La Sportiva TX Guide: Long Term Review

My climbing partner & I have started a climbing and backcountry skiing YouTube channel where we'll be review gear, creating education videos, and hopefully some content from our trips/expeditions. Check out our recent review of the La Sportiva TX Guide.

La Sportiva TX Guide Approach Shoe Review

Will, thanks for posting! I have similar conclusions on the Guide. They were great on a 6 mile cross country with 500 feet of 4th and 5th class slab soloing. 

Drew Alldredge wrote:

Will, thanks for posting! I have similar conclusions on the Guide. They were great on a 6 mile cross country with 500 feet of 4th and 5th class slab soloing. 

Totally! That's their bread & butter. 

Curious: Where did you get the idea that the midsole was essentially that of the Mutant?

And just as a suggestion, consider putting chapters in your Youtube videos - it really helps when you revisit a video looking for info, 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvkTC2xIbeY

Another key design on the Guides is the breaking heel (the little forward facing points).  Many approach shoes have a flat sole which sucks going down hill; something we do at least half the time unless you're a base jumper. 

Keep the videos coming Will!

I generally concur with your review. However, it'd be hard for me to recommend these shoes to anyone, except those who have the lowest volume feet. For reference, I wear a low volume ski boot with a last  smaller than 100mm, and I generally have a low toe height and width. My toes are still crammed in the TX Guide from a width and height perspective. Even after a break in period, I still get blisters on the sides of my big and pinkie toes from these shoes. Given the extremely limited foot shape these shoes would seem to fit, I have a hard time recommending them to anyone.

The lacing system of the TX Guide Leather really do make a big difference. Finally got them on my feet, and I got the fit to feel pretty similar to the TX3 actually (I have a D size foot) by loosening the laces down by the toes. I'll post up comparison photos soonish. The Leathers are lined, so I would think they wouldn't stretch all the much after an initial break in period.

Long Ranger wrote:

The Leathers are lined, so I would think they would stretch all the much after an initial break in period.

You left out a "not" right? Like "not stretch...after an initial break in"? I was really hoping that the leathers would stretch a lot, so this shoe would work for me.

Can you please list the size that you have for your TX3 and the TX guides?

And please let us know your impressions after you've worn them a little bit longer, thanks!

Thanks, fixed. Both TX3's and TX Guide Leathers were size 45. I usually wear a 44 in Otakis (very comfy) and Miura VS (tighter) and TX2's (sized tight for scrambling primarily - can't run in them)  and 46 in LS running shoes. Sizing up the TX Guide Leather to try to make them more runable really didn't seem to make much difference on the width so I'm not going to do that. I didn't end up getting a pair - they fit the same to me compared to the TX3 once you dial in the laces and since I'm mostly smearing on the flatirons rather than edging, I don't have a big priority to test out another pair of shoes (I have a ton of running shoes in the queue to get to, first). If TC Pros seemed too tight until you played around with the lacing to dial them in, this is a similar situation, although the TC Pros are unlined leather.

I think Kyle did set his TH to TH First Flatiron record with the original TX Guides, so if you like them you like them. Kyle is about 90lbs lighter and about 5x as talented than me tho.

Because of the MP post limits, if I do post the photos or whatever, this reply will most likely be removed, so if that happens you know why.  

As someone with a narrow foot, the TX Guides were a godsend for me. I remember a lot of scary, exposed moments scrambling in women's Scarpa Cruxes with my feet twisting and sliding around, no matter how tight I laced them. Now I've comfortably used the TX Guides for the Tenaya-Matthes-Cathedral traverse as well as my everyday shoe. I'm really glad they exist and I hope they stick around for a while.

I replaced the factory insole with a high arch insole recently. Maybe for some foot shapes, a different insole could add more volume.

Any suggestions for new shoelaces? Looking for something skinny enough that already has the stiff shoelace end bits.

Here's some photos of the TX 3 and TX Guide Leather together - you can see how much the lacing can make a difference: 

https://justinsimoni.com/2021/04/29/tx-guide-leather-vs-tx-3-sizing

Tree Soloist wrote:

Any suggestions for new shoelaces? 

