10 Years of Skwama | The Italian All-Rounder Put to the Test

It's been on the market for 10 years: the Skwama climbing shoe, one of the most popular performance shoes in the sport and bouldering sectors. We tested this Italian all-rounder to see what it can do and what makes it so special.

10 Years of Skwama – Why so popular?

In 2014, the Trentino-based mountain sports equipment manufacturer La Sportiva began working on a new project: a lightweight, soft performance climbing shoe. By 2016, the result was the high-performance all-rounder called the Skwama. The shoe combines apparent opposites: high performance with a surprising amount of comfort. While many high-end models focus on aggressiveness, the Skwama manages to balance pressure, sensitivity, and support so perfectly that you won't want to take it off immediately, even after extended climbing sessions.

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, La Sportiva has released the iconic shoe in an exclusive special colorway. A perfect opportunity to compare the new model with a beloved, roughly five-year-old Skwama that our editor Gwen uses both indoors and outdoors.

Design & Construction

The Skwama features an aggressive shape with a pronounced downturn and equally strong pre-tension. This results in extremely high pressure on the toes, allowing for precise foot placement even on small footholds. The last is highly asymmetrical, which automatically positions the foot in a way that noticeably supports foot placement on small footholds or pure friction. The Skwama offers exceptional sensitivity in the toes, ensuring secure footing even on tiny edges. This is further enhanced by the softer sole construction in the forefoot area.

This shoe's strengths aren't limited to slab climbing. The patented S-Heel shell provides excellent stability for heel hooks. Even when working intensely on the heel and generating significant power, the shoe remains stable and precise. Simultaneously, the generous rubber padding in the toe area allows for precise and controlled toe hooks. Especially when hooking on sharp or angular rock, the toes benefit from the extensive rubber padding in the front.

Another key element of the Skwama is the P3 system (Permanent Power Platform) developed by La Sportiva. This special tensioning system ensures that the shoe's tension is maintained over the long term. Even after many intense sessions, the tension in the forefoot remains noticeable. Power transfer to small footholds doesn't diminish, and precision is preserved. The Vibram XS Grip 2 sole provides the shoe with excellent flexibility.

Performance & Application

From the very first step onto small footholds, it becomes clear where its excellent reputation comes from: the downturn and pre-tension provide an extremely secure feel and allow for confident climbing. Especially on less-than-ideal days (who doesn't have them?), this confidence in your feet is a real game-changer! The Skwama also proves surprisingly strong on friction. The soft construction in the forefoot area, combined with the stabilizing pre-tension, allows you to both actively apply pressure and modulate it precisely.

Thanks to its well-thought-out design, the Skwama is a very versatile boot: The aggressive downturn fully exploits its advantages in overhangs and roofs, while the high sensitivity and precise control make it strong on volumes, small edges and friction structures.

Its range of applications is therefore surprisingly broad: In the climbing hall it impresses with modern bouldering problems, on rock it scores points with precision on small footholds and reliable friction on slabs, and even in multi-pitch routes it cuts a fine figure thanks to its high comfort.

Fit & Comfort

Although the Skwama clearly falls into the performance shoe category, it surprises with its comfort. After the usual break-in period, the shoe noticeably molds to the foot, and even after a long session at the climbing gym, I didn't feel the need to take the Skwama off immediately – a rare compliment for such an aggressive climbing shoe. However, I did feel that this new version of the La Sportiva classic runs a bit large. Since the shoe also stretches by about half a size, I would recommend ordering half to a full size smaller to ensure there's no gap in the shoe.

The Skwama – A shoe that lasts

For me, the Skwama is a reliable partner for climbing and bouldering, both indoors and outdoors. Besides the impressive stability and high level of comfort it provides, I'm also impressed by its durability. My own pair is now five years old and has been resoled twice. Despite this, the shoe still retains its shape and is far from falling apart.

Its greatest strength, however, remains its versatility. Indoors, it performs well on volumes, overhangs, and complex hooks. On rock, it delivers precision on small footholds and excellent feel on slabs. Because it's surprisingly comfortable for an aggressive shoe, I even like to take it on multi-pitch climbs, something I certainly wouldn't recommend with many other performance shoes.

The pros and cons from our perspective

Professionals

• Extremely secure footing
• Impressive durability
• Preload remains stable even with frequent use.
• Very versatile: hall, rock, overhang, slab
• Unusually high comfort for a performance shoe

Cons

• The rubber toehook occasionally comes loose at the tip – but this can be quickly fixed with a little superglue.
• The distinctive S-heel is relatively large: heel hooks hold extremely securely and you can pull on them exceptionally well; however, precise heel hooking is somewhat more challenging on very small edges.

Skwama: The most important points at a glance

Skwama – Specs

Weight approx. 240 g/shoe
Sizes EU 34 to 46
Sole Vibram XS Grip2 3.5 mm
Colors Purple/Yellow, Black/Yellow
Uppers Microfiber combined with suede, tubular construction
Midsole 0.8 mm LaSpoFlex + P3 System
Downturn medium/strong

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Credits: All images: Lacrux.com