Tarantulace vs. TC pros

So I've been using tarantulaces for years, for all my trad and easy sport, but it seems like my toes are starting to disagree with the tarantulace mushy-ness.  I'm in the market for a new pair of stiff all-day shoes, and I'm wondering if TC pros are actually worth the money.  I'd appreciate honest opinions of whether the TC pros are worth 3x the cost of the tarantulaces, or are the air-tommies just a hyped-up and over-priced?

Yes, trad climbers have three secret weapons that are 100% worthy of the hype:

• TC Pros
• Totem cams
• DMM offset nuts

The Mammut Contact sling gets honorable mention.

Note that TC Pros do tend to separate at the interface between the rubber and the leather on top of the foot; it may be a good idea to seam seal a new pair right there.

TC pros will be way better once you get used to them and are definitely worth it, especially if you do any crack climbing. They're also great at edging.

Schuyler Baer wrote:

TC pros will be way better once you get used to them and are definitely worth it, especially if you do any crack climbing. They're also great at edging.

Is the good performance in cracks just based on the ankle padding, or are the shoes legitimately more comfortable in cracks?  To be honest, I've had no issues with the tarantulaces in cracks, but I only climb moderate trad.

I think that I'm just so used to the tarantulaces that the thought of switching to something else is scary.

Vic Davalos wrote:

Is the good performance in cracks just based on the ankle padding, or are the shoes legitimately more comfortable in cracks? 

I would say the crack performance is all in the front of the foot --- it's certainly nice to have a little more coverage over the ankles, but that's more of a "quality of life" feature. I'm rarely that deep into a crack.

As you get into smaller cracks with absolutely-required toe jamming --- let's say clean, parallel, .75 or .5 ish size, the kind of thing you start to see on certain Indian Creek 5.12s --- the TC Pros start to feel a little bit bulky in the toe. I'm sure I saw a thread around here where someone asked for recommendations for a lower-toe-volume shoe that performs well in this scenario.

The other things that TCs have over other, non-trad specific shoes is padding on the upper part of the toe. This makes jamming a lot more comfortable, especially if you’re doing it all day 

Vic, the Buturo Altura has a very stiff sole.  The shoe is cheaper than the TC Pro. The quality is not as good as the TC Pro.  Unfortunately, the TC Pro doesn’t not fit my foot shape nicely.  As a result I have come to love the good elements of the Altura. The stiff sole makes edging great but feel poor. The flat sole is great for smearing but the stiffness means I have to be very conscious about place the smear.  The toe box is very protective on jams but the sole delaminates from the toe rather quickly.  If the fit or price of the TC Pros puts you off, the Alturas are a solid alternative.

The Miura Lace is another great option. $30 less than the TC Pro and is a versatile yet high performing shoe for cracks and edging. 

Pat Light wrote:

I would say the crack performance is all in the front of the foot --- it's certainly nice to have a little more coverage over the ankles, but that's more of a "quality of life" feature. I'm rarely that deep into a crack.

As you get into smaller cracks with absolutely-required toe jamming --- let's say clean, parallel, .75 or .5 ish size, the kind of thing you start to see on certain Indian Creek 5.12s --- the TC Pros start to feel a little bit bulky in the toe. I'm sure I saw a thread around here where someone asked for recommendations for a lower-toe-volume shoe that performs well in this scenario.

Katanas are my go to for this latter scenario.

Maybe worthwhile to check out the Vaporlace too:

https://blacksheepadventuresports.com/2020/09/28/review-scarpas-updated-vapor-lace/

Some good stuff here, thanks for the input y'all

Vic Davalos wrote:

Is the good performance in cracks just based on the ankle padding, or are the shoes legitimately more comfortable in cracks?  To be honest, I've had no issues with the tarantulaces in cracks, but I only climb moderate trad.

I think that I'm just so used to the tarantulaces that the thought of switching to something else is scary.

I actually went from tarantulaces to TC pros while spending a month or so at Indian Creek, and I was amazed at how much more comfy the TC pros were in hand cracks than the tarantulaces. Can't really speak for thinner cracks.

