La Sportiva  Boulder X Approach Shoes - Men's

This shoe looks and feels great. Excellent traction, good materials and workmanship, perfect for everyday use or scrambling on mixed terrain. Unfortunately, there is one deal-breaker: the laces are threaded through un-reinforced leather loops. The laces are braided and the act of tightening the laces creates a sawing motion that cuts right through the leather. Mine lasted for about 4 or 5 wearings before one of the leather loops ripped. Maybe there's some goofy technique for tightening the laces that I don't know about, but if you tie these like any other shoe/boot, expect them to break eventually. Too bad really ... these are excellent shoes otherwise.

I was in the same boat as the first reviewer. My toes were pretty tender from my climbing shoes, so I wanted something to wear while they recovered. I picked up a pair of these and they really exceeded my expectations. After climbing some 5.9s in the gym with them I decided to use them on 5.8 multipitch at Red Rocks. I climbed Lotta Balls as well as all of Johnny Vegas and Solar Slab in these. Both smearing and edging are fantastic. I was also trying to decide between these and 5.10's model, and I'm glad I went with these. I saw the 5.10 model at the store and the rubber around the toe area seemed to have a better edge to it on these shoes.

I live in Minneapolis where it's snowy and icy for about half the year. I use these kicks all year. From hiking to boulder problems at St. Croix to walking on ice to the grocery store, the BoulderX's have yet to fail me. They're practically waterproof, have chunky treads so you don't slip on the trail or ice, and are light enough to bike in during the start of the winter (before it goes below freezing). I bought them for the first time in March 2010 which I still use today for biking. I visited my brother in Seattle last October and picked up my second pair there for some hiking (forgot to bring shoes for the outdoors). I love these shoes and I'll probably get a third pair next year.

This shoe is awesome! I was looking for a shoe capable of hiking, doing some light backbacking, and climbing boulders and mixed terrain. This shoe very capably does all of that. I also tried on the Scarpa Cruz and Scarpa Zen at REI, including traversing their rock wall and taking many laps around the store. The Cruz is definitely lighter (and possibly better looking?), but it's also much less supportive and won't hike as well for any significant distances. The Boulder X has more cushion and, for me at least, hugs my foot better for a more precise fit than either the Zen or the Crux. The Zen is really rigid but, again, doesn't conform to my foot the way you expect a pseudo-climbing shoe to. The Boulder X also climbed/traversed the rock wall at REI better. The rubber felt grippier to me and the shoe laces all the way (almost) to the tips of your toes for a very precise fit. The leather(ish) upper is soft yet supportive on your foot just like a climbing shoe. It edged well and the wall and smeared great. It doesn't toe edges as well as a climbing shoe, obviously, because your toes don't go all the way to the end, but it's still a very capable climber and will do well doing some on-site bouldering or at least scrambling up moderate mixed routes. So I bought the Boulder X and have been extremely happy. I've worn it with packs up to 35-45 lbs. and it does just fine. I added green Superfeet inserts, also from REI, and those give more arch support for higher pack weights. I've also taken them hiking in the San Gabriels and they have EXCELLENT traction. Mud, wet grass, and wet granite were all no problem for these shoes. Wet pavement is also not a problem -- the shoes just won't slip. These are my go-to shoes for taking my Deuter Kid Comfort II out on hikes as well because they are so stable, supporting, and won't let me fall. La Sportiva makes fantastic climbing shoes, and the Boulder X's clearly benefit from the company's research into sticky rubber. Buy these shoes if you like to hike to rocks and do some climbing when you get there without changing shoes.

A good shoe for the most part, but the sole started to delaminate in less than two months. Its too bad as I really dig these. The fit was rather tight, but they broke in quickly

Best shoe I've ever owned! Very solid, snug, & secure. I wanted a stiff sole that could take heavy loads on uneven terrain and this shoe is ideal. It is not a light running-like shoe, but it would not be so supportive if it was. It was a little tight in the toe at first - like a semi-climbing shoe, but the suede upper has stretched perfectly. After 2 months of everyday, on my feet all day long, wear, it fits like a glove, with a perfectly stable & very solid feel on all types of surfaces. I also like the leather upper which nicely takes a Nikwax waterproofing, and the large, sturdy, rubber rand which along with the full leather upper makes the shoe extremely durable. It has a slight rocker which allows for a long, natural, rolling stride. I feel like I can cover a lot of terrain without tiring in this shoe.

Bought these to replace the ?carpa #rux who's sides blew out on me. REI was obviously great about doing an exchange. The #ruxes were/are lighter (synthetic as well) but not nearly as stiff or as good of climbers. The La Sportiva Boulder X's climbed & hiked very well on wet schist yesterday up in Peterskill in the 'Gunks (easily to 5.6 if not greater). I would not hesitate to recommend them as an approach / guiding shoe if the fit is even close. The edging, stiffness, and stickiness of the rubber is to be commended. They are a bit bulkier than the #carpas but are made of leather, which in this example I think is a good thing, as I believe they'll last longer. They remind me of an update to classic climbing boots building into them a bit more of the functionality of modern trail shoes. That being said I wouldn't waste the sticky rubber walking around town unless you really need to, save them for rock approaches. Size wise, I typically wear a 10.5 EE & bought these in a size 44. These run a bit narrower in the mid and forefoot as most LS shoes/boots do. They did seem to "break in" a little bit but obviously the full rubber rand will ultimately limit a large amount of stretch. If you find yourself climbing / hiking / guiding on the rocks, and you size these with reasonable comfort wearing thin socks, I see no reason not to heartily recommend the Boulder X's.

I bought this shoe online (I know, I know) before trying one on. First let me say that for as narrow as it was it felt like a very comfortable shoe otherwise. I put these shoes on out of the box and wore them around the house, up and down stairs, etc. I ended up deciding to take them to the local store and swapping them for the Scarpa approach shoe. Much better for my feet. My feet are mid to wide so if you don't like narrow shoes for approach / bouldering, then I highly recommend the Scarpas.

LaSportiva makes great rock climbing shoes. Unfortunately, they didn't put good rubber on these shoes. They are good hiking shoes, but forget about 4th class or harder climbing with them. The Vibram Igrogrip rubber is terrifying on routes such as the Exum Ridge.

pretty much bought these shoes and then the next day did an 11 mile 4500ft elevation gain hike /scramble up to Mount Ruth(8690 ft) at Sunrise in Mt. Rainier National Park. I hit every kind of terrain that day and these shoes gave me no problems. the break in time was just a few miles and they even did fine in the snow and mud. The vibram soles give great traction and stability. The stiffness of the soles made it easy to kick foot holds in the snow. when it comes to climbing and scrambling all that adjustment is great. there is a little less cusioning inside than i would like but its really only noticable late into the hike. the rubber adges around the sides kept all the rocks from uglying up the shoe. I have several hikes/scrambles on these shoes and they have been really good