These seem like the instincts slightly faster, more athletic brother. Or maybe if the vapor and instinct had a baby, this is what you’d get😃. Was torn on trying a new pair but after hearing Nathan’s explanation I’m sold.
Interesting the review on Epic TV recommended this as a bouldering shoe. I have a pair of VS’s for sport climbing but I’m curious how these compare to the VSR’s for bouldering.
I found the heel strip in the Furia model quite soft and slippery. It seemed to create a non contact gap in some heel angles. It looks good but a simple heel would be more effective I believe.
Thanks for the feedback Ian! The heel strip in the Booster is M50 rubber and the heel strip in the Furia S is tension rubber, so they will feel different. For a simple heel try Drago, Chimera, or any of the Vapor and Instinct models. -AD
@@Mike-oz4cv Which Vapor V are we talking about? The new 2019 in blue/yellow is also made out of microfibre. The oldest, the 2010-2014 in orange/silver is made out of leather. And the green one (lime), 2015-2018 is i think partly leather, partly synthetic.
@@philipppuchner1115 Oh, it is the blue/yellow one. Maybe synthetic material is no guarantee for no stretch. It certainly stretched *a lot*. When I tried them on in the shop I went down half a size and regretted it for the first few climbs. Now they are stretched to the point where I can wear them for half an hour comfortably. I had them re-soled and plan to use them for multi pitch climbing in 2020 (so not a total loss ;) ). I think they didn’t stretch length-wise but just the upper above the toe “knuckles” which is not necessarily a bad thing.
So, this is a reworked Booster S. As for me the Booster S felt extremely thin (the material of the upper), I don't get excited hearing it could be even thinner - the shoe should still lock my foot in place without the need of having the shoe extraordinarily small in size to accomplish this. I'm exicted about the new heel!! :)) Seems like my shallow ultra low volume heel could fit in this shoe. Just the arch should start quickly, otherwise I would have tons of dead space under my ankles, like in the heels of the Maestro, Arpia, etc. (i know, these example shoes are far less aggressive and therefore a high arch is not expected). Also the instinct SR slipper has this kind of problem (with me, or my feet with them). How about taking the Furia S and making it a more stable and supportive shoe (and name it differently)? Also some peple hope to see a successor of the Stix V2 (Stix Pro?) Slipper. Seems in the future there is no X-tension shoes any more, just the front pointing weapons with bi-tension and tri-tension and "custom" "whatever" tension systems :) But let's see how the new shoes (Booster) and especially the heels (Vapor Lace, Booster) fit :)
We checked in with Nathan about the upper material and this is what he reported: The reduction in thickness of materials in the Booster won’t effect the durability of the upper or its strength. The upper has 3 layers of material. The ceramic micro fiber is reinforced so it doesn’t stretch and this layer is the 3 layer of the upper. The result is simply a better fit. Also, a more stable and supportive version of the Furia S has already been made (only 900 pairs were made in a very specialized run) it's the Furia 80 (weighmyrack.com/shoe/scarpa-furia-80) -AD
Hah! We'd like to have your back on this one next week, but we won't be filming the details until the end of January (at the Outdoor Retailer trade show). -AD
Heyho, how wide is the heel compared to the Instinct VSR? I love the Instincts, but there is too much space in the heel for precise heel hooks. The Instinct WMN are a bit better, but also not perfect. I'm using my shoes primarily for bouldering and would continue to use the Instinct for smears und simple shit :)
Hey Max! The lowest volume SCARPA heel is found in the Vapor WMN. The Booster heel is a little less volume than Instinct, but not as deep. The main advantage of the Booster heel is that the rubber is thinner at the heel. FWIW, you'll likely find a better heel fit with lace-up models, like the Instinct Lace or Chimera. Lace up shoes are always better for heel performance because you can dial in the whole shoe fit so much better. For a non-lace option, the Drago can be worn tighter with less pain, so that could help too. -AD
What’s the release date looking like for North America? I see some uk sites carrying the shoe which has me curious as to whether or not the virus has affected the release.
