La Sportiva TX3 Approach Shoe Brown Size:

Product Information

Because the TX3’s uppers are made of mesh, they will not hold water and thus will not take on weight. The Black Diamond Session is the lightest model in our review, weighing in at around 10 ounces per shoe in size 13 (our lead tester has huge feet).

The Cruzer is so light and minimal that it’s great for tossing in a pack during a long multi-pitch climb, but I mostly avoid using it if that multi-pitch climb has a really long approach.If these s And while we didn't judge these products on their rubber, as climbing rubber wears eventually, we did find big differences in their builds. Guide Tennies might climb a tad better but I find these more comfortable for hiking and they climb nearly as well. The cord loop on the heel (presumably designed so they can be clipped onto a climbing harness) also gets caught on sticks when bushbashing (This loop can easily be removed if you find this problematic).

The soles are more flexible than many other canyoning shoes, which assists with your ability to smear the maximum amount of rubber on the rock when scrambling.

Finally, if the TX3’s airy mesh upper catches your eye, it’s worth taking a look at the Black Diamond Mission LT. In short, this is a rugged mountain shoe that can take massive amounts of abuse without missing a beat. It also has a low-profile toe box that can fit into smaller cracks than any other approach shoe on the market. TX3 is the best approach shoe I’ve ever used, and I’ve been through a decent amount of them (multiple old Guide tennies, new Guide tennies, Scarpa Crux, Scarpa Gecko, Sportiva Boulder X’s, etc).

If you only plan on wearing approach shoes to the bottom of the crag, or don't care about weight, most other approach shoes weigh only a little more per pair than the lighter options. I usually only get about a year or two out of my Wildcats before the tread is chewed up and the mesh torn by off-trail scrambling, scree, granite, and bushwhacking. The TX Guide is a very firm and stable trail shoe that has been the perfect option to handle technical trails and heavy packs. I don’t do any climbing, but love using approach shoes for technical hiking and backpacking with a heavy load. I found that once the cord is removed you can solve this problem by simply running the lace through the eyelet holes in the rubber where the cord originally ran.After using my first pair of TX3s for around 20 canyoning days, they were completely fine other than the lacing system.

These shoes must be able to climb technical rock with ease, hike comfortably through cross-country terrain to remote alpine climbs, and provide support for long days standing in aiders.up until about the 10 mile mark in a day – somewhere after that I wish there was just a tad more room in the toe box. Furthermore, the TX2 Evo has elastic bands on each heel midsole that wrap around the shoes when paired together, keeping them in a tight package for clipping to the back of a harness or stuffing them into a pack.