Miura VS review
I have long been a fan of Sportivaยs shoes since they tend to fit my feet much better than most other brands. Iยve been around the block. Iยve tried the favorite shoes of every brand, and yet Iยve always come back. For a handful of years, I used the Miura, exclusively, for all bouldering since its heel hooking prowess was the best I had ever experienced, it edged very well, and I did not need to downsize it very much to milk every ounce of performance out of it. Suffice to say I was very excited to finally receive a pair of the Miura VS shoes to try out, which sports a tad more camber than the original and Velcro straps for letting the feet chill between burns.
Bottom line is that the VS is very similar to the regular modelย it is a somewhat stiffer than other bouldering shoes, so it dominates foot holds that are significantly weighted; i.e. it edges and smears very well on slabby to overhung terrain when you can crank on a foot hold, regardless of size or slope. The only issue I found, which is endemic of all stiffer shoes, is that when a foot hold does not let you use much weight [high balance moves on tiny holds or smearing on sloping, blocky features on a roof during a big reach, etc.] the stiffness did not provide the sensitivity of softer models, like the Testarossa or Venom, for instance. However, I did use these shoes on my small training wall, which is about a 60 degree overhang, and I found that their ability to toe in on thin, incut features was significantly better than about 10 different pairs of softer and/or flat-footed shoes; I was able to power through lockoffs on horrid crimps with much more authority than other models. They performed similarly well on some steep lines outdoors, as well.
Iยve always believed that cambered shoes offer substantially more performance than flat shoes on most angles. I still believe this, but I have now developed a quasi-arthritis in my big toe knuckles from years of wearing only severely downturned shoes. The camber in the VS seems to be enough for precise climbing, yet without being too downturned to cause pain or injure your toes. I was comfortable during my climbing sessions in them.
After spending a winter testing shoes with different rubber side by side, I can confidently say that the Vibram XS Grip used on this model is my favorite rubber for all around high-performance bouldering. I will admit that Stealth HF is a bit more sticky, but tends to roll off tiny edges more and certainly wears out faster. The XS Grip is the second most sticky Iยve ever used and wears much better. Like all rubber, you can get extra stick by simply spit shining your shoes to get dust, dirt, and chalk off before redpoint burns.
For heel hooking, I was concerned about the lack of laces, as Iยve had poor luck with all Velcro shoes for extremely powerful heel hook moves. Regardless, the VS lived up to the heel hooking performance of the original. I was surprised, especially when considering these shoes feel a bit larger than the same numerical size in the regular Miura.
Iยd estimate that the VS feels about ยผ size larger than the corresponding size in the regular Miura. I suspect that the reason for this is that the regular Miura can be cinched down considerably to turn a roomy fit into a tight, precise fit for game-time on a project. Because of the Velcro straps, the Muira VS cannot be tightened quite as much, so you may considering going down a ยฝ size from the regular Muira if youยre into a tighter fitย . [which may mean that the easy-off Velcro straps would come in handy for you between burns].
For what itยs worth, I am sporting a size 39.5 and my feet are about 10.5 in. at the longest point and 3.75 in. at the widest point.
I would say that these kicks would serve one extremely well on slabs to roofs. If I could carry only one pair of climbing shoes for any given session, this would be it. More realistically, along with these, I will also carry a pair of Solutions or Testarossas in my pack when more sensitivity is necessary, but suffice to say that many of my hardest sends this spring and early summer were only possible due to the heel hooking perfection of the Miura. Any drawback of these shoes is due to the stiffness rather than any flaw in their design, and in many cases, the stiffness actually increases performance.