SCARPA Instinct VSR Rock Climbing Shoes for Sport Climbing and Bouldering

I’m beyond happy with these climbing shoes. They’re very comfortable and fit my foot perfectly (flat, slightly wide, and with a large heel). I wear a 10.5 in street shoes. I got these one full size down looking for a snug but bearable fit. I recommend going half or a full size down if you’re aiming for a perfect fit. I loved the heel — I think it’s perfect for me. I’ve compared them with the La Sportiva Solution (41.5), and I honestly feel like these are an improved version.

I’m a 5’0” female with big and wide feet for my size, 8 (street shoes). I needed to ship out my Scarpa Instincts VS to get resoled and wanted to try other options as a 2nd shoe. I didn’t go very far since I ended up with these VSR. They are a lot softer than the men’s VS that I have. It is tight as I’m still breaking them in but I don’t reckon they’ll loosen up, this material doesn’t. So far, performance is good. Can smear, heel hook and send in just about every way. Only thing is the toe hooks are sensitive. Good but sensitive. The shoes are thin material so you’ll feel everything.

It's a great climbing shoe with good balance between edging and smearing, and maybe slightly more indoor climbing focused than the regular Instinct VS. The problem is these sizes run true to street shoe sizes for the most part so you really don't want to downsize, they also don't expand much through breaking-in, so if it's too tight after 1 session, it's probably still too tight after 10. This in conjunction with a smaller-than-usual toe box, means anyone who bought on the smaller side AND have a big toe will almost assuredly get a crushing pain on the toe anytime you go climbing. Don't be fooled by a quick trying the shoe out, if you aren't used to toes being crushed, it can feel surprisingly OK for 5 minutes or so, but a single climbing session will quickly decrease your motivation in even trying to climb towards the end. This also sort of defeats the purpose of having a better smearing ability over the regular VS because if your toe is extremely curled and cannot move at all, it's harder to place and smear effectively at times. If you have regular feet, order street shoe size. If you have bigger toes / joints than average, order half size up or another shoe. My street shoe size is 44 / 44.5. I got the 44.5 and it's absolutely crushing my toe every day and it has been a few months now. Specifically my right foot is maybe a quarter size bigger than left, so the left barely gets by while my right toe feels medically concerning. I wish I got the 45, which is kinda crazy when I have to up size this much from my street shoes.

It is definitely the shoe that will help you defeat the most challenging walls. It fits well if you buy .5 more than you shoe size (if you’re 10 size, buy a 10.5 size) and quality of materials and the angle of the front coupled with rigidity of it and also its heel make it a great help for a more experienced climber for difficult climbs.

Prior to the Scarpa Instinct VSR I used the La Sportiva Solutions for bouldering and sport climbing. I will start off by saying I bought these in the same euro size that I got my solutions in and they fit great. The fit actually feels similar to the Solution except that the toe box is a bit tighter and for some reason after about 10 minutes of wearing them there is the slightest bit of room in the heel. Most of the time I would say this could be an issue but it is not affecting me at all when using them. They are aggressive with great toe coverage and the heel is nice as well. As a bonus, these shoes are stellar looking. I get compliments all the time on them. Well done Scarpa. Sized 41 euro 8M US.