Boreal Kintaro
Supper comfortable aggressive climbing shoe. Amazingly sticky rubber (these shoes literally stick together). The new V2 Rand system keeps an aggressive fit forcing the toe forward and keeping heels tight for heel hooking.
Pros
- Rubber stickiness
- V2 rand system
- Comfort
Cons
- Rubber durability
After ten years of climbing and trying to find a shoe that performed at the highest level, while maintaining a comfortable fit, I have come full circle to the inventors of sticky rubber.
The heel cup fits my narrow heel with no dead space. The forefoot knuckles the toes into a good position of power with out the pain of Chinese foot binding usually associated with high end shoes. I bought them as directed on the Boreal website in my street shoe size. With this sizing they are great for sport or multipitch sport routes, they also boulder well and stand on smeary edges wonderfully.
Onlined leather comfortably wraps around the foot with out losing shape over time and does not gain the death sent of synthetic shoes. The V2 rand system works like a charm maintaing positive forward control of the foot, a secure fit for heel hooking and does not cause pain in the achilles.
Oh, and the sticky on this rubber smears and smedges better than any other rubber on the market. Boreal has me as a customer for life.
Source: bought it new
Price Paid: $100