La Sportiva TC Pro Review of climbing Shoes

La Sportiva TC Pro

Lowering: flat

Excellent leather

Rubber: Vibram XS Edge (4mm).

What we like: Fantastic redesign of an already fantastic climbing shoe.

What we don’t like: The new ECO leather has a smell and can stretch more than the previous version.

Have you ever noticed that updates and redesigns often make the product worse? Yes, certainly. And this clearly applies to Tommy Caldwell: speaking about the redesign of La Sportiva’s old running shoe, the TC Pro, Caldwell said: “This was one aspect of the project we all agreed on: there is nothing to change be an improvement that does not degrade the original fit/feel.

Of course, I didn’t know this when I signed up to review the updated TC Pro. Let’s say I sign up for this challenge as a healthy skeptic. Of course I was hoping that the new version of an old classic (my favorite climbing shoe that I’ve been using for years) would be better than the original. But I didn’t hold my breath.

SPOILER ALERT: The updated TC Pro not only met my expectations, it exceeded them. At this point, I can’t imagine purchasing another pair of sneakers in the near future. But enough redundancy. Here’s everything you need to know to decide if the new TC Pro is for you, including an interview with the shoe’s namesake, the one and only Tommy Caldwell.

La Sportiva TC Pro review

New and improved

There weren’t many issues with the original TC Pro, but there were two major ones. First, the shoe had serious tearing issues in the front on both sides, where the toe box and strap meet. The rubber will begin to flake immediately after use. I always reinforce this area with Seam Grip right out of the box, and while it helps, it’s a pain and costs more. The new La Sportiva TC Pro solved this problem by turning two pieces of rubber into one and slightly changing the shape of that piece. After six months of use I haven’t had even the slightest trace of flaking. This is a complete game changer.

The other big problem with the first generation TC Pro was the bottom of the tongue. When you wear the shoe it always seems to rotate which is very uncomfortable and very annoying. This time, La Sportiva has added a microfiber lining on the tip to prevent the tongue from rolling. I’ve heard other climbers tell me that wobble still occurs occasionally, but I’ve personally never experienced that with the new version of the shoe.

Overall performance

What makes the La Sportiva TC Pro a unicorn is how it effectively achieves seemingly contradictory goals that tend to overlap quite a bit in the world of climbing shoes. This is the center of the Venn diagram; In other words, the best of both worlds. He is a lean-faced technical climber and a climber-killer. Comfortable casual shoes in a variety of lengths and an ideal choice for single length projects. It’s expensive, but durable enough that I can say it saves money in the long run. Simply put, the TC Pro is the best climbing shoe in the world. He excels at rock climbing, sport climbing, crack and big wall climbing, and mountaineering, just like his namesake Tommy Caldwell.

Like the original, the second generation TC Pro is a flat climbing shoe made of premium leather (PD 55 Last). This means it was built with the terrain and vertical panels in mind first. The faux leather upper (made without heavy metals) stretches and conforms to your foot, so it’s important to choose the right size (it’s okay if the shoe starts out tight). Vibram 4mm Remember: just because you can’t feel your leg doesn’t mean you can’t stand. In fact, not feeling it can sometimes be an advantage because you have no reason to doubt whether your foot will hold up!

Since this shoe is designed for everyday use, the TC Pro is comfortable even when it’s tight (especially thanks to the new and improved microfiber gusset). To ensure a precise fit, La Sportiva’s P3 system with 1.1mm LaspoFlex and strap work together to keep the heel and toe in place. Weighing in at around 8.7 ounces, it’s not a very light shoe (and it’s not small when packed). 

“Not suitable for rock climbing or sport climbing”

“This is one of the biggest complaints I’ve heard about the TC Pro. Even though I consider myself a professional climber, I climb more than anything else. Of course, the TC Pro isn’t ideal for 45-degree walls and rock-filled caves. lots of hooks on the toe and heel, but it’s actually a very specific type of stone. For vertical, rocky, gently sloping terrain, I like the TC Pro. And, for what it’s worth, they don’t seem to hold me back on the horizontal limestone surface of Brest Drew, near my home. Overall, the TC Pro surprised me with its performance on steep terrain, especially in heel engagement (of course, the toe engagement leaves one wanting better).

Minor Nitpicks

If I’m being petty, I have nothing to complain about about the updated TC Pro. First of all I think the new faux leather upper may be more sensitive to odors. I’m not saying I’ve ever owned a pair of shoes that didn’t smell bad, but these seem to smell slightly worse than the previous model (this anecdotal evidence is not based on any actual scientific evidence).

I’ve also talked a lot with other climbers who have worn these shoes in the last six months, and the prevailing opinion is that the new TC Pro last longer than the old ones. Personally I don’t think this is the case, but I’ve heard enough about it to make me wary. One of the reasons I didn’t try it may have been because I initially felt the fit was too comfortable for my feet. After 21 years of climbing, I have simply discovered that I climb better (especially difficult technical moves on miniature equipment) when I feel comfortable. I can think of just a few key points where cutting in half or cutting completely would make a difference. Even on the comfortably sized TC Pro, I feel like I can fit on the edge of a dime.