The release is right now! Shipments of Boosters and Veloce's are literally coming in this week, and will continue to arrive this month. Some North American stores already have the Booster available, and you can see current buying options at: weighmyrack.com/shoe/scarpa-booster -AD
You could technically use the Booster anywhere, but you'd have a much more enjoyable time using a shoe like the Instinct VS or a Vapor as an all-arounder. The Booster is more a specialized shoe (that would be part of your quiver of shoes) that excels climbing really really tiny holds - like dime and quarter edges. Most climbers using the Booster to the fullest capacity would use it for hard routes with small edges, and take the shoe off between burns because it would be sized tighter to take advantage of the precision nature of it. The Instinct is still a precision shoe, but it'll be better at a wider range of holds, including smearing. If you like to keep your shoes on for longer, or plan on doing multi-pitch I'd go for the Vapors. -AD
As you can see from the video, this is a complicated shoe to make. The price reflects many of the high-end materials and also goes into paying living wages for European workers. Brands like SCARPA and La Sportiva make the majority of their products in Italy, with many of the materials sourced from Italy, and that necessitates a higher price. If you're goal is a price-focused shoe, Mad Rock and So Ill are better options. Mad Rock's core mission is making shoes that are priced in an affordable range. If you look at all the shoes that have an aggressive downturn, the price quickly moves upwards of $130 for most shoe brands. Note: You can sort/filter by price and compare every brand that makes climbing shoes at weighmyrack.com/shoe -AD
haha in Australia all the high end shoes such as the solution and skwamas are that price. We don't have economies of scale, so all our climbing equipment is super expensive
State of the art climbing shoes which are based on quality and nothing else, with as much work possible going into the fit, feel and no stretch after molding to the foot, you cannot escape the price tag. As it was said in the past: many shoe designers or companies build the shoes that they were easy to produce in the factory. The more the shoe should differ from these dummy's, the harder it gets to produce. I think in an older video Nathan said that there were over 80 prototypes of this shoe tested in over 3 years, to get the tension system and everything else perfect. This is not just a standard piece of material you put your feet into and climb somehow and shortly after that the shoes begin to stretch and after they are done you throw them in the bin, because the material is just so worn in that probably short amount of time, that resoling wouldn't make sense. As it it alsways the case with products, everything has advantages and disadvantages. Just try to know everything about them and make your choice based on your priorities and preferences.
Philipp Puchner I don’t have any doubts about the process, especially from Scarpa, which seem to put their heart and soul into research and new models. However, keep in mind that: 1. Climbing shoe prices have been constantly going up during this past decade. For some shoes/companies this is even with little or not at all improvement. 2. Does the average climber need so much technology in a shoe that will anyway wear out its sole soon? 3. Hardcore climbs have been climbed in slippers in the past, so why bother. 4. Is it the technology and research that increases the cost or is it the trend that “pushes” the value up? So the question one should ask is: is it worth it? Would we like to see climbing “growing” and becoming similar to golf or any other sport that only a few wealthy people have access to or make it open to everyone? My concern is that if prices keep going up like this, there will be no option in the future!
Nathan's climbing shoe knowledge is PhD level
Fantastic info, really love how he broke down all the details, looking forward to seeing more Scarpa videos from him!
Hahahaa. At epic tv they said exactly the opposite for which terrain the shoe is made and good.
Scarpa guys know what they talk about 🙌 great info
Do this with all your shoes please
Brilliant. Very thorough on the evolution of the booster line from Scarpa.
Can’t wait to see the first show Nathan designs
These seem like the instincts slightly faster, more athletic brother. Or maybe if the vapor and instinct had a baby, this is what you’d get😃. Was torn on trying a new pair but after hearing Nathan’s explanation I’m sold.
did you end up getting them? if so how was sizing for you? coming from a EUR 41.5 tarantulace and not sure how these will compare.
@@benjamindinoia8280 scarpa usually runs at least(!) 1 full size tighter than the same size in la sportivas. so size up ;)
Interesting the review on Epic TV recommended this as a bouldering shoe. I have a pair of VS’s for sport climbing but I’m curious how these compare to the VSR’s for bouldering.