I don't have any suggestions, but I do always wonder why Sportiva uses such skinny crappy shoelaces on all the TX shoes?? I own the TX2, 3, 4s. When the shoelaces are brand new they suck because they cut into the top of my foot due to their small diameter and constantly become untied. And they seem to get nicked and cut if I am even close to a crack or a boulder field. And don't get me started on that skinny cord that goes around the top of the shoe and is fused in the back to clip a carabiner into. I broke the fused part on my tx3s the first day I wore them. Love these shoes but hate the laces.

Long Ranger wrote:

Here's some photos of the TX 3 and TX Guide Leather together - you can see how much the lacing can make a difference: 

https://justinsimoni.com/2021/04/29/tx-guide-leather-vs-tx-3-sizing

Awesome comparison! Thanks for posting. Your reviews are excellent.

I really like the stiffness and rocker in my boulder x, but would like them to have a lighter/ synthetic upper, and more cushioning in the midsole.
does a TX guide fit the bill, or do you think i’ll find the sole rocker too different? How does the stiffness compare?

Tom Jerram wrote:

I really like the stiffness and rocker in my boulder x, but would like them to have a lighter/ synthetic upper, and more cushioning in the midsole.
does a TX guide fit the bill, or do you think i’ll find the sole rocker too different? How does the stiffness compare?

Also curious how these compare in fit and stiffness to the Boulder X. 

I've never owned the Boulder X so don't believe anything I say, but the TX guide leather looks like a lighter weight Boulder X. Here's a picture of my TX guide on the left and my friends Boulder X on the right from this morning, his foot is one size bigger than mine.

To concur with what the lone ranger said above, although the TX guide leather looks narrower and lower volume than the TX3 and 4, it really fits pretty well on my foot. In the same size, it definitely feels roomier than the TX2.

I own the TX2s, 3, and 4, and have had the TX guide leather for about a month now. I can't speak to the guide's durability, but all my other tx's are probably going to be going to Goodwill right now, I prefer the guide that much better. The Guide Leather is much stiffer, has stickier rubber, a better heel and lacing system, and climbs much better than any of the previous TXs.

I doubted that I could make the TX guide synthetic fit my foot, but I think the Leathers will work for a lot more people.

I'll conclude with an arrogant prediction. When the TC Pro was released, I just knew it was going to become the most popular trad shoe ever. (And the TC Pro never really worked for my foot and I have since moved on). I am pretty confident that the TX Guide Leather will be the equivalent for approach shoes.

Rexford - (great name by the way) did you size the Guide Leathers the same as your TX3s?

Chris C wrote:

Rexford - (great name by the way) did you size the Guide Leathers the same as your TX3s?

No, I went 1/2 size larger than TX3s. I sized the Guides same as TX2s which was one full size over my street shoe. 

FWIW it is worth, the Leather Guides feel the same width as TX2s, but higher volume. Still much narrower than the TX3/4s.

For me I hated my Guides. The tread and the sole was the only thing I liked about them. Other than that they suck. My heals would burn if I wore them to long. Was a pressure issue or something, they were to narrow. Was a damn fight just to put the damn shoe on! My toes smashed against the front of the shoe on descents. The laces sucked D**K they were to short. In order to tie them I had to cinch them up to where they were uncomfortable tight. Then they would NEVER stay tied. So I just tied a double knot in them every time. The cord on the back ripped the shoe, and broke one day. The sole started delaminating on one. And whatever synthetic material they used inside made my feet stink real bad. And I never really get stinky feet. I wouldn’t recommend these shoes to anyone. The only reason I bought them was a emergency. TX4’s are waaaaaay better in every way lol 

Love the TX3s.  Just bought a second pair. They fit great (D width foot).  Tried the TX Guide.  Found the foot volume too cramped (sold them).  Have the TX2s, also, which I like, though not quite as much as the TX3s.  Seems like La Sportiva built the TX Guides for narrower, lower-volume feet—good on them.  TX Guide seemed every bit as capable as the 2s & 3s.  If they fit, you’ll love them.