Scarpa Men's Reflex Rock Climbing Shoes - Lightweight & Durable for Indoor & Outdoor Climbing, Bouldering, and Gym Training

I made the mistake of waiting until my old shoes were on the brink of being unwearable to start looking for new climbing shoes, and it took me four tries to finally find this Reflex shoe. If you've tried on a lot of climbing shoes you've probably noticed that they aren't particularly kind to wide feet. La Sportiva in particular - I tried the Miura VS and was in pain after 10 minutes on the wall, even though my toes weren't even pressing the ends. Now, when I say wide feet, I don't mean some outlier, EEE foot: I wear D-width street shoes with no problems, but street shoes are much more forgiving than climbing shoes.These shoes were meant to replace my Scarpa Helix, which is also a good shoe, but I was tired of the lacing and all the corners of the sole were rounded off, making it tricky to use small footholds. Well, this shoe is pretty much a strap version of the Helix: the colors are the same, the foot profile is the same, it's just the closure that's different. The sizing is pretty reliable with these - I wear an 11.5 in a street shoe, and a 45.5 (11 2/3) in this shoe fits me pretty well, with maybe a little excess across the top of the foot, where the tongue fits under the straps. The only strange thing I would watch out for with this one is that the strap closest to the ankle is really long. The shoe fits fine, but when I close the straps that one pulls down maybe 2 more inches than in the picture, almost all the way to the sole of the shoe. I don't notice it when I'm on the wall, and I can't really picture too many climbing maneuvers that use that part of the outer heel, but I just thought it was a strange construction feature of the shoe. Overall, these are great.People refer to these as "beginner shoes", however, they're a very good shoe that covers a broad spectrum of climbing. The fit is spot on. They have a wider toe box. So if you have normal or wider foot (American), you'll appreciate them (Europeans must have really have narrow feet from the arch forward). They have a solid fit that shoes that are much more expensive often lack. They are not as aggressive (dramatically downward pointing toes) as other shoes - this in my opinion is a plus. I bought these in the same size as my running shoes (some may have to go up 1/2 size). I'm buying another pair as I fear that when I need a new pair, they won't be available.These shoes fit as expected. I've only had one other pair/brand - La Sportiva. These shoes fit about the same as that. It takes a while to break them in. The soles feel a little more thin than my previous shoes. However, they work well and as they break in, are getting more comfortable.These seem like good shoes, but unfortunately they are sized very small. I bought them a full size up from my normal size and they were still far too tight for me to wear, even for a few minutes. Returned & will be going to a store in person to find my correct size.I'm proof that you don't have to be a man to wear these climbing shoes. I purchased them without knowing much about climbing shoes but after figuring out what size I needed I decided to try these. They fit nice and snug but are still comfortable. I am able to climb for as long as I need without worrying about my feet (Although as a beginner it's usually not more than a couple hours). They are easy to put on and take off. Everything I was hoping for!Great climbing shoe! I've been using these for over a year and a half now, and they are still holding up! I climb about twice a week. The rubber on the soles is not as tacky as it once was, but there are as of yet no holes in these. My previous pairs would last about half a year.Way smaller than the advertised size.The shoe was only a half size below my street shoe and was unreal tight. It cut my heels on my second route. I'm sure the shoe is great, but you might want to order street shoe size.