I found the heel strip in the Furia model quite soft and slippery. It seemed to create a non contact gap in some heel angles. It looks good but a simple heel would be more effective I believe.
Thanks for the feedback Ian! The heel strip in the Booster is M50 rubber and the heel strip in the Furia S is tension rubber, so they will feel different. For a simple heel try Drago, Chimera, or any of the Vapor and Instinct models. -AD
I'm such a big fan of the Booster S, very excited to try these!
Really nice, but I really feel like, they are creating the nececity hardcore
I think these are my next shoes to replace my Vapor V for lead climbing :) do I have to take the same size?
Great question! If the Vapor V was well fitted, then go for the same size in the Booster. -AD
My Vapor V stretched quite a lot. The Booster hopefully won’t if it’s made out of synthetic materials.
@@Mike-oz4cv Which Vapor V are we talking about? The new 2019 in blue/yellow is also made out of microfibre. The oldest, the 2010-2014 in orange/silver is made out of leather. And the green one (lime), 2015-2018 is i think partly leather, partly synthetic.
@@philipppuchner1115 Oh, it is the blue/yellow one. Maybe synthetic material is no guarantee for no stretch. It certainly stretched *a lot*. When I tried them on in the shop I went down half a size and regretted it for the first few climbs. Now they are stretched to the point where I can wear them for half an hour comfortably. I had them re-soled and plan to use them for multi pitch climbing in 2020 (so not a total loss ;) ). I think they didn’t stretch length-wise but just the upper above the toe “knuckles” which is not necessarily a bad thing.
So, this is a reworked Booster S.
As for me the Booster S felt extremely thin (the material of the upper), I don't get excited hearing it could be even thinner - the shoe should still lock my foot in place without the need of having the shoe extraordinarily small in size to accomplish this.
I'm exicted about the new heel!! :))
Seems like my shallow ultra low volume heel could fit in this shoe. Just the arch should start quickly, otherwise I would have tons of dead space under my ankles, like in the heels of the Maestro, Arpia, etc. (i know, these example shoes are far less aggressive and therefore a high arch is not expected). Also the instinct SR slipper has this kind of problem (with me, or my feet with them).
How about taking the Furia S and making it a more stable and supportive shoe (and name it differently)?
Also some peple hope to see a successor of the Stix V2 (Stix Pro?) Slipper. Seems in the future there is no X-tension shoes any more, just the front pointing weapons with bi-tension and tri-tension and "custom" "whatever" tension systems :)
But let's see how the new shoes (Booster) and especially the heels (Vapor Lace, Booster) fit :)
We checked in with Nathan about the upper material and this is what he reported: The reduction in thickness of materials in the Booster won’t effect the durability of the upper or its strength. The upper has 3 layers of material. The ceramic micro fiber is reinforced so it doesn’t stretch and this layer is the 3 layer of the upper. The result is simply a better fit.
Also, a more stable and supportive version of the Furia S has already been made (only 900 pairs were made in a very specialized run) it's the Furia 80 (weighmyrack.com/shoe/scarpa-furia-80)
-AD
I heard there is a news Drago we need info
Hah! We'd like to have your back on this one next week, but we won't be filming the details until the end of January (at the Outdoor Retailer trade show). -AD
New colour way 😍
too narrow (for me). How about a slightly widened, slightly more supportive and precise Chimera then? With a little lower volume heel? :)
@@WeighMyRack ISPO Outdoor starting today, I will be on the lookout for this on your channel soon :D
Heyho, how wide is the heel compared to the Instinct VSR? I love the Instincts, but there is too much space in the heel for precise heel hooks. The Instinct WMN are a bit better, but also not perfect. I'm using my shoes primarily for bouldering and would continue to use the Instinct for smears und simple shit :)
Hey Max! The lowest volume SCARPA heel is found in the Vapor WMN. The Booster heel is a little less volume than Instinct, but not as deep. The main advantage of the Booster heel is that the rubber is thinner at the heel.
