Review > Scarpa > Boostic

Lately the trend in rock climbing shoes design is to redesign or merge together two already

existing product. It is simple, cost effective and you’re pretty sure people are going to like it.

The recipe is quite simple, you take two good shoes and take the best they offer and make one shoe out of it. The idea is good and you might think that failure is impossible or would it be possible ?

Scarpa is a rising Italian company here in North America. It grow fast and is gaining more and more attention, hence de rapid development in shoe modeling. The first major hit they had was with the Styx/Booster/mago serie (slipe on, velcro and strap), a super aggressive shoe that excelled at very steep terrain. This major hit was produce by none other than the Master himself, who just joined Scarpa rank, Heinz Mariacher ! The Italian shoe designer said it himself, he likes to produce shoe that can excel at every angle on a single pitch. Needless to say, you don’t switch shoe model in the middle of a climb ! With that idea in mind, he designed the second generation of A1 shoe at Scarpa, with the Boostic.

Here is what is found on Scarpa’s website :

Meet the evolution of high performance climbing shoes. Power and precision for today's elite climbers. Another masterpiece by designer Heinz Mariacher.

• Upper: Suede/Lorica®
• Midsole: Tenoflex
• Sole: Vibram® XS Edge
• Last: FZ
• Sizes: 35 – 45 (half sizes)
• Weight: 240g; 8.3oz (1/2 pair size 40)
• Color: Parrot/Spring/Turquoise

The Test.

I tested the shoe from the steep schist of Rumney to the perfect and technical climbing of Squamish, all the way to our face climbing in Quebec. You name it, I’ve climbed on it with the Boostic, roof, crack, face, overhangs, face, slabs… I bouldered and sport climbed in them, from 3 meters boulder to highballs and from 3 bolt route climb to 12…

The result is surreal, the perfect shoe ! A shoe that can edge or pull, the toe box is just perfection. Precise and powerful yet you don’t feel the tightest that came with the Booster series. There were a couple of times where my feet pop up for no reason on super steep roof climbing. But was the error human ? Probably since this was a super powerful tension roof boulder problem.

Any down points? Perfection isn’t part of this world for sure.  There is two thing that lack in this shoe. First one, is how the heel is make and I find that every Scarpa shoes have this problem. The heels are way not sensitive enough. They always slip off. Don’t get me wrong.. it is not a technique problem, my heels are most of the time bomber (except when it is the crux). The second problem I find on Scarpa shoes is how the rubber wear out fast. I climb outside maybe 3 or 4 times a week and inside 1 or 2 times for training. After two months, my Boostic were destroyed. Is it me who have poor foot work or the rubber is too soft ? Get your opinion about it.

Pros :

• Powerful and precise
• Can work well everywhere
• Weapons of mass destruction

Cons :

• Heels are not sensitive enough
• Rubber wears out quickly

So bottom line, this shoe is not for everyone, if you start climbing you absoluetly won’t like it. Too much pain and way too precise for beginners footwork mistakes. If your like me a climber who like to climb hard stuff, that start in a 45 and finish high above a pit landing and you are 20 feet off the deck on a technical face climb, it is by far the best choice on the market right now. Squamish lover, don’t wear this on Encore une fois and you’ll be find !

Guillaume Raymond is a sponsored climber (Organic / Climb It Holds / Uncarved Block and Climbing Hold Review) from Montreal and also writes the training section in Gripped magazine. He's a trainer and father of 1 and a half sons.