The Scarpa Vapor S is a very interesting looking shoe. On the one hand, it looks rather minimalist. There seems to be the barebones you’d expect in a climbing shoe and not much else. On the other hand, it looks like there’s a lot of hidden potential under the hood as well. And with a similar appearance to the original Scarpa Instinct S with the zig-zag thread weave along the elastic gusset, you know you’re in for a treat if you’ve worn the OG Instinct S in the past. And safe to say, I’m here to confirm that both statements are true. This shoe is not something to be underestimated but rather a powerhouse with everything you’d need all-in-one. Caught your attention yet? Good, here’s our Scarpa Vapor S climbing shoe review where I’ll dig into all the nitty-gritty of these kicks.
Scarpa Vapor S Climbing Shoe Review
Comfort:
First of all, let me just say that the Scarpa Vapor S are incredibly comfortable.
The upper joins all of the fabric together with as few seams as possible. This makes for a great pair of climbing shoes with no pressure points. Combined with the elastic gusset, it really helps to suck your foot deep into the shoe. It almost feels as if you’re sliding into your favorite pair of snug socks with these. I could imagine sleeping in these shoes if I wanted to! That may be an exaggeration, but I’ve worn these for long stretches of time while bouldering outdoors without ever feeling the need to take them off.
Coupled with a moderate downturn and medium asymmetry, they don’t keep your foot contorted into such an aggressive shape which adds to the overall comfort. There was also very little break-in required, I was climbing comfortably in them within one session.
Sensitivity:
With 3.5mm of Vibram XS Grip 2 rubber, the Scarpa Vapor S are quite sensitive. Seeing as how this is Vibram’s quintessential sensitive rubber, what else could I have expected? They remind me a lot of the original Scarpa Instinct S in many ways. One being how well you can feel the smallest subtleties in footholds. I felt equally confident with my footwork on Red Rock sandstone as I did on Leavenworth’s granite this past season.
Vibram XS Grip 2 is noted for being the brand’s soft rubber. This rubber allows you to really conform to rock nicely the more pressure you put on your toes. While not as sensitive as the Drago or Veloce (the absolute most sensitive shoes), they still provide excellent sensitivity.
Edging:
As far as I can tell, edging is where the Scarpa Vapor S absolutely shine. The profile of the shoe’s toebox is fairly similar to the current Scarpa Instinct S‘s toebox. Its shape narrows toward the top of the shoe, which focuses all of the power into the big toe. This makes it a weapon on dime edges and crystal knubbins, but also pockets and cracks where precision is required. And with the addition of the full length insole, this helps to provide added support. Your feet don’t feel excessively tired when standing on small edges for extended periods of time.
To cite from personal experience, I was able to send Lethal Design in Red Rocks with these shoes. It’s a lengthy boulder problem of 25+ moves on mostly thin crimps and small footholds. Throughout the entire problem, I never felt like my toes were working overtime as they were incredibly supportive. The precision and confidence they provide is also quite remarkable. They remind me a large deal of the original Scarpa Instinct S and their amazing edging ability. But to me, the Vapor S is improved even further due to the narrower toebox, pointier toe, and supportive insole.
Stellar edging performance all in all.
Smearing:
The Scarpa Vapor S smear pretty well even though it rocks such a pointy toe. As always, the Vibram XS Grip 2 really conforms to rock well. This helps to provide a stable platform to stand on even on barely-there footholds. In my opinion, the smearing performance of these shoes are almost on par with the original Scarpa Instinct S. And for those who don’t know, the OGs smear like a dream. The only thing is that I feel the full length insole does make the shoe a bit stiffer overall. This takes a tad away from its smearing performance, but not by much. I’m also sure its smearing performance will improve even further over time.
Grabbing:
When it comes to overhung climbs, the Scarpa Vapor S grabs rock like a champ. That pointy toe and cambered downturn work together in unison to help reel your body into the wall well. Of course, the full length insole and outsole does prevent the shoe from bending a ton. So, the grabbing you’ll get isn’t quite on par as a pair of more aggressive shoes that lack a midsole.
However, that doesn’t stop these kicks from performing well on the steeps. I was able to send Schist Cave in Leavenworth in the Vapor S. The majority of this climb is on around 65 degree rock, with about 17 moves on roof. And even so, these shoes helped me claw my way out of this cave with confidence. I really felt like I could toe in hard on overhung footholds and maintain tension throughout.
Hooking:
Hooking in these shoes have been a real treat. Although, at first when I received them in person, I wasn’t sure how well they would perform. They wield a fairly normal-volume sized heel cup whereas I have a slightly low-volume heel, but they felt solid regardless.
