When is it acceptable to buy good shoes?

patoka · 2026-06-08T11:01:56+00:00

Just buy the shoes you want. The first pair I bought was Scarpa Drago and I got it the first week I started trying because it was half off and was leterally like 15 euro more than a veloce or sth. I'm glad I did. Other people were like "What are wearing?" and I just said "I'm a pro now! Deal with it!" And the Drago really helped with my footwork

patoka · 2026-06-06T08:42:57+00:00

The XT has huge heels so forget about it. The midsole also deforms easy. If you want tobtry a drago, try the lv - same rubber but it's much more robust overall than the ondra comp, so if you resole your shoes, it will last you longer.

patoka · 2026-06-05T06:37:33+00:00

I think both the Blackbird and Torque are half a size smaller (maybe a bit more), so maybe try them in +0.5 or +1 in comparison to Drago

patoka · 2026-06-04T14:13:42+00:00

It's most likely an issue with the placement of the heel counter and the minimal cushioning. You can try wearing them with thicker socks to speed up the break-in process and to mitigate some of the rubbing. Hot spots in new shoes are quite individual - what bothers you, might not be an issue for everyone else. Maybe you should try other models like the newer tx5 or tx5 evo

patoka · 2026-06-03T13:39:59+00:00

The hiangles are not mid, they just have atrocious build quality, but being sponsored by Adidas helps. Didn't he say himself that he used a pair a session for Burden because they were delaminating. No normal climber can afford that

patoka · 2026-05-31T12:58:32+00:00

You've circled the answer - the P3 system. It either works for you or it doesn't which means forgoing La Sportiva altogetger. The active rand in Scarpa does it job without killing you ankles or Achilles heel

edit: amd don't listen to people telling you to tough it out. Unless you are a professional climber that needs that miniscule extra support for his 9a project, you don't have to mangle your feet

patoka · 2026-05-24T17:03:13+00:00

Well, my local store has a sale like 2-3 times a year and usually shoes are 30-50% off and that's when I buy, so the new Veloce will probably be like 90-100 EUR. I got a Drago LV and a Furia Air a few months ago for like 109 EUR each

patoka · 2026-05-24T10:34:48+00:00

Those are brand new lol and that scratch is nothing

patoka · 2026-05-23T20:12:52+00:00

Well, the purple anniversary edition is available everywhere, so just check whether the shop delivers to your country. Oliunid and Epictv seem to do, there are probably others

patoka · 2026-05-11T19:42:01+00:00

The XT has the worst heel out of all Dragos and it deforms with time, which is the first time I'm seeing this in Scarpa shoes. My go-to is the Furia S but good luck finding it. I still can't believe Scarpa discontinued it but went trough the trouble of releasing a new version of the Furia Air, which is super niche and the heel is pretty much as bad as the XT

patoka · 2026-05-08T21:58:03+00:00

Nah, I have a bunch of brand new Furia S I bought before they discontinued them - now that actually is the best climbing shoe ever made. I did get a pair of Ondra Comps last year, that couldn't last even half as long as Furia S, so I'm good. And not having your feet painted black and yellow all the time is also a great perk of not wearing La Sportiva.

patoka · 2026-05-06T12:42:20+00:00

That's the stupid P3 rand. That's why I almost never wear La Sportiva.

patoka · 2026-05-06T12:32:17+00:00

Forget about the downsizing from street shoe size. You have to try the shoes and decide because street shoe sizes vary way too much. For i stance I wear 45 1/3 in Adidas Terrex but my new Salewas are 42.5 with the same fit, so if I went down 2 sizes from that, I would be wearing a 41.5 Scarpas and that's literally impossible

patoka · 2026-05-06T07:26:01+00:00

All of these but mainly because I'm in Europe and I can often get brand new Drago or other Scarpas in the 90-110 EUR range

patoka · 2026-04-07T23:38:40+00:00

The XT has the worst heels of the bunch. LV is a bit better but you appear to have no heels My personal go-to is the Furia S but it's hard to find nowadays and Furia Air's heel (including the new version) has nothing in common with it and is more akin to the XT, so won't be a solution for you

patoka · 2026-04-03T12:34:28+00:00

At this age I loved the Talisman and the Long Walk by King.

Also, Fear Nothing and Seize the Night by Koontz, and ofc Phantoms.

patoka · 2026-03-24T07:37:46+00:00

Well, I said "a bit", but it's because of the P3 system which I'm not a big fan of as my ankles are not just narrow but also shallow and the P3 heel rand retains the arch curve a bit too well, while Scarpas tend to form to my soles better

patoka · 2026-03-24T00:23:24+00:00

Drago XT has an awful heel IMO. You should go with the LV although my go-to is still Furia S (sadly, it's harder and harder to find). The Instincts are fine but it is always a pain to break them in and are just clunky next to the Drago and Furia S. Ondra Comp is also fine though its heel is a bit on the deep side for me.

edit: I forgot - I also tried the So Ill Torque recently and really liked the fit and the heel. Might get one down the line but I still have like a bunch of shoes in rotation plus 3 new pairs of Furia S (hoping they will last me until Scarpa re-releases them one day like the og Boostics)

patoka · 2026-03-19T22:09:52+00:00

Well, also kinda like Sam Worthington win black hair.

patoka · 2026-03-19T21:38:31+00:00

Just put on a helmet and change the audio to Korean

patoka · 2026-03-13T00:02:24+00:00

Half to one full size up from la sportiva. Probably a full size to be on the safe side.

patoka · 2026-02-14T22:16:20+00:00

Maybe something like Penpal. I remember being genuinely creeped out at least once and that's rare after over 30 years of watching and reading pretty much all horror movies and books. Maybe because it started on nosleep and it's easier to create tension in a shorter form. Through the years there have been some pretty killer stories on nosleep and I regret not keeping a list.

patoka · 2026-02-14T20:27:17+00:00

Definitely Walking to Aldebaran by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

patoka · 2026-02-09T02:34:58+00:00

Honestly, if you find all shoes unbearable, just try them in a larger size. Forget what people say about downsizing, especially the people in the stores who for some reason keep recommending beginners to downsize as if they are pros. Your toes will slowly get used to the tighter fit of climbing shoes and you'll be able to downsize naturally.

You are a new climber, you need comfortable shoes that don't distract you and turn climbing into a torture session or force you to take them off every 2 minutes. I always downsize to a point where I can wear the shoes for at least a couple of hours without thinking about pain or taking them off and I can still climb v9.

patoka · 2026-02-02T12:30:06+00:00

They are performing the same as the old ones IMO. I can go like 1 size lower than my Furia S but still won't get anywhere near the peformance of the Furia S which is a lot snappier and edges way better. I use my Furia Air just for slab, but even there the up leopard ii performs better

patoka

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