The NEW Scarpa Vapor Lace Rock Shoe is a stiff, full rand climbing shoe designed for technical vertical climbing. It features an asymmetrical curved shape, dual rubber rand, and PAF heel system that distributes heel pressure on the back of you shoe.
We had a chance to take these shoes for a test drive and here is what we thought.
NEW Scarpa Vapor Lace Rock Shoe
First off, the NEW Scarpa Vapor Lace Rock Shoe is a powerhouse shoe when it comes to vertical climbing. With its stiff full-length sole and powerful toe box, the Vapor Lace doesn’t hold back when standing on small holds. If this wasn’t enough, these shoes are actually comfortable! With their microsuede inners and PAF heel system that distributes heel pressure, we found these to be a very comfortable shoe. Combine this with decent heel hooking capabilities and a reasonable toe hook area, these shoes are tough to beat
Toe box
The toebox of the Scarpa Vapor Lace Rock Shoe is a powerful force when it comes to standing on tiny crystals. During our field review, we found that not only did this shoe hold up when it came to pushing down, it also didn’t leave our feet tired and worn out at the end of the day.
The toe box itself allows you to push perfectly into tiny holds and the toes of the box almost hang over the edge of the shoe for this very purpose.
This shoe also performed well when toe hooking outdoors. The only negative thing we would say is that the yellow toe rubber really threw us off when looking down at our feet! We would prefer that this was black if possible.
Comfort
When it comes to vertical shoes, it is always about comfort! We were pleasantly surprised with the break in period for these shoes. We sized a 44 as usual and after only two pitches, the shoe was feeling in great shape and we were climbing with more flow than expected.
It should be noted that if you have been wearing a two-piece sole, the Vapor Lace will feel a little strange. It’s edging power is phenomenal but we found that its smearing power was way less than the modern rock climbing shoes that we had been climbing in so the first few pitches felt clunky. That being said, once things got a little softer, this shoe was a gem to climb in and the best part was that our feet didn’t hurt at the end of the day. After a full day of vertical climbing, we were ready for day two without feeling tired in the feet.
Size 44 was right on the marker for these shoes and we would recommend sizing them to whatever size fits you for most of the Scarpa line up.
Heel
The heel of the Scarpa Vapor Lace performed very well during technical heel hooking and reminded us of the Muira lace-up in this regard. Although we would not consider this shoe an all around bouldering shoe or sport climbing shoe, we do think that it is a great tool to have in the back pocket for anytime you are in an area with a lot of vertical and slab climbing or if you are in a pinch when trying a problem or route with a difficult heel hook or a heel / toe situation.
Overall
Overall, the Scarpa Vapor Lace Rock Shoe is now our go to shoe when it comes to vertical terrain. I would 100% bring this shoe to the crag if you want to climb anything that requires technical footwork. Not only will it perform well on the rock but it will leave your feet ready for day two because of its stiff sole and comfort features.
With no real negatives to report, this shoe is a great tool to have in your back pocket, especially if you are climbing vertical terrain like the back of Murrin park or a visit to Skaha Provincial Park in the spring. We really enjoyed the Scarpa Vapor Lace Rock Shoe and we will certainly be using it in the future. We would give this shoe a solid 9/10 rating and would recommend it to a friend for vertical climbing or trad multi-pitching.
MSRP: $189.95
The Scarpa Vapor Lace can be purchased at Climb On Equipment in Squamish BC.
