After the long reign of my softer Mythos climbing shoes, I developed a finger tendon issue when breaking into thinner, steeper climbing. A friend who is much better than I and a self proclaimed "shoe freak" told me I needed edging shoes for the sport climbing and bouldering I was doing. This would put more weight on my feet where it belongs and less on my finger crimps. He also instructed me to try and open hand stuff as much as possible to avoid tendon damage.
Specifically I was told to buy Five Ten Anasazi Lace Ups. I bought a pair and I bought them tight. After a few uses my big toe-nails hurt bad. My edging did not improve. I went to the store and tried on a half size up. They felt really sloppy but my big toe still hit the end. The heel was way too large and uncomfortable. Lesson #1: not all shoes fit all people right.
I had heard about the Miuras and know that Sportiva fits me so I tried them on. They fit very well so I bought them. The Miuras are very ergonomically designed, taking on the shape of your arch, heel, toes. They really tried to match the shape of the shoe to the shape of a foot. In my case a skinny long foot. I cannot vouch for these shoes on wide feet. The construction quality and materials are A1. I know that these will last at least as long as my other Sportivas have. I think I got something like four years and four resoles out of my Clifs before I decided to retire them due to some wierd poking inside.
The Miuras go on quite quickly due to the lacing system. They have few cross-overs. The laces can be pulled tight by the end and the whole shoe will tighten up. The leather is fairly thick and it is lined so do not expect excessive stretching after they are broken in.
These shoes were made to edge. They have a stiff sole and a slightly downturned toe. The whole shoe is actually quite stiff. The toes are pointy so you can really dig onto those micro-edges and stick your toes in little grooves. The stiffness allows you to get some good weight on the extreme edges of your toes without the shoe flexing too much. I take these out more and more over my softer Mythos as I have now discovered the power of an edging shoe. I have used them in cracks and for slab type climbs as well. If I know I am going to climb hard slab all day or moderate trad all day I will still take the Mythos for their better "feel". The Miuras will limit your feel of the rock texture through the stiff sole which can lead to diminished smearing performance.
I have noticed that the wear on my Miuras is concentrated at the edge of my toes. You will spend more of your time in these shoes on your toes than the flat of your foot, they just make you want to edge everything to get the most out of them. In softer shoes I tend to smear edges which tends not to be ideal, so it all depends on what you will climb as to what you buy or bring.
The Miuras are expensive. If you are just going to take them to the gym, buy cheaper shoes. Remember that shoes cannot make the climber, only vertical mileage can do that. If you find yourself needing more edging power on thin holds, then get to the store and buy the Miuras (if they fit you). Shoes are nothing if they do not fit so buy what fits, these are an excellent option in the performance edging category. Not too extreme to be uncomfortable. Buy them with a little curl in the toes but if your toes are crammed, you will climb worse and your toenails may fall off.
For rock climbers that demand the highest level of small foothold performance from their climbing footwear. The La Sportiva Miura excels at hard rock ...More at Oregon Mountain Community
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