La Sportiva Miura VS - Women's Review

With a stiff platform and aggressive shape, the Miura VS is a master of precision and shines in all forms of technical climbing. The most recent update to this beloved shoe includes a new heel construction, beefier PU on the hook-and-loop closures for added durability, and additional recycled materials in manufacturing.

Comfort

An entirely different shape from their lace-up counterparts, the Miura VS is more or less a different shoe, with its own intricacies in terms of fit. It has a slightly wider toe box than the Miura and a more aggressive shape with its slightly downturned toe. The Velcro (VS) version of this shoe has a more padded tongue and is relatively comfortable straight out of the box.

As opposed to the majority of Velcro shoes on the market, the Miura VS has not one, not two, but three Velcro tabs to help fine-tune the fit. Our lead tester appreciated this because the three straps helped accommodate their wide, oddly shaped feet. Although the heel has been redesigned for a snugger fit, there is still a bit of wiggle room, which doesn't exactly allow for optimal heel hooking performance. (Of course, this completely depends on how the Miura VS fits your foot.)

We noticed a few gaps across the top of the tongue, which made these shoes look like they weren't sized properly. These fit issues were probably due to our wider foot and didn't affect the overall comfort of the shoes. The Miura VS can be sized down for a less comfortable but higher-performance fit, which makes them an exceptional edging shoe. Or, they can be sized up a tad, making them perfect for all-day free climbs. Our lead tester has worn these shoes in both their performance fit size and a half-size up and found that both options are comfortable, depending on what you are trying to get out of them.

Smearing

Though they are stiff, the Miura VS breaks in well and does an impressive job of smearing and finding small holds with precision. Once they were broken in, these shoes were even more sensitive, allowing us to trust our feet even on the smallest and most slippery holds. The P3 technology, combined with the Miura VS's fairly aggressive downturn, means that all your standing power transfers toward the front of your foot. This, combined with Vibram's XS Grip2 rubber, allowed us to trust our feet and feel the texture of the rock through the soles of these shoes.

Owning a shoe that excels in multiple climbing styles is key for techy granite or long routes. The Miura VS was sensitive enough to smear but stiff enough to stand on small holds. This combination of stiffness and suppleness makes for an impressively versatile shoe – perfect for precise footwork.

Edging

Hours spent toeing into tiny footholds on a gently overhung wall are the ideal day for the Miura VS. These shoes are made for edging – with La Sportiva's Slingshot rand and Powerhinge technology, the Miura VS pulls you into the wall by forcing your weight into the toe. Their downturn was not an issue on vertical terrain because their stiffness allows these shoes to hold their shape, even when standing on a vertical wall.

The sensitivity and technical precision of these shoes work well for precise edging because of their unique combination of a stiff last and a soft, sensitive rubber. Especially sized down, the Miura VS really holds its shape and is truly an edging machine.

Crack Climbing

If you are trying to send your technical, thin crack project, the Miura VS is a good option, but we tend to prefer shoes without Velcro for crack climbing. Sized up, they would be adequate for thin cracks, corners, or a combination of face and crack climbing. If you're going after long hand cracks, a softer, less aggressive shoe is likely a better choice.

The Miura VS can stem and edge like a boss – skills that come in handy on hard trad routes – but their ability to climb straight in cracks is less than ideal. For that, look for a less aggressive model. In the Miura VS, rather than splitter desert towers, seek out a technical, every trick-in-the-book Yosemite-style crack climb instead.

Pulling

With their downturned shape, the Miura VS toes into pockets and steep terrain with the best of them. Their slightly aggressive shape allows them to toe into holds and for you to transfer your body weight over the shoe. Their sensitivity and edging prowess come in handy in steeper terrain, making them a superb all-around shoe for techy and difficult climbs.

The newest version of the Muira VS has been updated with a new outsole for purportedly increased precision while heel hooking. Unfortunately, the heel was still a bit baggy for our foot and didn't offer a very snug fit. As with all climbing shoes, if it fits well, you can likely expect the level of precision that the designers intended. Though the VS performed well on pocketed routes, we learned that we actually prefer a softer shoe that allows us to cam our toes in. Perhaps we are just trad climbers at heart.

Should You Buy the Women's Miura VS?

The Miura VS is an all-around technical master and a tried-and-true favorite of our testers. It's a high-performance shoe that maintains a reasonable level of comfort throughout the day. The edging ability, sensitivity, and overall design make the VS a versatile option – we know some women who climb strictly in the Miura VS, sending long free climbs in Yosemite Valley, sandstone boulders, and European limestone in the same pair of shoes. These shoes easily edge on granite razor blades as well as they toe-in on slippery limestone pockets. We recommend these shoes for any form of hard climbing, regardless of discipline, where the difference between sending and failure could be as simple as a botched foot placement. Though they can be painful to break in, the Miura VS will perform with the best of them.

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