Fit
The TC Pro is a great big-day shoe because it has the performance properties that I’ve already mentioned, and it can be worn most of the day. (Note—I usually take the shoes off at every belay. I’ve never been able to wear any shoe for hours at a time and have it stay small enough to still perform well.)
The TC Pro’s fit is narrow, similar to other La Sportiva shoes. It has no noticeable camber (or downturn) to the sole and the toes lie flat to slightly curled depending on how you size the shoe.
I prefer sizing my shoes so that my toes are slightly curled— this gives me a snugger fit and improves the shoe’s performance a bit. Even sized tight, the TC Pro is still fairly comfortable. The padded toe box I mentioned above, as well as the padding in the tongue, help protect your foot when you’re jamming it into cracks.
Finally, the ankle cuff of the TC Pro is cut specifically to cover the ankle bone, which can get ravaged in wide cracks. The cuff tapers toward the front and rear of the shoe, which means the TC Pro still feels more like a climbing shoe than a hiking boot. I found that the ankle cuff not only protects your ankle bones from abrading in offwidths, it also provides a little added ankle support while foot jamming in cracks.
Sizing
Now, onto the dreaded size-fit-stretch issue. In La Sportiva, I wear a US 11 approach shoe, a Euro 39.5 sport shoe, and a 40 or 40.5 TC Pro. I go with the 40.5 if I want to be in them all day, and the 40 if I want a little more performance out of the shoe.
The TC Pro does break in over time, but it has minimal stretch. For comparison, I found that a shoe like the Muira will stretch much more than the TC Pro.
Durability
The TC Pro is extremely durable. A thick rand covers the entire front of the shoe and protects the toe box from abrasion while I’m foot jamming. The laces are threaded internally at the front of the shoe, thus preventing the laces from breaking after a lot of crack climbing.
The rands are well bonded to the shoe upper and I’ve only noticed limited peeling. The rand does consistently detach slightly from the middle of the shoe, but this has never caused any performance issues or progressed to any other part of the shoe. The last of the shoe is also very durable, and I can typically get 2-3 resoles out of a pair before I notice a decline in performance.
The rubber on the TC Pro is slightly harder than La Sportiva’s typical XS Grip rubber. This helps prevent some of the rolling issues I discussed before, and it also holds up to edging better. In the past, when I free-climbed a route on El Cap I’d need two brand new pairs of shoes—both of which would be destroyed by the time I reached the top of the wall. The TC Pro has consistently held up to the abuse of free climbing on El Cap, and even sustained offwidthing has not damaged the shoe.
Bottom Line
The TC Pro is the best shoe I have ever used for hard, multi-pitch free climbing, and it excels on micro edging and granite cracks. It is the only shoe to date that I can climb 5.14 in and not be in agony by the end of a long day.
If you’re looking for your next desert shoe, this likely won’t be the best fit for you. The price tag is pretty steep ($180), so if you want a comfy shoe for moderate multi-pitching, I’d suggest going with a less expensive option. But if you’re looking for a high-performance trad shoe, the TC Pro is currently in a category of its own. In my opinion, the performance, comfort, and durability of the TC Pro are unmatched.
I have a bit if arthritis in the first joint of the big toe, so when I bend my toes under load, like front pointing in climbing shoes, it’s pretty painful.
I have the same size foot, wear 11 shoes, and I have the tc oro in 43.5.
My toes are straight in the shoe.
Would it help to down size, so I can have bent toes when standing?
Would this give me more power when front pointing, so my big toe doesn’t bend?
Rod,
Downsizing will definitely give you more power while front pointing. I wear my shoes pretty tight, but we have the same size street shoe and I wear a 40.5 in my bigger size, so you would probably be safe downsizing by a full size.
That being said, I am unsure what that will do for your toe pain. A few years ago I fractured the first joint in my big toe before a 2 month long climbing trip. I went on the trip anyways and it resulted in some chronic pain in that joint. Having my toes slightly bent (not crushed) does alleviate that pain for me, but its hard to say what that will do in your case.
I have another damn size/fit/stretch question! I just got a pair of these and my toes are a little bit curled at the end, which make em a little uncomfortable for straight up crack climbing. How much can i expect them to stretch, or should i go up a half size? want to get a pretty even edging performance to jamming comfort ratio. I wear a size 14 street shoe, 45 mythos (loose) 44 miura (toe crushing) and have these in a 45.5.
I have a size question as well . I wear a size 45 in the La Sportiva Tarantulace and am looking to upgrade to the TC Pro. Out of the box, the 45 in the TC Pro fit with all toes touching and comfortable ( more comfortable in the heel than my current shoes) the 44.5 in the TC pro feels ‘Cramped ‘ toes slightly bent. I know there will be a stretch factor; i just dont know if it would be overkill to go with the 44.5 in the TC pro to accomodate for stretch. Appreciate your insight!
Rick and nick b, I’m trying to size some TC Pros right now and I seem to be in the exact same situation you guys were. Any update? What size did you go with? How did it work out for you? Would you do it differently?
For me, right out of the box, 41.5 feels close to perfect for what I’m looking for in an all-day shoe that still performs well (what I would call comfy-just-a-hair-shy-of-snug); 41 feels too tight for all-day shoes (toes curl a little bit). I’m thinking about going with the 41s in anticipation of some stretch, but I’m worried I’ll end up with shoes that are too tight.
You mention the Katana Lace is better suited for splitter cracks. I’ve never heard of this shoe being used for splitters, or cracks in general. What makes it a good splitter shoe?
There must be a typo in this article. I wear a size 11 approach shoe as well and there is no physical way to cram my foot into anything smaller than a 42.5 and that is excruciating. With lube a 42 but now we’re getting into the sully range.
We sat around our climbing store trying to find a way to get any size 11 men to cram into a 40 – couldn’t find a winner. So that’s got to be a typo yes? Or you’re wearing your approach shoes way too big.
You want performance then you need your toes down turned. Which you can get with a full size down from your approach shoes. They will stretch as the uppers are leather so may even a size and a half if you can stand it.
I’m on my second pair of these now and in a 43. They’re awesome and I can take on just about anything with them.
Some people just really like tight shoes…. I think it’s merits are a bit of a myth, and it probably is pretty unhealthy, but then again, I don’t climb 5.14 so my argument is pretty weak ;)
I wear a 10.5 approach shoe and there’s not a chance I could physically put my foot in a 41 TC much less a 40. Not even close. I have a somewhat wide forefoot though, so maybe that’s it…. Still seems pretty insane to me
There is definitely a typo. I’m size 43.5/44 in European size hiking shoes. The TC Pros fit like this: 43= sloppy. 42.5= snug all around fit. 42.0= all toes curl back a good bit, big toe curls a tiny bit. To fit a 40.5 I would have to break my toes.