Review: La Sportiva Futura

The La Sportiva Futuras are my preferred bouldering climbing shoe. I've been wearing them for multiple years. I've owned many pairs and had many resoled to extend their lifespan. 

But why do I love them so much? 

1. velcro closure-system: the velcro on the Futuras is so dang convenient. Since I size my Futuras small, it means I take them on and off a lot. The velcro facilitates this. Some folks complain that the velcro straps break, but I've had no such issue. 
2. aggressive downturn: thanks to the aggressive down turn, I can perform much better on overhanging terrain. But don't get it twisted, these things perform on vertical terrain too.
3. soft flex: the Futuras are soft. Like really soft. And they're sensitive. This helps them smear. However, for some folks, the softness hurts their feet. If you're new to soft and sensitive shoes, it may be best to transition slowly. 
4. great grip: the futures have vibram XS grip 2 rubber on the outsole. This rubber has high performance both indoors and outside.  
5. edgeless technology: the futures have no edge. Instead, the rand is completely rounded. This means instead of having to make the perfect edge-to-edge connection on a foot hold, you can let the edgeless part of the Futura sort of adapt/shmear all over foothold. It sounds crazy but this technology actually performs really wear. I like it so much I want to try other La Sportica shoes with the same no edge design.

A note about sizing: when I started wearing futures years ago, I was sizing them a little too big. They would stretch out and lose their performance fit. Over time, I learned that I like sizing my Futuras one size down from street. So for me, that's 42.5 EU or 9.5 US.