Climbers Revolted When Scarpa Redesigned This Beloved Shoe. The Brand Finally Set Things Right.
It was 19 (!) years ago when the Booster line first launched. I tested them then for Climbing, as I am testing the Boostic R now, somehow at it nearly two decades later.
If I compare my original Boosters to the new Boostic R, they are very similar: banana shoes, built on a radically asymmetrical last, with a heavy downturn that puts you right on your big toe. All the shoes in the Booster line, from the discontinued Booster S to the versatile Boosters to the super-stiff Boostic R, rely on immense pressure through this focal point: you get incredible power and “spring,” but you need to show up with conditioned foot strength and the ability to focus your energy in this one spot, all while your foot is torqued into a highly aggressive, sideways-and-down position.
For aficionados, there seemed to be no better shoe than the original Boostic—released in 2012—for long, thin, technical face pitches on granite, sandstone, and limestone. So, predictably, there was an uproar when these cult-favorites received a redesign in 2021 that made them much softer and with a more forgiving fit. “The ultra-stiff Boostic was a unicorn,” said Anthony Walsh, who noted that for thin granite edging the shoe was in a league of its own. “The softer, 2021 Boostic appealed more to the gym-focussed masses, and neglected the outdoor specialists like me.” Personally, I knew some folks who even sent their old, tattered Boostics, seemingly beyond resole or repair, back to the Scarpa factory in Italy to be totally rebuilt.
Diehards will be thrilled to learn that the “R” in Boostic R stands for Retro—the shoe’s latest update is a return to its roots.
The basics
The Boostic R is a stiff face and edging shoe, with a full-length 4mm XS Edge outsole and a curved 1mm Flexan midsole/insert for edging support and to reinforce the asymmetrical last. The shoes, as with past Boostics, have a double-Velcro closure; they also have complex, multi-paneled uppers made of 2mm thick suede and microsuede, with a stretchy elastic panel in the outer tongue.
The shoes weigh 17.3 ounces per pair (size 41). They have a moderately sized toe-scumming patch and have moved away from the PAF (split-randed) heel back to a more traditional monolithic heel-rand strip that ties into the V-Tension rand. Scarpa bills the Boostic R as having a “narrow last,” which certainly rang true, especially in comparison to the wider “classic” fit of the 2021 Boostics.
Field testing
I figured that the best possible tester would be a “Boostic snob”—one of the climbers who balked at the “overly soft” version 2.0. So I asked my friend Chris Weidner for feedback, as he rarely wears anything but Boostics, his go-to for the facey multi-pitch sandstone sport climbs around Boulder, Ten Sleep pocket-toeing, and enduro limestone sport in Rifle and Europe—and yes, even on the steeps, where he has long lauded the Boostic’s support in kneebars and, being a stiff-shoe guy in general, swears that it smears “just fine.”
Predictably, Weidner was very happy with the Boostic R, giving it 10/10 for precision and edging, lauding the fact that it flexed very little, and giving it solid middle marks (5/10 to 7/10) for smearing, grabbing, toe scumming, heel hooking, and jamming. He tested on routes from 5.11a to 5.13c, on a broad array of terrain that included plastic as well as sandstone, granite, and basalt, at areas like the Flatirons, Boulder Canyon, Table Mountain, and Eldorado Canyon in Colorado, and Yosemite and Jailhouse Rock in California, on terrain from less than vertical, to vert face, to overhangs, to roofs.
“The Boostic R absolutely stacks up for difficult edging, and hard sport climbing all-around,” said Weidner. “I used these on a trip to Briançon, France, in summer 2025 for almost everything. This included highly technical, just-under-vertical faces up to 5.12+, and many pitches of vertical to 45-degree overhanging routes up to 5.13b. For every angle, these shoes were the best for every route I climbed. They smear well (helps to be heavy), edge well, and do great on steeps.”
He also noted that, in contrast to the previous version, which flexed more and more with wear, the Boostic Rs have held their last—they’ve held up “really well” in the original sole, though he did note one resoled pair had lost some of its downturn, though the resoler could be at fault. Still, this a minor ding for this specialist’s shoe that Weidner loves so much he’s bought five pairs, concluding, “I think any climber who aims to improve their footwork and their edging precision would benefit from this shoe.”
For myself, coming back from hand surgery (staph infection in my pinkie tendon—do not recommend!) and only able to get on rock a little, I mostly tested in the gym, where I used the shoes for weeks on slabby and vert autobelays, and on a couple of thin-face 5.11s outside, on granite. I had liked version 2.0 of the Boostics just fine, having wide feet and appreciating the extra flex for smearing, but I think the Boostic Rs are better: Their precision was impeccable on even the smallest gym jibs and granite ripples; they’ve held their last like a toddler gripping a lollipop; for me, as a medium-light climber, they smeared well enough; and I felt right at home with the downturn and asymmetry and resulting big-toe power point, having spent much of autumn in the Boostic S on sandstone steeps locally and at the Red.
Sizing
With a wide, high-volume foot that is size 10 US in street shoes, I typically wear between size 41 and 42 European in rock shoes. With Scarpa, that has meant size 41 across the Instinct line, size 41.5 in the Furia/Drago line, and size 42 in the more asymmetrical Booster line.
The Boostic R was no exception. I seem to be squarely a 42, though I did test for a bit in 41.5, which felt way too tight—though size 42 in the more capacious second-gen Boostics felt a hair baggy, it was perfect in the Boostic R. Given how stiff the Boostics R are and how snugly they fit, I’d caution against aggressive downsizing; you may also want to get a second pair, a half-size up from your performance fit, for routes with more than a smidgeon of jamming, so your toes can lie flat and reduce pain.
Durability
As stated above, the Boostic R is a tank—the kind of shoe that should withstand three-plus resoles without losing much bite or shape. No tester noticed any scuffing, tearing, or delamination, even after months of abuse. At 4mm, the XS Edge outsole is a half-millimeter thicker than the sole on many performance shoes, plus being a stiffer compound will be slower to wear/round down—the extra half-millimeter, plus the Boostic R’s overall stiffness, should slightly extend your reach on stretchy moves where driving down through tiny feet.
Pros
- Hyper-precision thanks to heavily articulated big-toe power
- Superb edging and long-term support (as with long, technical pitches)
- Boostic R gets rid of weird, overly soft “upward flex” of version 2.0 of the Boostics—these hold their downturned shape much better during usage and over the long haul
- Soft, multi-panel uppers made of leather and microsuede facilitated a comfier fit than past versions
Cons
- As with all stiff shoes, sensitivity must be “perceived to be believed”—you’ll have to decide you value support and precision over feedback
- Smearing is clunky, especially during break-in
- Wild downturn and asymmetry may not be for everyone—you’ll need some pain tolerance, adjustment to your foot placements, and strong feet, and these will hurt in tight jams unless you size up
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