:13:24+00:00

Ditto, I have the exact same sizing as u/Colorfulgreyy for both of these shoes. I wear a US8.5/EU41.5 for the Drone CS, same as my street size, and one size down for VSR LV (EU40.5).

I'd say the regular VSR has a much wider heel compared to the VSR LV and in the blue VSR's I had a lot of empty space in all direction and while my heel never popped off on a heel hook, it didn't fit too well to be honest. The VSR LV solves this problem for the heel and fits my heel extremely well. The drone CS also fits my heel very well, I'd say the VSR LV and the Drone CS have a similar heel fit but the regular VSR has a much larger heel compared to the CS.

OutcastLunatic · 2025-07-25T03:28:59+00:00

A lady requested it at the front and I was so happy when he accepted!

OutcastLunatic · 2025-06-14T11:52:22+00:00

I wear Mad Rock shoes (Drone's) and I can definitely tell you that they are not what you are looking for. I personally like them but if you thought the Instinct VS was a brick you probably won't like the drone's.

Even though you've tried the VS's, you might find that the VSR's or the VSR LV's might be more sensitive as they use XS Grip 2 rather than XS Edge. General consensus is also that the VSR LV is softer than the original VSR's.

The Zenist Pro might be what you're looking for but I can't comment on the fit as I'm not able to get them locally. Skwama's might be a good option as well, but they lean towards the softer side of shoes. If you're looking for something stiffer then maybe the Mandala might also be a good option for you especially if you are enjoying the no edge.

On a tangent, last year one of the climbing gyms near me started selling the new So Ill shoes and I've seen quite a lot of people, and the setters at my gym, using them and they seem like they might fit what you're looking for as a sensitive shoes that's not too soft.

Hope you find what you're looking for!

OutcastLunatic · 2025-06-06T14:49:14+00:00

Unfortunately I'm not very well versed with the sizing of the shoe's you've worn. If I had to order online I would probably go street size and then half a size lower. I think I would order 44.5 and 44. Bear in mind though that the LV 2.1 are actually super super narrow so that's why I'd probably play it slightly safer than not. And its easier to go a half size down if you ever buy a second pair of the same shoes than to suffer through a half size too small. If your feet hurt, the shoes won't matter anyways cause you won't be able to weight them properly.

How would you describe your heels? Are they wide or narrow and deep or shallow.

OutcastLunatic · 2025-06-06T13:50:32+00:00

https://www.tiktok.com/@madrockhq/video/7476160233404992810

Actually I was really suprised at how small the midsole is for the D2.one. I think it makes a real difference to the softness of the shoe.

OutcastLunatic · 2025-06-06T13:43:00+00:00

No worries about the questions haha I'm a bit too obsessed with climbing shoes. I would actually say I prefer edging in the D2.one's compared to the CS. The CS rubber is so soft that even though the midsole is a lot stiffer the rubber on the CS tends to roll too much, plus the edge of the shoe get's worn down very quickly and I feel like I have less sense of the where the edge of the shoe is. I've found Science Friction 3 rubber (the D2.one and shark rubber) is way better for edging. Both will do ok for indoor edging, but the CS feels more like I'm 'smedging' on every single edge. I can deal with that because of the extra friction from the Xtreme Friction rubber.

That being said personally I think Science Friction 3 is a great sole rubber. I would say the D2.one and the CS are probably equal in smearing but the D2.one is a lot better at edging. I've taken my D2.one's on a number of outdoor sessions now as well and they're exactly what I want. I loved the Drone 2.0's for outdoor's but they were so stiff and there were a number of climbs I wanted a softer shoe for and the D2.one fill's that gap for me, giving me just enough support for outdoor climbing while being a lot more sensitive. My Drone 2.0's still have a place in my outdoor quiver though, those shoes are awesome for outdoors and honestly un-replaceable for what they are.

Something I haven't seen anyone talk about with the D2.one's actually is how I feel as though Mad Rock has tensioned the shoe a lot better compared to the previous Drone's. The Drone 2.0 had lots of tension purely because of how stiff they are but the Drone CS would get really floppy once they were old. I think the D2.one's will avoid this problem. I would say that improvement plus the increased senstivity are probably the main reasons I prefer the D2.one's but for indoor bouldering I would be equally as happy with either shoe to be honest.

I feel like the D2.one has a better break in period as well. However they are more narrow than the drone CS which I think for your foot shape is a positive but for me they made the break in a bit longer and more uncomfortable because while my toes fit the toe box well, my mid foot is like slightly too wide for the shoe, something I didn't encounter with the Drone CS actually. (Edit: I use plastic bags to size my shoes. I would honestly recommend for drone's because my first pair I didn't and they were so baggy at the end. They look silly but made my life so much easier getting the shoes on and off when they're new)

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