I dislike the way TC's fit me. They are kinda wide/tall across the ball of the foot so the tongue ends up all folded (even more than the normal tongue issues TC's are known for) I love my Tenaya Masai's though. They are cheaper, more comfy and stiff as hellllll.

TC pros were exponentially more comfortable for me and worth the money. If you have time and want to save money: all La sportivas to go on sale at big online / sporting good stores for 25% consistently. making them $145, just wait for a sale and snatch them up. places like backcountry, REI, Moosejaw, campsaver  rotate which brand has 25% off, so if scarpa is this week, la sportiva might be next week. ect.

 If you have the money, id really encourage you to support your local rock gym/ rock climbing shop. they will appreciate it much more than the big box places, especially this year. (if they carry tc pros)

Air tommies are hyped up and overpriced.

they hurt like hell

maybe I have weird feet but they just too painful for me

I like miuras and katakis they climb great for comfy shoes

i would try shoes on first if possible

I really like miuras too, and that's what I use most of the time when I go sport climbing.  They're just a little more downturned than what I'd want in my all-day trad shoe.  But I totally agree that they are comfy and do a lot of things well.

I did have a problem with one pair of muiras though, where the toe box delaminated after like 8 pitches of climbing.  La sportiva replaced them for me, but I did have to pay for shipping which kinda stunk.  I think that pair was just a fluke though because I've had a couple pairs of muiras at this point and all the other pairs have held up well.

Those tenaya shoes look super cool!

Heywood, the whole reason I got thinking about picking up a new pair of shoes is because I'm at the gunks for the weekend, and I can't come to New Paltz without hitting up Rock and Snow!

*Edit, I should add that I'm a Connecticuteer now.  Rhode Island is on the 'naughty list', and Rhoadies arn't allowed to play in New York at the moment.

I wore a pair of tarantulaces for a season because I didn't want to spend more money. They worked great and I climb a lot of crack. I have also climbed in TC pros. The biggest performance difference I have found is edging. The tarantulaces did everything I needed in and around cracks. But on a small edge, no question, the TC pros outperform by a lot.

Other things to consider - I just got a pair of TC pros for 106 including shipped. So if you can wait for a deal the price difference isn't that much. The TC pros will also last much longer. And the TC pros are much easier to get a solid resole on. So from a longevity standpoint the TC pros have a double plus. 

Peter Garnsey wrote:

I wore a pair of tarantulaces for a season because I didn't want to spend more money. They worked great and I climb a lot of crack. I have also climbed in TC pros. The biggest performance difference I have found is edging. The tarantulaces did everything I needed in and around cracks. But on a small edge, no question, the TC pros outperform by a lot.

Other things to consider - I just got a pair of TC pros for 106 including shipped. So if you can wait for a deal the price difference isn't that much. The TC pros will also last much longer. And the TC pros are much easier to get a solid resole on. So from a longevity standpoint the TC pros have a double plus. 

Not to mention a full re sole plus shipping is about the cost of a new pair of tarantulas, and you don’t have to wait 4-6 weeks to climb again. 

OP- I’ve owned both. They TC Pros are a lot stiffer and edge better than Tarantulas. Jamming is more comfortable. Consider the Evolve General if price is a concern. I haven’t tried them but have met a lot of folks who have and like then a lot, they are very similar to TCPros.

Side note- the tarantulas are ugly as sin. 

TC pros are great edging and for the right foot, probably very comfortable.

They hurt my arches, cause some pretty awful cramping. 

Is there something really similar, in stiffness and padding, that is low top?

Pat Light wrote:

Note that TC Pros do tend to separate at the interface between the rubber and the leather on top of the foot; it may be a good idea to seam seal a new pair right there.

So buy a pair of $190 shoes and repair them right out of the box.

TCs don't fit me well either...

Daniel Winder wrote:

So buy a pair of $190 shoes and repair them right out of the box.

TCs don't fit me well either...

Mine started to come apart slightly, but it was v minor and didn't cause any problems. When I got them resoled, they glued it down for me and now they are better than new.

But if they don't fit, there's no fixing that.