Pay day tomorrow and decided to spring for a new set of approach shoes... Now usually I'm loyal to La Sportiva, as my heavily used Cirque Pros can attest to, but want replacements and now's the time.

Narrowed down my options to the Sportiva Boulder X (enjoyed playing around with these very much in store on the wall)

Scarpa Zen (enjoyed these as well!!)

Sportiva Ganda (Didn't enjoy these as much... but climbed much better)

Not my first pair, I know fit is key so I'd do the Zen or the Boulder if it's purely about fit, but basically looking for something that can handle rough trails and rock from low to mid 5.somethin... anything harder I'll bring the rock shoes.

How good's the rubber on either of these on actual rock? The store's indoor climbing wall isn't the greatest utility of these... Should I stay loyal to Sportiva or try the Scarpas...

Did you try the Gandas without the insole?

They are made to hike in without the insole, and then put the insole in for climbing.

I initially tried the Gandas with the insole, and figured that they didn't fit my foot very well. (Felt very rock-shoe like) But then, I wore them without the insole, and that little extra bit of volume made all the difference. Very much more comfortable.

hmmm, nope, didn't remove the insole, definetly gonna have to try that out again then. Thanks.

Hi, I have a pair of Scarpa Zen for sale in size 44. I measure a 10 on a brannock device and my feet are narrow and the Scarpas are a bit too large. The have seen very little use. PM for details. Awesome shoe.

Regarding the sole, the Zen have a Vibram sole but its the stickiest Vibram sole I have ever used. Its just a notch down in stickyness from the Five Ten Camp Four sole which is basically climbing shoe rubber with tread. The Zen has enough tread and cushioning for hiking but the its still awesome for sticking into holes and cracks. The Zen is somewhat low profile so it works great in tight spots where a shoe like the Camp Four is too wide to do well there. Scarpa didnt skimp on the Zen's construction and materials. It looks and feels expensive. Should be extremely durable.

Thanks for the input, unfortunetly, a size 44 would also be too large for me as well. I'm a solid 42 in these (43 in normal boots but I wanted tighter... as well as much less volume sock combinations). Either way, 44 would be too large. Thanks though.

I am a huge Scarpa fan and have loved every shoe or boot I've gotten from them. However, I was able to get a good deal on the new Sportiva Boulder X shoes and took the opportunity. To answer your question, the rubber on the Boulder X is great. It feels super sticky and climbs good enough that I considered leaving my climbing shoes behind last weekend when I went out to do some easy (5.6-5.9) trad climbing. FWIW, they also have a great fit on my feet, comfortable on the trail and firm/tight enough on the rock.