La Sportiva Genius vs. La Sportiva Katana Lace

I'm in need of a new shoe, and I've been looking at the Katana and the Genius.  I've got a deal that pretty much reduces the price difference between the two, so I'm curious if anyone has any personal experience with either one.  I've read a few reviews, but I was wondering if anyone had more hands-on experience.  I mostly climb trad and I'm looking for a shoe that is comfortable enough for longer days, and can flex well for slabbing, but has ok edging.  Basically a do-it-all.  If anyone has used either shoe I'd appreciate any feedback anyone has.

IMO, Katanas aren't great for slab. too downturned for that. Thinking the same for the genius. You're better off getting two pairs. One for steep faces/edging and flat shoes for slab

A do it all trad shoe for yosemite? Make sure your shoe doesnt kill your foot doing lots of crack jams for 4+ hours at a time, not everyone likes downturned shoes for that.

Granite can climb very differently. Some areas/routes will be very rounded and require mostly smearing/smedging. In those cases a no edge shoe can do ok (maverinks kill it for pure friction slab).
Frequently though you will have to precisely use small edges or crystals, for these more angular holds the no edge shoes suck in my opinion. I would only opt for the genius if you climb a lot of sandstone personally.

I own the katana lace for trad and alpine. Sized large, only a half euro down from my street shoe. Toes slightly curl with the sole when not weighted, flat when standing on an edge. They work great from tips to wide hands and edge well enough for techy vert granite face. For larger fist cracks or offwidths a slightly tighter stiff shoe would be nice, the large size katanas form to the crack a little too well and can be a bear to get out of wide jams. They still toe heel ok.

Reference on size, 42 street, 41.5 katana lace, 40 skwama comfy performance fit, 39.5 testarossa extremely tight performance, 39.5 maverink comfy.  

As others have said, Katana's are great for edges, not so much for slab. At least for my foot, Katakis (in the same size as my Katanas) are actually way roomier and better for slab. 

Katanas are kinda like crampons: super stiff, place your toe on and edge and forget about it. In my experience, they don’t smear well so I’m always looking for tiny edges to stand on. I tried my buddies pair of Katakis and they seemed to edge as well but smear better. Not sure why but as someone who has owned 3 pairs of Katanas and love them, I will probably be buying Katakis in the future. 

Try buying used shoes in your size to test out, that way your aren't $160 + down the drain, just $40. I now own way to many pairs of different shoes, but not a bad problem.

Based on your description, I would say the Genius is probably the last shoe you would want to own, so I’d go with the Katanas between the two of them.  Five Ten Anasazis would be a great choice if you’re not dead set on La Sportiva.

I own the Genius and really enjoy climbing with them on granite, particularly slabs and even on small crystals and edges where you really have to trust your footing, anything that isn’t overhanging.

I boulder, they are pretty comfortable and I don’t take them on and off between problems like I do with other shoes, but I don’t know if I would want to wear them all day on multi pitch routes 

Ted Pinson wrote: Based on your description, I would say the Genius is probably the last shoe you would want to own, so I’d go with the Katanas between the two of them.  Five Ten Anasazis would be a great choice if you’re not dead set on La Sportiva.

I own the Anasazis and the Geniuses and I'd have to agree. Geniuses aren't great for slab. For all-day comfort the Geniuses are not as bad as some shoes I've tried, but these are my bouldering/sport shoes, not my trad shoes. Anasazis are amazing for slab.

I own both and far prefer my katanas for granite trad climbing. I also prefer them to my TC pros FWIW. Sized somewhat big for all-day comfort, I still take them off at most belays but can tolerate them 12 pitches up or whatever. Geniuses are good but I only end up using them for steeper sport climbing and bouldering, they are really soft and I can’t imagine climbing hand/fist cracks in them all day.

• I have katana laces and I think they are great for hard slab. I always wear them for slab that is at or near my slab limit. After you wear them for a while the downturnness  eases up. The drawback is that the heel is tight and kills your Achilles tendon on slab.... but I think they perform really well. Can't comment on geniuses tho. 

Can I only speak for katana lace. They set the bar for edging. Pretty good for slab climbing imo. They are my go to shoe based on how they fit my feet. As for all day comfort... not so great in my case, although I have worn them for 4 and 6 pitch climbs. My feet did hurt after the first two pitches. I have to size them way down to get the right fit and if I size up they just don’t quite fit me right in the heel. Street size 42, katana 39.5.  

Can any of you guys comment on the Genius sizing compared to the Miura (lace up)? I wear 42 Miuras; should I expect 42 Geniuses to fit the same? Is the Genius good for a wide foot?

I unfortunately have to order online and can't try them on because of where I live.

I’ve got a better solution. Left foot use katana la w & the right use genius. Problem solved!