Lastly, and this is very smart, I think the new thin green leather padding that protects the bottom eyelets should be on the other side of the shoe. Tommy Caldwell claims otherwise, but I actually have some wear on the outer edge of the shoe to support my opinion. Not that this affects my climbing… just that putting it on the wrong side seems like a gimmick. But perhaps TC has other weaknesses when it comes to manual crack climbing.

How We Tested the TC Pro

One of the best things about living in Flagstaff, Arizona is the amount of different types of climbing and rock types within walking distance. I used the new TC Pro in the following scenarios and environments:

• Rocks: limestone, basalt, dacite (similar to welded tuff), granite and internal. Up to V7. Every corner, from the slab to the ceiling.
• Sports: limestone, sandstone (fine and artistic surface), basalt, dacite, granite and interior. Up to 5.13 B. Mainly on flat or vertical terrain, with small scattered areas.
• Traditions: Sandstone (technical surface and joints), granite (façade, friction plates and joints), basalt (pointed edge and joints). Mostly vertical.
• Testing locations: Cochise Ford, Joshua Tree National Park, Indian Creek, and many areas of northern Arizona.

Q&A with Tommy Caldwell

While researching the updated TC Pro design, I decided to go straight to the source and ask Tommy Caldwell himself a few questions. Tommy was kind enough to provide detailed answers and some helpful additional context on the redesign process (and the original TC Pro). Instead of breaking down your thoughts into short quotes, we decided to provide you with the full version of the questions and answers for your reading pleasure. Check it!

Tommy Caldwell: Early on in designing the TC Pro, I identified a few areas of the shoe that had issues after long periods of use that I thought could be improved. One of these areas, as I mentioned, was the medial and lateral sides of the shoe, where the toe meets the strap (the strap that holds the heel in place). In the original TC Pro model, the tip covered the slingshot. The new design reverses the system and the flange now covers the tip, which has a new shape and design. In my experience I have already noticed a significant increase in the life of the shoes thanks to this simple change.

SBT: How involved were you in the design process, both the original design and the redesign?

TC: To create the original TC Pro, with the support of La Sportiva, North America turned to the development team in Italy. At that time, this was a completely new idea for mountaineering shoes, since all other high altitude shoes were average. Everything on set was very tough.

I was just as involved in the redesign as I was in the original launch. It was very interesting for me to go back to the drawing board and rethink certain aspects of shoes that I have had over 10 years of intimate experience with. Due to the Covid outbreak we had to delay the launch until autumn/winter 21 and we managed to keep it in that date. From the beginning of the project, I helped identify key areas for improvement and from there we began testing changes through rapid prototyping at La Sportiva Italia’s research and development facilities. There were more than 10 prototypes: Alex Honnold, I and several other Americans carefully tested the shoes along with the original. 

SBT: The only thing that bothers me is the thin green leather cover that protects the bottom holes. Why inside the shoes and not outside? I feel like the exterior will show more signs of wear in the cracks (especially around the arms), etc.

TK: I think the shoe area is where a lot of people get confused. It seems like this was a design decision simply to increase durability (as you say), but it was actually a solution to a problem I had when wearing the shoes due to a crack in the hand. The original TC Pro skin design made this area of the foot a little bulky and pinching became painful at times. The solution was to redesign the crampon strap and use less leather (and lining), which reduces stress, plus the new material also improves abrasion resistance when climbing cracks.

SBT: Upgrades to proven hardware usually ruin it. How involved are you in ensuring that doesn’t happen this time? How did you prevent this from happening?

TK: This was one aspect of the project we all agreed on: no changes needed to be made. The modification must be an improvement that does not detract from the original fit/feel. I like to say that if you close your eyes and put the original and the new in place, you won’t be able to notice the difference in fit. This is one of the reasons why more than 10 prototypes were needed. Instead of making all the changes at once, we took the time to test them, then added new ones and made changes. All testers performed extensive testing by placing the original TC Pro on one rack and the new TC Pro on another to ensure they performed the same as the original. When I received the prototype, I immediately tested it on the most technical boards I could find. So try to fill the cracks.

SBT: Are there any exciting new technologies or design features included in the updated TC Pro that you’d like to highlight?

TK: I can’t pick just one! The most significant changes in footwear were:

The overall aesthetic has been updated to retain as much of the original TC Pro inspiration as possible. One cool thing the design team did in the update (which I didn’t ask for) was the side panel of the shoe. Where the La Sportiva logo was engraved, they added a microfibre patch depicting the silhouette of El Capitan, and then they engraved the Dawn Wall and the freerider course.

Updated tip design for increased durability.

Lace design (to reduce potential bulk/pressure points).

A medium elastic band pattern with reinforced rubber tip improves durability and performance.