La Sportiva TC Pro Review

Since its release in 2010, it has become a go-to shoe for long multi-pitches and crack climbs where comfort and performance need to blend together seamlessly. In 2021, La Sportiva made a few changes to the shoe that improved precision and durability. We've tested many of the most modern high-top trad shoes on the market, and the TC Pro still takes the podium for crack climbing and long trad routes.

Comfort

The TC Pro is intended for all-day use on big walls and short trad climbs alike. In our experience, a flat-lasting sole, a soft leather upper, and light padding around the ankles help achieve this goal – we've worn these shoes for many long climbing days without complaint. Day one out of the box, we took it up The Saber, an 8 pitch 5.10 alpine route in Colorado, and were able to keep it on our feet for most of the climb, even at belays. Now that's an easy way to break in a pair of shoes!

Sized correctly, the TC Pro is generally comfy, but it does have a few quirks. The new tongue tends to fold near the toe box, which can cause a fair amount of discomfort once you're climbing. The new lace protectors, which sit on top of the inside of the foot, also create a pressure point. While this only bothered our lead tester a little bit, it could really upset someone with higher-volume feet. The TC Pro has always been known for causing Achilles pain for some climbers, and while the new model claims to fix this, we still could feel it digging into our ankles by the end of a long day.

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Smearing

The TC Pro gets a lot of acclaim for its edging capabilities, but we think it does some of its best work while smearing. Most people size this shoe for all-day comfort, and when you do, the flat last will bend easily under your foot once it's broken in. This allows you to easily flatten the shoe out over small smears by putting a lot of rubber in contact with the rock, helping you feel more secure. This stiff flex keeps your feet from fatiguing on marathon pitches – we generally love long gear-protected slab climbs in this shoe. The thick, 4 mm Vibram XS Edge rubber on the outsole limits sensitivity, but sometimes that's a benefit when you're putting all of your weight into a tiny granite crystal.

For long routes on slabby terrain, we're a big fan of the TC Pro. But if you're looking for a shoe for technical smears in the gym or on boulder problems, you should look elsewhere. The stiff flex and lack of sensitivity make it much more challenging to do this type of climbing well. To put it another way, the things that make this shoe so good for long slabs detract from its bouldering potential. Even though you can compare the TC Pro to a different shoe with similarly high scores for smearing, it's more likely that they score highly for different reasons.

Edging

The TC Pro is an incredibly stiff shoe with a mildly asymmetric toe that allows for a really high level of edging performance. As with all edging shoes, though, it requires a tight glove-like fit to achieve this level of performance. Most people size the TC Pro with all-day comfort in mind, which does make the shoe less supportive for challenging technical footwork. As a certified rock guide, our lead tester owns two pairs of TC Pro, with one pair sized more like a sport climbing shoe. Even though this pair is tight enough just to allow his toes to lie flat, this performance fit makes them great for technical trad climbs where he may be jamming thin cracks and standing on dime edges on the same pitch.

Even when sized tightly, the TC Pro's edging performance favors lower-angle terrain rather than overhung terrain. The stiff, flat sole is comfortable for standing on your toes while fiddling with gear, but when things get more overhung, it makes pulling in on holds much more challenging. A shoe with a touch more downturn and a softer sole, which allows you to feel the rock and engage your toes, is much better for pulling in on small edges. While we think the TC Pro offers excellent edging performance, its context-dependent. Within that niche, though, they are top of their class.

Pulling

What makes the TC Pro so good for trad climbing is the antithesis of what makes a good shoe for pulling in steep terrain. According to our testers, who compared all the best climbing shoes, the TC Pro's biggest weakness is its performance on overhanging terrain.

The flat lasted sole and super stiff flex make it incredibly challenging to curl your toes and dig into holds on overhung climbs. While you'll surely be able to pull the occasional bit of steep climbing on your next multi-pitch, don't count on this shoe to do very well at your next board session.

Crack Climbing

We enjoy the TC Pro the most while crack climbing. The flat sole means your toes aren't curled up, and you can comfortably jam into thin cracks. The stiff flex continues to support you as you climb wider hand- and fist-cracks. The high-top design offers a bit of ankle protection, while its rigidity allows you to securely heel-toe cam in tough off-widths.

Getting into the nitty-gritty of hard crack climbing, the updated TC Pro has a slightly lower-volume toe than its predecessor, which is noticeable for jamming smaller cracks. We wouldn't yet call it a specialist shoe for thin cracks, but it comes a lot closer to becoming a go-to for these routes. The shape of the toe is also slightly more precise, so you can really get your big toe in the right place on thin technical jams and rand smears.

Should You Buy the La Sportiva TC Pro?

If you dream of perfect alpine granite, wiggling up sandy desert towers, or long days in Yosemite, then you've probably been considering the TC Pro for a while. This shoe is our top choice for these kinds of climbs and is well worth adding to your quiver. From desert splitters to grabbing knobs in Tuolumne, it's hard to go wrong with this all-purpose trad classic.

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