Skwama vs Drago?

Has anyone used both of these shoes enough to give advice on how they compare? By this I mean sizing, foot shape, general feel on the wall, etc... I’ve gone through a couple pairs of dragos but am sometimes feeling like they lack in generating as much power as I’d like due to lack of stiffness. I’ve heard the Skwama is kind of a good all rounder, and I wouldn’t want to lose all the sensitivity by using something ultra stiff like an instinct. The drago fits my foot probably better than any other shoe I’ve ever tried, and was wondering if the skwama would feel similar. 

Ive tried both of them at demos but never purchased. They are pretty similar in softness. The Skwama has a much wider forefoot, and a more rigid heel. It also knuckles my big toe more. The Drago was much narrower in the forefoot, and had a pointier toe. They climb pretty similar IMO, but both hurt my feet enough that I didnt purchase. 42 in Drago seemed similar to 40.5 in Skwama. 

So i have not used the skwama because my foot is narrow and i have a small heel. I have used several pairs of Scarpa shoes including the drago and the instinct. I liked my dragos for very niche things but i found them to be a bit too soft for my liking. I had a pair of the orange instincts as well and those were just monsters for edging and edge power but overall too stiff and the sensitivity was muted... i am currently climbing in the instinct VSR which has grip 2 rubber (compared to the xs edge of the regular instinct) and i found these to be just awesome. fit my foot really well, stiff enough to edge on small holds, soft enough to feel the rock and smear decently well. 

That being said, ive had several friends with the skwamas and they all seemed to like them a lot. i just dont fit into la sportiva well enough to use them

Doug Chism wrote:

Ive tried both of them at demos but never purchased. They are pretty similar in softness. The Skwama has a much wider forefoot, and a more rigid heel. It also knuckles my big toe more. The Drago was much narrower in the forefoot, and had a pointier toe. They climb pretty similar IMO, but both hurt my feet enough that I didnt purchase. 42 in Drago seemed similar to 40.5 in Skwama. 

Not to hijack, but mind me asking what you're running shoe wise Doug? I had some uber-downsized Skwamas that hurt too much, then recently I tried the Instinct Lace (probably a half size too low) which burned my toes. Both were supposed to work for my wide feet but maybe it was too much downsizing. Otakis felt ok at the store, but something about them didn't make me pull the trigger. Were you the one praising the new Shaman Lace?

Dan Dan wrote:

Not to hijack, but mind me asking what you're running shoe wise Doug? I had some uber-downsized Skwamas that hurt too much, then recently I tried the Instinct Lace (probably a half size too low) which burned my toes. Both were supposed to work for my wide feet but maybe it was too much downsizing. Otakis felt ok at the store, but something about them didn't make me pull the trigger. Were you the one praising the new Shaman Lace?

I am indeed running the Shaman Lace in street shoe size for outdoors, and the Shaman Velcro inside, also street shoe size. I cant quite pinpoint why, but I prefer the lace overall. It might be the fit of the Velcro is slightly different, or it could also be that the Velcro is quite heavy and hot for an indoor shoe, not sure. The lace is great outside. Its stiff enough to edge well on small feet, and downturned enough for steep routes. The rubber works great on the limestone at Reeds Creek and the sandstone at the Red. 

The big thing is these shoes have completely fixed my toe pain issues. It was at a point where I couldent do a single boulder before my toes were screaming. I was never a big Evolv fan but these shoes fit my feet, and not being in pain allows me to concentrate on climbing.

I am looking forward to the Shaman Pro they are coming out with, maybe that will work better for me in the gym. 

Nick A wrote:

So i have not used the skwama because my foot is narrow and i have a small heel. I have used several pairs of Scarpa shoes including the drago and the instinct. I liked my dragos for very niche things but i found them to be a bit too soft for my liking. I had a pair of the orange instincts as well and those were just monsters for edging and edge power but overall too stiff and the sensitivity was muted... i am currently climbing in the instinct VSR which has grip 2 rubber (compared to the xs edge of the regular instinct) and i found these to be just awesome. fit my foot really well, stiff enough to edge on small holds, soft enough to feel the rock and smear decently well. 

That being said, ive had several friends with the skwamas and they all seemed to like them a lot. i just dont fit into la sportiva well enough to use them

Interesting, I have tried the VSR’s but quite honestly I didn’t love them that much, and I still sort of had that lack in sensitivity that I would usually like. I also generally don’t fit sportivas that well (solutions and testerossas are unbearably uncomfortable for me), but I have heard that the skwama fits a little better for “scarpa” feet. 

I have both and they are both really great, sized comfortable. I have a high volume widish foot, size 45 or 11.5 street. Btw each company has a shoe chart which labels the width/volume of each shoe. I wish I would have studied those long ago, saved guesswork. The Drago is amazing in the gym, sized down 1/2 size from street shoe to 44.5, super wide. You will not regret just staying with the Drago. The Skwama is a bit stiffer, also wide, also amazing, sized down 1.5 from street shoe to 43.5, but that yellow heel rand cuts into my outer mid foot in an annoying way. I’m really surprised you don’t like the instinct vsr, that would have been my recommendation for something more stiff. I sized the instinct VSR same as the Drago, 1/2 size down from street shoe size. Actually, I’d say the vsr is a better version of the Skwama, equal on the sensitivity scale. Maybe buy the vsr and break them in? Let us know what u end up finding out.