La Sportiva Gripit Review
Cons: Lacks technical performance, single lace tension strap wore out quickly
Manufacturer: La Sportiva
Our Verdict
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 This Product
La Sportiva Gripit | |||||
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| Awards |  | |  | ||
| Price | $82.00 at Amazon | $79.99 at Amazon Compare at 2 sellers | $54.95 at Backcountry Compare at 2 sellers | $54.95 at Backcountry Compare at 2 sellers | $33.60 at Backcountry Compare at 3 sellers |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Super comfortable, good for growing feet, easy on/off | Superb edging, great crack shoe, great on steep rock | Adjustable heel strap, breathability, single pull adjustment | Durable, comfortable, High quality construction | Good price, comfort, easy on/off |
| Cons | Lacks technical performance, single lace tension strap wore out quickly | Lacks comfort for all day climbing | Fabric is less abrasion resistant than synthetic or real leather | Not great on small holds, runs quite large | Single lace tension strap can wear out quickly, adjustable heel sacrifices heel hooking rubber |
| Bottom Line | This extremely comfortable foot-shaped shoe is an ideal shoe for young climbers to promote healthy growing feet | An all around powerhouse, this shoe can do just about anything well, from steep sport routes and boulders to techy slabs and cracks | A great kids shoe, packed with a ton of great features that help it perform well in almost every type of terrain | The Piki is one of the more durable shoes in our roundup as well as being comfortable and a decent performer | This all-around shoe has good performance on beginner to intermediate climbing terrain at a great price |
| Rating Categories | La Sportiva Gripit | Evolv Ashima | Evolv Venga | Scarpa Piki | La Sportiva Stickit |
| Edging (20%) | |||||
| Cracks (20%) | |||||
| Comfort (20%) | |||||
| Pockets (20%) | |||||
| Sensitivity (20%) | |||||
| Specs | La Sportiva Gripit | Evolv Ashima | Evolv Venga | Scarpa Piki | La Sportiva Stickit |
| Style | Velcro slipper | Lace-up | Velcro slipper | Velcro slipper | Velcro slipper |
| Upper | ECO Biodegradable leather | Leather | Polyester Mesh | Synthetic | Leather |
| Width Options | None | None | None | None | None |
| Lining | Unlined | Unlined | Agion Antimicrobial | Unlined | Unlined |
| Rubber Type | Frixion RS | TRAX High Friction | TRAX SAS | Vision | Frixion RS |
| Rubber Thickness | 3 mm | 4.2 mm | 4.2 mm | 4 mm | 3 mm |
Our Analysis and Test Results
Comfort on easy climbs is where this shoe shines. The Gripit performed well for young climbers but did have some shortcomings in the performance department. Our testers had trouble on slabs and cracks, as well as edging. The soft sole, while super comfy, just doesn't have the structure needed for most climbers to use on technical terrain.
Performance Comparison
Edging
The Gripit has the No-Edge technology which allows the toes to get super close to the rock. With a "closer to the rock" position, those small footholds will suddenly feel larger and promote better footwork. Even with its No-Edge toe, with such a soft platform, it does require more foot strength. This shoe is better for beginners who won't likely be using super any super small foot jibs.
Crack Climbing
This shoe is NOT a crack climbing shoe. The soft, thin sole, has very little protection from cracks.
Some soft shoes can perform fairly well in cracks, but this shoe takes softness to another level and had our testers grimacing, wishing they could just touch the chains already! Basically, if you wouldn't stick your barefoot into the crack, you won't want to do it in this shoe.
Pockets
The shape of the toe box combined with the soft, flexible outsole, make this shoe a poor candidate for pocketed routes, especially on steeper terrain.
The only saving grace this shoe offers for pockets is the fact that it has the no edge technology that allows the foot to get in close and sense the nuances of the foothold. A shoe with a more tapered toe box would be a much better choice for those routes that feature pockets, but then you would lose that wide, foot-shaped toe box of the Gripit.
Sensitivity
The Gripit is an extremely sensitive shoe. La Sportiva lists the shoe as having a 1.8mm Laspoflex midsole and a 3mm Frixion Rs rubber outsole.
However, the outsole appears to be closer to 2mm, and there is no apparent midsole, so the shoe ends up being extremely sensitive. Even though the Gripit is super sensitive, the rubber didn't seem to grip the rock as well as the Stickit, which supposedly has the same Frixion Rs rubber. However, with so much sensitivity, this shoe will promote good footwork because it will give much more sensory feedback.
Comfort
Finally, a metric this shoe dominates!!! Having the same adjustment strap as the La Sportiva Stickit, it is super easy to get on and off, and the flat, wide, flexible sole makes this shoe the most comfortable shoe tested by far.
The standard reaction when someone puts on a climbing shoe for the first time, "Can I get the next size up?", is a thing of the past. You should expect this shoe to feel more like a moccasin than a standard climbing shoe. As a general rule, the higher the performance, the lower the comfort.
Value
The Gripit has pretty good value for the right climber. This Italian made shoe is perfect for beginners. If you are looking for a shoe that is easy on the growing foot, allowing the foot to spread and stay in its natural position, these can't be beaten. However, the durability is called into question because lace's stopper knot came untied after the first climb (easy fix). Also, the same lace showed wear after only a couple climbs.
We did put the shoe to the test on some hard outdoor crack climbs that this shoe wasn't necessarily designed for, however, which may have given it more of a beating than the average beginner climber would. The Velcro tab is barely larger than a postage stamp and after repeated use, is likely to wear out. (Though that is speculation since we had no trouble with that on this shoe or the Stickit, which shares the same design). We think the durability would be just fine if used for its primary purpose.
Conclusion
You may be asking, with all of its drawbacks, why it even gets an award, to begin with, but the fact is, this shoe is a perfect design for so many kids out there. This innovative new shoe may not have the best performance in cracks or pockets, for instance, but it was given an award because it has rewritten the rules for what makes a good young kid's climbing shoe. Ask any new climber to try this on next to any of the other intermediate climbing shoes; there is no doubt, most of them will feel more comfortable in the Gripit, which in turn will make the activity more enjoyable. That is reason enough to consider this for any future wall rat!
— Adam Paashaus