FWIW, you'll likely find a better heel fit with lace-up models, like the Instinct Lace or Chimera. Lace up shoes are always better for heel performance because you can dial in the whole shoe fit so much better.
For a non-lace option, the Drago can be worn tighter with less pain, so that could help too.
-AD
What’s the release date looking like for North America? I see some uk sites carrying the shoe which has me curious as to whether or not the virus has affected the release.
The release is right now! Shipments of Boosters and Veloce's are literally coming in this week, and will continue to arrive this month. Some North American stores already have the Booster available, and you can see current buying options at: weighmyrack.com/shoe/scarpa-booster
-AD
The Booster is now available at Backcountry ( bit.ly/3cPzDa7 ). See more retailers and current prices here: weighmyrack.com/shoe/scarpa-booster
How much
Can I use it as an all around shoe. IE, bouldering, sport, top rope.
You could technically use the Booster anywhere, but you'd have a much more enjoyable time using a shoe like the Instinct VS or a Vapor as an all-arounder. The Booster is more a specialized shoe (that would be part of your quiver of shoes) that excels climbing really really tiny holds - like dime and quarter edges. Most climbers using the Booster to the fullest capacity would use it for hard routes with small edges, and take the shoe off between burns because it would be sized tighter to take advantage of the precision nature of it.
The Instinct is still a precision shoe, but it'll be better at a wider range of holds, including smearing.
If you like to keep your shoes on for longer, or plan on doing multi-pitch I'd go for the Vapors.
-AD
since it has grip 2 rubber would it still be able to do some smears
€160?!? So online it'll still be around €130? Let me just sell my kidney so I can get one shoe...
As you can see from the video, this is a complicated shoe to make. The price reflects many of the high-end materials and also goes into paying living wages for European workers. Brands like SCARPA and La Sportiva make the majority of their products in Italy, with many of the materials sourced from Italy, and that necessitates a higher price. If you're goal is a price-focused shoe, Mad Rock and So Ill are better options. Mad Rock's core mission is making shoes that are priced in an affordable range. If you look at all the shoes that have an aggressive downturn, the price quickly moves upwards of $130 for most shoe brands.
Note: You can sort/filter by price and compare every brand that makes climbing shoes at weighmyrack.com/shoe
-AD
Guess I better start harvesting organs to fuel my shoe addiction...
haha in Australia all the high end shoes such as the solution and skwamas are that price. We don't have economies of scale, so all our climbing equipment is super expensive
Another $180 or more climbing shoe. No thanks.
State of the art climbing shoes which are based on quality and nothing else, with as much work possible going into the fit, feel and no stretch after molding to the foot, you cannot escape the price tag.
As it was said in the past: many shoe designers or companies build the shoes that they were easy to produce in the factory. The more the shoe should differ from these dummy's, the harder it gets to produce.
I think in an older video Nathan said that there were over 80 prototypes of this shoe tested in over 3 years, to get the tension system and everything else perfect.
This is not just a standard piece of material you put your feet into and climb somehow and shortly after that the shoes begin to stretch and after they are done you throw them in the bin, because the material is just so worn in that probably short amount of time, that resoling wouldn't make sense.
As it it alsways the case with products, everything has advantages and disadvantages. Just try to know everything about them and make your choice based on your priorities and preferences.
Philipp Puchner I don’t have any doubts about the process, especially from Scarpa, which seem to put their heart and soul into research and new models. However, keep in mind that:
1. Climbing shoe prices have been constantly going up during this past decade. For some shoes/companies this is even with little or not at all improvement.
2. Does the average climber need so much technology in a shoe that will anyway wear out its sole soon?
3. Hardcore climbs have been climbed in slippers in the past, so why bother.
4. Is it the technology and research that increases the cost or is it the trend that “pushes” the value up?
So the question one should ask is: is it worth it? Would we like to see climbing “growing” and becoming similar to golf or any other sport that only a few wealthy people have access to or make it open to everyone?
My concern is that if prices keep going up like this, there will be no option in the future!