Scarpa Drago LV Review
I have been a La Sportiva fanatic since day one. 12.5 years ago I bought a pair of Tarantulaces that were way too big. After going down the climbing shoe review rabbit hole I decided on a pair of Solutions. 12.5 years later the vast majority of shoes I’ve owned, climbed in, and sent projects have been Sportiva. The Solution, Skwama, and more recently Theory. I always found myself trying other shoes, but then coming back to these main three, always having a pair of Solutions in my shoe quiver. They seemed to do everything I needed them to do, and I loved the heel. Whether I was sport climbing or bouldering, it seemed like my Solutions were with me on my hardest sends. The perfect blend of soft and stiff, while being aggressive but not overly aggressive. They were my go to shoes for Red Wing, and its greasy, polished little feet. As the years progressed I got more and more into extremely soft shoes, like the Sportiva Speedsters and Pythons. Soon my Solutions were the stiffest shoes in my line up.
When the Scarpa Drago was released, and later the Drago LV, I was instantly intrigued. It seemed like all the best climbers I knew were making the switch. While aesthetically I wasn’t a fan of the original yellow, when the black and white Drago LV released, I instantly thought, “This is one cool, good looking shoe.” Note, aesthetics is the least important factor when choosing a rock clmbing shoe. Fit & function is what you want. You need a shoe that fits your foot and caters to the type of climbing you do.
Around a year ago I decided to bite the bullet, having recently acquired the Sportiva Theory, and falling madly, deeply in love with them, almost instantaneously. All I heard from other climbers is how if you like the Theory you’ll love the Dragos. So I bit the bullet, I bought a pair of Instinct S’s and Drago LV’s. Inititially upon breaking the shoes in, something felt off. Not knowing my sizing, I felt like I possibly went a .5 size too big. I ended up selling that pair because I was so happy with my Sportiva Theories.
Fast forward to August 2024, while climbing at Vertical Endeavors Twin Cities Bouldering, I decided to put my staff discount to use. I picked up a pair of Drago LV’s a half size down from my initial purchase. At first I was a little disheartened, 41.5 broke in fast, but felt baggy. While a pair of 41’s felt tight, I needed a bag to even get them on my feet. The break in was tough, a week of randomly wearing them around my house with bags on my feet, leaving them by the space heater to make them feel softer, until I could comfortably put them on my feet.
It felt like I was wearing a high performance, rubber coated sock. I had never been in a shoe so soft that just seemed to wrap my foot in rubber. The Sportiva Theory was the closed comparison, but the Theory still felt like a climbing shoe, like a super soft, rubber coated Skwama. The Drago LV felt one with my foot.
The rubber is insanely soft, smearing into the wall, toe hooking, using the sides to squeeze holds, the rubber just seems to stick and grab everything. After 3 months of indoor use, they are definitely looking used, but no holes yet.
This soft rubber feels awesome inside where you are smearing on volumes, and using bigger features. While they might not be the best shoe for edging, I have found after years of climbing in super soft shoes, that grabbing small edges on slightly overhanging to vertical climbs feels amazing, and I feel confident in my foot placements. On rounded slopey feet, which seems to be all the craze inside these days the Drago LVs feel wonderful. The grippy rubber gives you confidence, and the extreme softness means you know exactly what you are standing on.
The softness makes these shoes very fun to climb in. Almost like coating your foot in rubber. The freedom to grab and push, and manipulate your foot to the climb feels freeing. On steep overhangs you are really able to grab and pull in, almost like having another set of hands on your feet. In the video below you can see my utilize not only their steep grabbing abilites on small feet, but also using sidepulls to engage and pull my hips in, to create tension.
Finding a shoe that fits my heel is another challenge I have. One of the reasons I have always opted for the Solution or Skwama, is that I find the the more bulbous heel, with a decent amount of downsizing lets me feel very secure. I have a very narrow foot and heel, so I usually end up ordering low volume shoes or the women’s models from Sportiva. Usually opting out of the more traditional, lower profile heels that you find on the Theories, Dragos, or Instincts.
Something about the Drago heel just seems to work for me. Little to no dead space, and super grippy rubber. This is one of the best heel fitting shoes I have found. At the same time I purchased the Drago LV’s I was working a 10/11 in Sector 6 at Twin Cities Bouldering. The climb was super crimpy and powerful up the 60 degree overhang. After honing in the start (the crux), I was left with two options for the middle. Either a scrunched position I’d have to explode out of, or using a sneaky heel hook to create tension, so I could do a large cross. I had seen it done succesfully both ways, but the heel always eluded me. I just couldn’t do it, and the large cross felt gross for me after the initial sequence.
Enter the Drago LV. First session in the Drago LV the heel stuck and felt secure, and I was able to casually make the cross. While I didn’t end up sending, the Drago LV let me get through the mid section on almost every attempt after, so that I could punt on the final hold a dozen times or so, as seen in the video below.
While I have not tested these shoe outside, they have quickly become my favorite indoor shoe. They are a joy to climb in, and look great doing it. If they fit your foot, they are definitely a shoe worth checking out. Just maybe have another pair so you can save the rubber for your most intense sends. I have found it very difficult to keep these shoes in my bag, they are just so fun to climb in!
Climbing is dangerous, it involves inherent and other risks and cannot be eliminated. The information presented here does not describe all of the risks associated with climbing and is not intended to replace or supersede expert instruction and training.
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