User Review: La Sportiva Cirque Pro

La Sportiva Cirque Pro
Above: The current Cirque Pro, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed December 19, 2007 by Willis

Rating:
Use: Rough trail w/ pack, climbing, hiking
Break-in Period: ~5 miles
Price Paid: $79.99

I bought this shoe to bridge the gap between my old hiking boots and climbing shoes. I do plenty of hiking and a good amount of bouldering and scrambling around on rocks, but didn't feel like spending the money to buy rock climbing shoes AND new boots - so I got these.

Pros: very strong shank, excellent upper durability.

Cons: you'll need strong ankles because of the narrow design. While this is helpful for climbing and edging, it is a little unstable on uneven ground if you have weak ankles.

Also, if you are hiking on wet leaves or mud, these shoes have not so hot traction - less than most hiking boots. This is just because the treads are designed for rock, not wet trail.

However, I've gone on several wet and dry hiking and backpacking trips in them, and done some medium difficulty climbs, and they are holding up very well, except for a few spots on the sole which are wearing down - though there is still at least 3/4 of the tread left. The uppers and toe bumpers look like new, and the laces are very durable as well.

Overall: don't buy these shoes if you just want a good hiking boot, unless you do all your hiking on and around rock. If you want a cross-over boot good for some climbing and hiking, theses are great. BTW, I encourage you to buy them from Oregon Mountain Community.com.