Performance Comparison
Dave in the TC Pro on Cathedral Peak, Toulomne, YNP, CA.
Edging
The XS Edge rubber La Sportiva developed for the TC Pro was, as the name implies, designed for edging. It works phenomenally. The pointed toe stands on extremely microscopic features with ease, and both the inside and outside edges feel precise enough for hard face climbing. La Sportiva used their P3 technology to complete the edging package. After wearing this shoe for long enough, it's easy to be lured into believing they can truly do it all. Only when contrasted to specialized shoes like the La Sportiva Genius or the Miura VS is this model put into perspective. They are amazing edging shoes for being almost entirely flat, but they still fall beneath the upper echelon of edging shoes.
Crack Climbing
Fish do well in water, and the TC Pro does well in cracks for the same reason: they are meant to be there. The virtually flat toe fits perfectly in cracks, allowing you to crank and jam in all directions with impunity. The forefoot is surprisingly stiff for how sensitive the shoe feels and holds shape no matter how hard you try to mangle your foot in the wide stuff. Your hands will give in to the cracks long before this shoe does. The toe box has a high volume and doesn't do as well in thin cracks. For charging up cracks sized thin hands to fingers, we recommend our Top Pick For Crack Climbing, The La Sportiva Kataki.
Pockets
Just looking at the shape tells you it does well in pockets at some angle. However, the steeper you get, the less it performs. The flat toe, so amazing on edges and in cracks, will inspire ballerina like maneuvers to keep your toe in overhanging pockets, and you're still likely to fall out. For pocket climbing, we recommend the Tenaya Tarifa, with its pointy toes and excellent edging abilities. The La Sportiva Miura provided more than a little inspiration for the design of the TC Pro and had a down-turned enough toe to hang in an overhanging world where the TC Pro can't. Try the Miura, or the La Sportiva Katana Lace if you are a crack climber that wants to hook steep pockets too.
Testing the TC Pro at the Owens River Gorge, Bishop, CA.
Sensitivity
This hard man's shoe is a little hard but still manages to be on the sensitive side. A perfect compromise between protection and performance makes this shoe only average when it comes to sensitivity. You won't feel everything in this shoe, but like the La Sportiva Miura VS, it cranks down on a lot of things you can't even see, so learn to trust them. If you want a softer, more sensitive shoe for long adventures, check out Top Pick for all day comfort, the Five Ten Quantum.
Comfort
After enough pitches, any shoe can make you miserable. How long that takes is the measure of how comfortable a shoe is. It doesn't baby your foot like some flat shoes. The toe is still aggressively pointed, and at one size down your toes will be slightly curled over. This shoe is very comfortable, but it isn't the most comfortable shoe ever made. Still, on pitch 23 it manages to feel very much like it did on pitch one.
The sole offers tons of support that helps stave off fatigue, and the shoe protects your foot amazingly in cracks. Both of these aspects of its performance are more important than its comfort out of the box. Only the Five Ten Quantum and a very well worn-in La Sportiva Katana Lace rival the all-day comfort and climbing ability of the TC Pro.
The down turn of the Katana Lace VS. the flatter fit of the TC Pro.
Best Applications
The TC Pro is a true all-arounder, sport climbing and bouldering surprisingly well. But, even Tommy Caldwell swaps them out for a pair Solutions or the venerable Miura when taking on hard sport routes. They indeed excel at all things trad, and will help keep you psyched on the massive days. Buy them as a quiver of one, for all the climbing you might want to do, or for your big wall plans. Either way, you won't be disappointed.
A little Red Rocking in the TC Pro
Value
The TC Pro is worth saving your lunch money. Concerning durability, the 4mm rubber will outlast the rand, which tends to peel, but this doesn't affect performance. The leather upper shows no real signs of wear after significant use. The fact that they can be utilized for general climbing in addition to being a very specialized shoe increases their value significantly in our book. It might be hard to justify if you don't climb that often, but maybe they will inspire you to get out more. The Butora Altura has a similar design but costs $30 less. The Altura isn't as comfy out of the box and requires a long break-in period, but they are extremely durable.
The TC Pro handles all but very thin cracks extremely well.
Conclusion
The TC Pro has a serious fan club but is also not without detractors; this is likely since it was talked up so much, people probably thought it would climb for them. When it didn't, folks got grumpy. The bottom line is: if you're looking for one great shoe to do it all, and perhaps have big wall ambitions, you could do worse. At the price, you probably couldn't afford another pair of shoes anyway.
