Climbing Shoe Review - La Sportiva Skwama

La Sportiva describe the Skwama as a high performance shoe for everything from overhangs to slabs. In reality most climbing shoes cannot do everything and we all know that, yet here Sportiva are saying that they have a shoe that works well across the entire range of routes and problems. With a few new innovations I was willing to take a risk and see what was going on, who knows they may be onto something.

The Skwama - Seb Smith

The big news with the Skwama (and it’s sister the Otaki) is the new S-Heel technology. A thick band of non-compressible rubber has been put down the inside of the heel, to prevent torsion of the heel and reduce the loss of power and stability associated with this. In other words when you use a heel hook your foot is able to move around slightly in the heelcup because the the rubber on the inside of the heel is so soft. The slight deformity of the heel this movement causes, means you’re not quite as stable in the shoe and obviously the power that goes into deforming the heel cup is lost from the heel hook itself. This is where the S-Heel technology comes in - The thick rubber band in the S-Heel means you cannot disfigure the heel of the shoe, in the same way, and as such that previously lost power is put straight into the heel hook itself - this should in turn make the heel hook feel more solid and improve your overall ability to use your heel properly.

Another addition of note is the cut out sole; removing a piece of rubber from the middle of the sole allows you to spread the front of the foot, increasing the amount of contact with the rock. For a downturned shoe the Skwama smears well, and is not out of it’s element on slabs as is often the case when it comes to aggressive shoes.

On the opposite side of the toe box, rather than remove rubber La Sportiva have decided to add it. Nearly the entire front half of the shoe is covered in a soft, sticky toe patch. The rubber is some of the softest I have ever felt, making toe hooks extremely easy outside- where the combination of the rock friction and the soft nature of the rubber work exceptionally well together. Indoors the toe patch still works well, though there have been times I have wanted a slightly stiffer rubber to give a little extra support to my foot.

The Cut-Out Sole - Seb Smith

The only problem I have found with the Skwama is the mixture of Edge and No-Edge technology. The problem isn’t a preference over one type or another, rather having both on the same shoe. The very point of the toe has an edge while further back, on the inside and outside of the foot, is the No-Edge Technology. Fresh out of the box, where the two meet, the shoe feels uneven and loses some of its feel on the wall. Once I had worn them a while and the edge rubber had started to wear this ceased to be a problem - but it could be overcome altogether if one was chosen over the other, and I don’t think the combination adds enough to the shoe to warrant the slight frustration it causes.

Comfort

La Sportiva say the Skwama “fits like skin” and they are not wrong. The Skwama could have been sold without the velcro strap, as a slipper, and no one would have complained. The addition of the velcro strap gives extra security and really allows you to minimise any areas where the shoe is not as snug as you would wish. There is really little to no give in this shoe, so while you can go down in size quite a way with these boots, they do not stretch - more just mold to the foot. If you aim for a snug but comfy pair out of the box, that is how they will stay.

Sensitivity

The Skwama is a phenomenally sensitive shoe: at first I was worried that using 4mm Vibram rubber instead of the 3.5mm would rob the shoe of some sensitivity; this is not the case. A combination of the split sole and the soft XS-Grip 2 rubber allows the user to really feel what is happening under their feet. Due in part to the soft nature of the shoe, the sensitivity can be on the painful end of the spectrum when really weighting your feet on sharp pebbles - unless you are constantly standing on pebbles though, you should not let this deter you.

On the Rock

Let me assert this shoe is brilliant outside: I use them for pretty much everything now. My Skwama have already been to Magic Wood and Fontainebleau with me. On the hard granite of Magic Wood, the Skwama was like no other; the cold temperatures certainly worked well with the soft nature of the shoe; not taking long to warm up yet never softening up too much. Mid-April in Fontainebleau was maybe too warm for the Skwama, while the shoe never held me back, there were times I was felt a slightly stiffer sole would have made life easier.
Closer to home the Skwama has performed without fault on the gritstone of Yorkshire and the Peak, while the shoes were definitely better in the colder temps, so is the rock - so I’m not sure this should ever be a deciding factor. I’ve also managed to get some use out of the Skwama on limestone more recently where they have been superb for really feeling the rock and giving that boost of confidence on weighting your feet.

The Skwama doing what they do best - Seb Smith

In the Gym

A good, all round pair of shoes, the Skwama is going to be a great choice of shoe for anyone bouldering at a mid to high level indoors. It’s lightweight, downturned design means that at the higher end of lead climbing where necessity dictates that performance outweighs comfort, the Skwama is a perfect choice.

Overall

When it comes to the Skwama, La Sportiva have managed to make a brilliant shoe. It is soft and sensitive without having to sacrifice power. The S-heel technology is really impressive and I’m sure we will see it being used on a lot more Sportiva shoes going forwards. For me, the shoe would have been improved if it La Sportiva had used the No-Edge Technology on the entirety of the toe, but this is a minor point and I’m sure soon they will have an Edgeless shoe with the S-Heel tech - Until then this will be my go to shoe for sure.