Climbing Shoes

Sometimes, choosing a new climbing shoe can be indecisive, especially for beginners. When you see these two shoes (almost the same name) in the climbing shoe market where there’s a wide variety of brands and models, the first question that comes to mind is what’s different between Tarantula vs Tarantulace?

Firstly, it’s mentioned here in La Sportiva’s own comparison chart that it looks like there’s no difference between these shoes’ technical features. BUT there’s no such thing.

The first difference that we see when we look at their name is ‘’ace’’ which comes from the lacing system.

This allows us to compare the first noticeable distinction between them, and we can briefly summarize as follows;

• Tarantula has a velcro while Tarantulace has a lace system which really helps to get the better fit.

• It’s easy to take off and put on with velcro because of that Tarantula is a little bit more comfortable than Tarantulace.

You can also see this in La Sportiva’s visual climbing shoe guide.

If you’re looking for a more characteristic feature, you’re at the right place.

Let’s go!

Overview

Comfort and Fit

Both of them is an entry-level climbing shoe. They’re both really comfortable shoes for newbies.

They’re not aggressive shoes. They’re the flattest models in their line but Tarantula is one step ahead as it’s easier to take off and put on.

Both of them have the unlined upper which is designed for moisture management and it provides us to comfort our feet all day.

Also, the other thing is featured by both of them have a low asymmetrical shape of toe box which allows to toe area a lot rounder and comfy.

Outsole

They’ve 5 mm of FriXion RS rubber which is thicker and it provides more durable rubber but also thicker rubber decreases sensitivity.

FriXion RS is a technology that is designed and built from a variety of compounds and made of sticky rubber for maximum performance.

Having a sticky rubber allows us to do a better grip and smearing. Y’all might wonder, what’s with smearing?

Firstly, smearing is an essential climbing technique that is about pressing the sole of your climbing shoe directly to the rock or plastic (if you’re bouldering) and using your climbing shoes’ friction feature to stand on the stone. If you want more detail, you can watch this.

The outsole has a significant job to do when you smear. Because of this, we can understand how important is sticky rubber we have.

These two are perfect shoes for beginner climbers. At the beginning of climbing, your foot will often slip when you’re trying to learn climbing techniques. You’ll fail, fall down but you’ll try again and again.

These shoes help you to grip and smear easily at the beginning of your climbing journey with their sticky rubber.

Toe Box

Both shoes have the same toe box design which is The RN45 shoe shape is great and gives us to more comfortable using and performance without hurting our toes. It’s a great opportunity for beginner level climbers to climb more without complaining about pain.

The low asymmetry in which both shoes have provides our toe area to be able to have a more comfortable space which is also a great benefit for entry-level climbers.

Heel

Both shoes are versatile shoes, but they DON’T offer us an incredible performance from the start. The heel has a mediocre performance like other features of these shoes. But it won’t let us down.

The heel has plenty of rubber which providing a good grip.

As we talked before, these shoes are quite comfortable and also versatile. These two features make him sacrifice from a few features like a heel hook. But it doesn’t mean that you can’t do heel hook with these shoes. It’s obviously possible to do heel hooks with these shoes.

Just don’t expect too much.

Breathability

Protecting our foot health is one of the important factors to make progress in this sport. One of the ways to protect our foot health is the breathability of our climbing shoes.

During long climbing seasons, the breathability of the shoes helps us to protect our foot keep moisture out and away from the inside of the shoes. Because of the tongue of these products the upper part has a lining.

Few users said it was overheating, although these shoes didn’t have high breathability.

Durability

The most important materials that determine the durability of climbing shoes are rubber and the upper part materials. These two shoes have one of the quite durable you can get when starting this sport in the climbing shoe market.

Waiting for a very long use according to their prices would be a bit of a positive consideration if we consider how much the climbing shoes can wear off during climbing seasons.

Despite their price, the rubber structure is made of La Sportiva’s FriXion RS material which is a long-lasting material, and the upper part is made of both leather and synthetic that provides to shoes more durable and also weather-proof feature.

Closure Systems

As I mentioned before, the main difference between them is the closure system. The biggest benefit of the Lacing system is that it does a better job of protecting our feet.

The result we get from here seems to make more sense to choose the velcro version when bouldering – but choosing the lacing system is better if you’re going to crack climbing.

Performance

Edging

Tarantula and Tarantulace are no edging beast. Both shoes have 5 mm of FriXion Rs rubber and a 1.8 mm LaspoFlex midsole that is creating medium stiffness which gives us below-average edging performance.

Crack Climbing

For those who are new to climbing, to briefly define crack climbing;

It’s a type of rock climbing that climbers climb by following the crack in the rock using certain climbing techniques. While these cracks are sometimes wide enough to fit our entire body, sometimes they’re not so wide that even our fingers hardly fit in.

Preferred shoes for crack climbing usually have a lacing system because the risk of this velcro system coming off due to pressure is eliminated.

Both shoes aren’t the best shoe for crack climbing but both of them is well in cracks but I would recommend Tarantulace for the reason of having a lacing system.

Pockets

These shoes’ toes are round and have a flat sole that decreases our ability to pull with our feet on overhanging terrain. Not much to say, these shoes are not my favorite shoe for pockets.

The Verdict

Here we are, The Verdict…

Let’s remember to important parts;

• Both shoes are comfortable, but Tarantula is more.

• They have the same rubber material which offers us to better grip.

First of all, I WOULDN’T RECOMMEND these shoes to climbers who are searching for PERFORMANCE.

They’re both quite well shoes for entry-level climbers. They offer comfort, they can smear, good grip…

Don’t hesitate to try both shoes if you’re a newbie.