Drago lv sizing and fit

I've been wearing scarpa women's instinct vs (EU 38.5) for half an year and I love it very much. I'm about to get it resoled therefore I want to get another pair of shoes during it's gone. I want a pair of soft and sensitive shoes so I'm mainly considering scarpa drago. I do have skwama (EU 37.5) but it hurts badly, especially on the joint of big toe and heel skin, so I don't wear it often. I looked at multiple websites but could not find drago in EU 37.5 or 38. Therefore I'm considering drago lv. My feet are abolutely not narrow feet. Would drago lv fit or not? Does anyone have experience about the sizing of instinct VS and drago/drago lv (e.g. should I size up drago lv over instinct or size down)?

I wear Scarpa in the same size across their entire line of soft shoes, from Vapor S to Instinct S to Drago and Drago LV, they all fit the same in terms of length. If you wear the Instinct VS in 38.5 and it's your tight but tolerable fit, then you should get the Drago LV in the same size.

Comfort wise, the Drago LV will be slightly less volume vs Drago in the toe, and very narrow at the heel. The Drago LV will have more volume in the toe vs Skwama (men), which I find very uncomfortable.

Hope all this helps.

To clarify, for many brands, LV basically refers to the space above the foot (like the vamp on a shoe). The HV and LV will have same forefoot width but narrower heel. I’ve seen this true personally with sportiva and scarpa. I believe this is why sportiva moved away from naming things women’s version and instead use LV instead to change perception on who the shoe is for.

If you like skwama aside from the rubber digging in to your foot, you can also consider the theory. The lasts are different but it is so soft that it accommodates many different foot shapes. It’s the closest competitor to the drago from LS.

Mens vs Womens often have the same difference that regular vs. LV will. It's just a naming convention that mostly comes from e-commerce (everybody sorts by Men's/Womens when shopping online so it's just stuck, whether or not it makes sense for something like climbing shoes). Since you're already in a Women's Instinct, I bet the Drago LV would fit you better anyway. 

I wear (mens) Instinct VSRs and (regular) Dragos and I wear the exact same size in each.

Side note, the Dragos are so soft, they are really comfortable. The toe is stiff enough to stand on micro edges, but the upper is really soft and comfy even when your toe is all knuckled up. It might be my all time favorite shoe.

VictorN wrote:

To clarify, for many brands, LV basically refers to the space above the foot (like the vamp on a shoe). The HV and LV will have same forefoot width but narrower heel. I’ve seen this true personally with sportiva and scarpa. I believe this is why sportiva moved away from naming things women’s version and instead use LV instead to change perception on who the shoe is for.

If you like skwama aside from the rubber digging in to your foot, you can also consider the theory. The lasts are different but it is so soft that it accommodates many different foot shapes. It’s the closest competitor to the drago from LS.

Thank you for the suggestion. I will check theory out too!

Yukon Cornelius wrote:

Mens vs Womens often have the same difference that regular vs. LV will. It's just a naming convention that mostly comes from e-commerce (everybody sorts by Men's/Womens when shopping online so it's just stuck, whether or not it makes sense for something like climbing shoes). Since you're already in a Women's Instinct, I bet the Drago LV would fit you better anyway. 

I wear (mens) Instinct VSRs and (regular) Dragos and I wear the exact same size in each.

Side note, the Dragos are so soft, they are really comfortable. The toe is stiff enough to stand on micro edges, but the upper is really soft and comfy even when your toe is all knuckled up. It might be my all time favorite shoe.

Thank you for the suggestion and the side note. I've heared all good things about drago (especially how comfortable they are). Will absolutely get a pair of them soon.

Yukon Cornelius wrote:

Mens vs Womens often have the same difference that regular vs. LV will. It's just a naming convention that mostly comes from e-commerce (everybody sorts by Men's/Womens when shopping online so it's just stuck, whether or not it makes sense for something like climbing shoes). Since you're already in a Women's Instinct, I bet the Drago LV would fit you better anyway. 

I wear (mens) Instinct VSRs and (regular) Dragos and I wear the exact same size in each.

Side note, the Dragos are so soft, they are really comfortable. The toe is stiff enough to stand on micro edges, but the upper is really soft and comfy even when your toe is all knuckled up. It might be my all time favorite shoe.

Thanks for sharing! It's very helpful.