When you go rock climbing for the first time, you either wear the shoes you were wearing at the time or a pair of rentals. While I thoroughly enjoyed my first climbing experience in a rock gym, I was confused how I was slipping on holds others were going up with ease. Everyone kept telling me similar things, “Just wait till you have your own pair of proper climbing shoes.”
When I first got a rock gym membership in the fall of 2020, that same Christmas I was spoiled by my parents with a pair of La Sportiva Finales. Holy moly did these make a world of difference.
I’ve gone climbing indoors and outdoors with these Finales, and they’ve more than held up. These shoes have remained tough and reliable, not matter the surface or how much I’ve climbed on with them. (Unless it’s clay-like red rock, that stuff just crumbles beneath your feet.)
Tough and Consistent
With over 2 years of climbing indoors and outdoors, bouldering and rock climbing, they’re still going strong. When my wife and I first started climbing outdoors, we found 3 great places in Southern Utah that became our go-tos: Cougar Creek outside of Beaver, West Cedar City, and Black Rocks near Saint George.
With a mix of rock types (basalt, granite, sandstone, etc.), these shoes have performed surprisingly well. I didn’t know if we would need to get other shoes specific to climbing outdoors at first, and keep our indoor climbing shoes in cleaner condition, but these Finales are more than tough enough for the mix of environments.
As for their price, I expected that at some point these shoes would become less consistent; slicker and softer, like rental shoes. I’d be lying if I said these haven’t had some failures over the years, but not nearly as many as I anticipated. Any holds that are practically polished by the amount of weathering they’ve seen, are harder to stay on than when the shoes were brand new. But, after the first 3-4 months of using and breaking in the Finales, I learned to gauge which holds and footings are most likely be too smooth for them.
Balanced and Reliable
From the time I first started rock climbing, experienced climbers would recommend that I only use the tips of my toes on holds. However, I often end up with the inside or outside of my feet on holds and leaving myself in a less than ideal position. Thankfully, Finales are more entry-level shoes, so they don’t have too harsh of a foot arch. Helping you stay more balanced, controlled, and confident on holds.
In times like these, the grip that the whole shoe has is unusually reliable too. Unless a hold is either incredibly worn or designed for minimal contact, then very rarely do I slip. You could compare Finales to a Toyota Pickup; dependable, yet capable. Are there other vehicles that have higher peaks of performance, yes, but those same vehicles have greater weaknesses too. Finales are just plain reliable for first-time shoes.
The Recap
How long a pair of Finales will last for you is entirely dependent on how often you climb and how coarse the routes you ascend are. If you constantly climb 5.11 or higher rated climbs, then you might want to look at a shoe more intense than these. I usually find that Finales can safely handle anything below a 5.10d with minimal slipping.
The Finale is not special because it can do every living thing under the sun, it’s extraordinary because of how you can’t go wrong with them in so many different settings. Toyota doesn’t have a cult following for a handful of one-off tricks, they’re sought after because they make outrageously strong & sturdy vehicles that we can rely on.
Whether indoor or outdoor, Finales are as tough as nails and will perform consistently across all types of surfaces.