Home > Footwear

Review: La Sportiva Skwama Climbing Shoes

The La Sportiva Skwama was added to their lineup in 2017 and is a comfortable, high performance climbing shoe.

It has a soft midsole, a single Velcro strap and slides on and off easily. The S-heel helps keep it snug and removes any spaces between your foot and the rubber.

La Sportiva Skawa

While they are very tight when you first strap them on, they loosen up after a few sessions and can then be worn for extended periods of time.

The P3 platforms stiffen up the shoe, but they’re still quite soft. The toe gives you precise placements on small edges and the soft midsole gives you good flex for smearing. They aren’t as good at standing on tiny edges as the La Sportiva Genius.

When it comes to climbing pockets, the Skwama’s aren’t the stiffest shoe so toeing in tiny holes is tiring for your foot.

For you crack climbers out there, the narrow to is amazing for thin cracks. The Veclro strap is positioned high on the foot and gives you lots of jamming space. Plus they’re great at edging on granite crystals.

The Skwama are some of the best shoes for all-round climbing. They excel on granite like you’d find in Squamish because of their ability to smear and jam.

After they stretch out a bit they’re a top pick for indoor training and cragging on short and powerful limestone routes.

The Skwama are one of the most affordable high-end shoes on the market at $175 at MEC. They’re versatile comfortable shoe for indoor and outdoor climbing. And that’s why you’ll be seeing a lot of these out there this year.

Check out the latest buyer's guide:

The Best Climbing Gear According to Our Editors – March

Every month we're bringing you our favourite gear so you can complete your climbing kit with the latest and best stuff out there