4.72 of 5 stars
La Sportiva - Otaki - Climbing shoes tested
Do you own this product? Have you tested it out?
Other customers will be happy to read your review – share what you know.
Reviews overview
Praise vs. Criticism
Amazing, versatile shoe
I have climbed with 7 different climbing shoes and have tried on many many more. I have wide feed with relatively small heels, so my most common issue is that the shoe either has a saggy heel, or is too narrow. This is probably the best shoe I have had so far - it is a bit stiff, and normally I prefer softer shoes, but despite that, this shoe seems to perform amazingly on all types of rock and types of climbing (overhang/vertical), as well as indoors both on roped climbs and boulder problems. It does the job for me on slabs as well, but I don't climb many "hardcore" super smeary slabs, and I would guess it might not be very good for that.
I usually wear EU43, and size 41.5 of this shoe fits me perfectly(took a fairly long time to break in though).
I'll have it re-soled soon and am considering getting a second pair just so I have another while the original is being repaired.
One thing to keep in mind that it is a performance shoe that is certainly not comfortable to walk in / wear for a long time, so I would not recommend it on long multi-pitches.
- Advantages
- Good fit
- Versatile
- High edge stability
- Recommended use
- All around
- Indoor climbing
- Sport climbing
- Bouldering
I don't recommend it for limestone
I found this pair of shoes too slippery on limestone. I have been working on a project with a very used pair of shoes (wild climb pantera soft) and on my final attempts, I tried this otaki. They proved to be too slippery. Finally, I get back to WC pantera soft and I managed to send my project despite of been almost broken on the edge. Very disappointed about otaki.
- Advantages
- Good fit
- Disadvantages
- poor grip
- Recommended use
- Sport climbing
What do you think about that?
This is what other customers say:
I really like the Otaki model. I have had it for almost 1 full year and it has been a very good upgrade from my starting pair of Tarantulas. I have used them only for bouldering (indoors).
From my experience, at first the shoes were extremely hard and tight on my feet and very grippy on the walls (as a brand new pair straight out of the box, makes sense). I went for the 40.5 when my normal street shoe size is about 41.5-42. The first week (first few sessions) my feet felt quite crammed up but after that they have been very comfortable in the Otaki. So much so that I rarely take them off on a session, mostly at the last few routes I take them off my feet on rests.
The shoes themselves are very nice. They have a very good toe edge so the first half a year the toe edge is pretty good at keeping you even on the mega tiny holds. Now tho I've noticed that the edge on my shoes is almost completely gone where I have my big toe (kinda makes sense as that's the area I have been utilizing the most). Even with the edge almost gone the Otaki performs well. I haven't had a single complaint while climbing because of the shoes (it's mostly been because of my own mistakes in my technique). Toe hooks I would say are okay with this model, I am not good at them so I can't really judge, but heel hooks are amazing. I feel so comfortable popping my heels in holds and that the shoe will not slip at all.
Cleaning the shoes as well is quite easy as you can get to almost all the spots without much trouble and need to bend the flaps or anything with force.
So to summarize a little bit of my experience with the Otaki:
- Toe Edge is amazing
- Heel Hooks feel great
- Grip is very good
- Size was great (downsizing by 1 number EU standard)
- Durability of the toe edge could be better, but I still have rubber and no need for resole
Keep in mind my climbing sessions are about 1-2 times per week and about 2-3 hours per session on average, it can get up to 4 times a week and up to 4 hours per session. I don't feel like I'm one of the most dedicated climbers cause I see much more dedicated people. So think of me as an average climber on an intermediate level (I climb mostly 6B-6C+)
If I had to recommend a good shoe it would be this one, but everyone's feet are different. I got lucky when they arrived and fir me well.
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- Advantages
- Good fit
- Good grip
- Versatile
- High edge stability
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- Recommended use
- Bouldering
- Indoor climbing
Bought this to replace Skwama that proved too soft for outdoor climbs, and Otaki works great both on the rock and indoor.
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- Advantages
- Good grip
- Good fit
- Versatile
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- Recommended use
- Sport climbing
- Indoor climbing
It is really a great shoe. It edges amazingly in the smallest if holds and smears great too. I like the slightly wider fit that you can snug with the easy to use Velcro
I use to use Miura lace up and I think they are at par on technical climbs while providing better support with the p3
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- Advantages
- High edge stability
- Versatile
- Good grip
- Good fit
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- Recommended use
- Sport climbing
- All around
I've been using these for a few weeks now and i'm very happy with them. performance is as you'd expect from a high end la sportiva shoe. shoe has a mid/stiff rubber, edges excellently and the heel is super stable for heel hooking. shoe feels really secure. i bought two sizes down from my street size, they are tight and snug but comfortable enough for a two hour bouldering session with a break for coffee after them breaking them in.
if you want a high performance fit for hard bouldering i would maybe go 2 1/2 - 3 sizes down. for intermediate climbers like me i would suggest 2 - 1 1/2 sizes down and for people maybe buying their first climbing shoes i would go 1 size down.
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- Advantages
- High edge stability
- Good fit
- Good grip
- Robust
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- Recommended use
- Bouldering
- Sport climbing
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