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LS solution comps- super soft?

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Mike Gagnon · · Plymouth, NH · Joined Oct 2019 · Points: 85

I’ve been loving my Skwamas and how soft they are, but feel I give up a little performance on some things. Looking to try the solution comps and wonder how soft they get for sensitivity and precision? Going to be using them for gym climbing/outdoor bouldering/ steeper sport climbs


thanks!

Josh S · · Kerhonkson, NY · Joined Sep 2017 · Points: 0

They feel like a more dialed / less bulky solution. Definitely less soft than skwama, a bit softer than solutions. I switched to them recently as my general purpose hard climbing shoe, and use a futura if I want more sensitivity. 

Mike Gagnon · · Plymouth, NH · Joined Oct 2019 · Points: 85

Do you feel the ability to curl your toes around an incut  foothold at all in them? Or ability to move rubber/toes at all to help precision? Or am I dreaming? Obviously they won’t be as soft as the softest shoes out there(I feel like I can bend my skwama easily with toes) but I do want some adjustable movement in them

Josh S · · Kerhonkson, NY · Joined Sep 2017 · Points: 0

Hmm, interesting question. With solutions/solution comps they have the little downturned hook at the tip of the big toe, so when there's an incut hold I typically am hooking with that versus explicitly trying to curl with my toes. I don't think I'd get much out of trying to curl the shoe with them. If you want the softest possible option with some stiffness, you might want to try the women's solution comp...the fit is very similar to the men's but it's notably softer/more sensitive (I recall watching a LS video where they said that the main difference between gendered shoes was stiffness, under the assumption that women would be lighter and thus need a less stiff shoe). I recently tried a pair and found them too soft, reverting back to the men's solution comp.

All that said, IMO if you want a super sensitive shoe it sounds like you've got one that you like — the skwama — and if you're climbing with a stiffer shoe you should embrace that and be ok with the tradeoffs...both are super useful tools to have in the toolbox.

Not Not MP Admin · · The OASIS · Joined Nov 2018 · Points: 17

You guys realize that skwama’s and solution comps both use the same rubber (4mm XS grip 2) with pretty much the same mid sole, right? I wouldn’t categorize either as (super) soft and there shouldn’t be a huge difference in sensitivity between the two as far as rubber on rock goes unless you’re comparing a broken in shoe to a brand new one.

I find the solution comp’s to be slightly more precise in the toe, but otherwise very similar. I wouldn’t substitute the skwama for solution comp or vice versa if trying to send a specific climb due to how similar they are. If you want more sensitivity I would go with futura, genius, or mantra and if you want precision I’d go with Solution or katana lace up. The solution comp and skwama are the middle ground in my experience.  

Mike Gagnon · · Plymouth, NH · Joined Oct 2019 · Points: 85
Not Not MP Admin wrote:

You guys realize that skwama’s and solution comps both use the same rubber (4mm XS grip 2) with pretty much the same mid sole, right? I wouldn’t categorize either as (super) soft and there shouldn’t be a huge difference in sensitivity between the two as far as rubber on rock goes unless you’re comparing a broken in shoe to a brand new one.

I find the solution comp’s to be slightly more precise in the toe, but otherwise very similar. I wouldn’t substitute the skwama for solution comp or vice versa if trying to send a specific climb due to how similar they are. If you want more sensitivity I would go with futura, genius, or mantra and if you want precision I’d go with Solution or katana lace up. The solution comp and skwama are the middle ground in my experience.  

Solution comp is .9mm vs .8mm midsole on swama and skwamas also have a cut out in the sole for better flexibility. Was just wondering peoples experiences on those differences. I find a difference between regular solutions and skwama but hadn’t tried the comps 

Not Not MP Admin · · The OASIS · Joined Nov 2018 · Points: 17
Mike Gagnon wrote:

Solution comp is .9mm vs .8mm midsole on swama and skwamas also have a cut out in the sole for better flexibility. Was just wondering peoples experiences on those differences. I find a difference between regular solutions and skwama but hadn’t tried the comps 

0.1mm in the midsole  


Like I said, I don’t see enough difference to buy solution comps if I had skwamas or vice versa. I’ve had both, they are very similar and interchangeable in nearly all climbing applications, if I need something that’s super sensitive I’ll use my five ten teams or futuras. If I need some serious edging I’ll use my katanas, muira lace ups, or even solutions. For everything I’ll use my skwama or solution comps (solution comp if the feet are pocket-y and skwama if the feet are edgy)….and do you really notice the hole cut out in the sole? Be honest lol
 

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