Seeing as how the heel cup on the Scarpa Vapor S isn’t quite as molded as say the Instinct VS or Dragos, I initially assumed the performance with heel hooks would only be a little above average. However, I was blown away by how well they actually performed! I’ve seldom felt insecure on heel hooks with these other than ones I’ve placed poorly in error. My heel has also never moved once inside the shoe, even when I wear them without laces. To me, this is very impressive for a pair of climbing slippers. It really shows how far the slipper has progressed to where they can perform close to velcros or lace-ups.
To boot, I spent an entire day in Red Rock Canyon, NV where I climbed only boulders with intensive heel hooks. It was all to put the heels to the test. They performed exceptionally on everything I hopped on. What really stood out to me was when I was climbing Ruby Slipper in Calico Basin (pictured below & center). It is a left-to-right traverse on an astonishingly blank face. But, heel hooks on it felt shockingly solid. It might not seem super steep, but measuring the face with my phone I found it slopes at ~42 degrees. And even at that angle the Vapor S was able to heel hook on it with finesse.
And as far as toe hooks go, they perform just as you’d expect, excellently with its M50 rubber-clad top plate.
Cracks:
Unfortunately, I’ve only had a few instances where I’ve been able to climb with these in cracks. Hence, I felt it was not as thorough as I would have liked. After all, this is a Scarpa Vapor S climbing shoe review and I wanted to push them to the limit. However, I don’t get much opportunity to climb cracks other than the set of cracks my gym provides for practicing footwork.
Suffice to say, the Scarpa Vapor S perform beautifully in cracks, both in finger cracks and hand cracks. They were comfortable for foot jamming as they benefit a lot from the lack of seams and extra material. The toebox is also rather low-profile so you can fit more of your foot into cracks. The M50 rubber covering the toe also helps to provide extra friction on the topside of your foot jam.
Coupled with a design that favors sport climbing and endurance routes, I’d say these shoes are a crack climber’s treasure. However, more testing with cracks is required to say with absolute certainty.
Value:
As far as value goes, I’d say the Scarpa Vapor S is worth every penny. The amount of versatility in one pair of climbing shoes is pretty extraordinary. I can’t picture another shoe on the market that can do as many things as the Vapor S can. And it does them well.
Bouldering? Check. Sport climbing? Check. Cracks? Check. Trad? Check. When it comes to hard climbing, they perform skillfully in all categories.
What’s also astounding is how potently they perform indoors AND outdoors. I can see these as a great pair of training slippers but also your go-tos when trying hard on plastic. Also, you’d be able to wear them for a while as they are just so comfortable. And if I can sum up my outdoor experience with them as short and sweetly as possible, it would be: exceptionally precise and supportive.
My only gripe with these shoes would have to be the Nano strap system. The way they were marketed, a lot of emphasis went into showing off the strap system. Looking at demos, I thought it would be super cool to be able to cinch down on the fit quickly. Apparently, with just a small change in the strap, you can adjust the fit entirely. However, I felt like the strap hardly changed anything about the shoe no matter how I used it. Perhaps it was because I sized them super snug, but the shoe didn’t feel any more secure with or without the strap. The heel also felt exactly the same. Maybe if the strap was just a tad shorter, I would be able to really tighten them down and fine-tune the fit. But nowadays, I just rock them without the strap and don’t notice any loss in performance.
Scarpa Vapor S Sizing & Fit:
A couple foot fetish facts: my street shoe size is a 9 USM and I have a Roman shaped foot. And while my toebox is on the slightly wider but high-volume side, I would say my heel is slightly low-volumed.
As far as sizing in these go, I sized my Scarpa Vapor S in a 40EU, or 7.5USM/6.5UKM. I felt like this provided an excellent fit, very snug but still comfortable with no deadspace, pain, or movement. As I purchased these online, I just sized them like my Scarpa Instinct S which looks very similar. I could probably fit these in a 39.5EU next time as I can see these loosening up a bit in the future and I can see my heel fitting even better (if I really wanted that ultimate flush-sinking heel feeling). But climbing in them for about 3 months so far, I’d say they still fit pretty spot-on.
All-in-all I would say the Scarpa Vapor S men’s version will fit high-volume feet well. The Scarpa Vapor S also come in a women’s version, which should fit low-volume feet and heels just as comfy. And if you have an Egyptian or Greek shaped foot, you’d absolutely benefit from the last this shoe uses.
Some reference points from other climbing shoes I have:
- Scarpa Instinct S (1st generation): 39.5EU
- Scarpa Instinct S (2nd & 3rd generation): 40EU
- Scarpa Drago: 41.5EU
- Scarpa Drago LV: 41EU
- Scarpa Instinct VS: 41.5EU
- Five Ten Moccasym: 40EU
- La Sportiva Speedster: 40.5EU
If you’d like some tips on sizing climbing shoes, check out our definitive guide.