La Sportiva Skwama - Women's Review

The Skwama from La Sportiva is an elegant, technical slipper that combines comfort with performance. It is great for smearing, steep climbing, and even crack climbing, making it an excellent choice for high-level sport, trad, and gym climbing.

Comfort

The Skwama is one of the most comfortable shoes we tested. Many of the shoes that compare to these in terms of comfort cater to beginners, but the Skwama is a high-performance shoe that delivers the comfort of a slipper. The simple Velcro closure and stretchy sleeve make it easy to slide these shoes on and off in between burns on your project or while hanging at a belay.

At first, the shape of the Skwama can be hard to get used to, as they are both soft and downturned. This combination can feel a bit strange across your arch at first, but once these shoes break in, they fit like a glove. Keep in mind that because it's an unlined shoe, it will stretch a bit over time – we recommend sizing down at least a half size if you're looking for a snug, performance fit. Otherwise, size them regularly and expect a very comfortable shoe once the break-in period passes.

Smearing

Among the most sensitive and precise climbing kicks out there, the Skwama really shines on smeary terrain. The supple forefoot and sticky Vibram XS Grip2 rubber lets you press into the rock with confident foot placements on slick slabs and slopey volumes. Initially, this shoe will be tight and downturned, but after a few sessions, it starts to mold nicely to your foot and do what it's meant to do.

One of the standout features of the Skwama is its split sole design. Unlike full-sole shoes, this design bends and adapts to the shape of your foot and the surface beneath it – almost like a “climbing slipper,” but with more performance. While climbing slippery, smeary limestone, they miraculously stuck to even the greasiest-looking footholds. We also packed them for an alpine rock climbing trip to Kyrgyzstan, using them on glacially polished granite slabs. From small edges to smears, they stuck to almost any foothold we were willing to try.

Edging

When it comes to edging, the Skwama is a touch underwhelming. These slippers lack the stiffness and support underfoot to really be considered an edging shoe. On very sharp edges or long multi-pitch routes, the softness can also feel tiring compared to stiffer, more supportive shoes. Fresh out of the box, they perform relatively well on small holds, but as soon as they stretch out, the shoes become too soft to stand with much precision. Soft shoes tend to lead to foot fatigue, and these are no exceptions.

Thanks to La Sportiva's P3 system, the shoe maintains its aggressive downturn even after quite a while of heavy use, which is rare for soft shoes, which tend to flatten out quickly. This allows the Skwama to hold its downturned shape, performing much better on small edges and vertical terrain than other soft shoes we tested. The Skwama particularly excelled on edges and small footholds on steep terrain, where we had to put less weight on our feet. But on slabs and lower-angle routes, a shoe with a bit more support underfoot will likely be more comfortable.

Pulling

The Skwama was one of our favorite shoes for pulling on steep, pocketed limestone. Because the shoe is soft and flexible, you can really feel the hold and pull with your toes. It practically molds around holds when you're toe-hooking or heel-hooking, giving you that locked-in, suction-cup feel. Their stickiness and soft midsole also allow them to glide into smears and tiny divots with surprising confidence. The big rubber patch over the toe lets you really pull with your foot on overhangs or volumes without worrying about slipping, and the snug heel design grabs holds so you can crank body tension moves.

Additionally, the Skwamas provide technical mastery in a comfortable package. These are designed with a lower-volume fit, which means the heel and forefoot lock in more precisely, which helps reduce dead space and slipping. Typically, a downturned, aggressive shoe like this would take time to break in, but these shoes felt great right out of the box – so much so that we suggest downsizing since they stretch out with use.

Crack Climbing

We were pleasantly surprised with the Skwama's performance on cracks. Because of their aggressive shape, they're not our first choice for hand cracks and long days of moderate trad climbing, but they are a reasonable go-to for harder cracks. Their narrow profile and toe box allow them to fit into small cracks with ease, while the single Velcro closure higher on the foot doesn't get in the way while twisting into hand cracks. We also appreciated the extra sticky rubber around the toes, which gave us some extra traction.

The Skwama performed surprisingly well on the granite cracks of Yosemite and on long multi-pitch routes in the mountains. These shoes strike a wonderful balance between a comfy slipper ideal for crack climbing and an aggressive shoe designed for steep, techy sport climbing. We were super impressed with how well they performed while rand smearing in the classic tight corners found in Index, WA where you absolutely have to rely on footwork to get up the climb. The extra rubber on the toe really helped the jams stick even on the most humid days.

Should You Buy the Women's La Sportiva Skwama?

The Skwama is an excellent go-to for practically all climbing styles. We like having these in our fleet as shoes that perform well at practically any crag. They are comfortable enough to keep you smiling, adaptable enough to be used on both slippery gym slabs or sandstone cracks, and technical enough to give you confidence when the footholds start shrinking. They stretch out a bit over time, so make sure to downsize if you want a performance fit (we recommend a half size). Despite their price, the Skwama will certainly deliver the performance you expect from a high-end climbing shoe – we feel like the splurge is worth it.

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