Old TC vs New TC what’s the deal?

I’ve been seeing some interesting activity lately in the for sale forum with people offering high prices for old TC pros. Is there really that big of a difference in fit between the two? Can someone help explain this to me like I’m 5? Or is it just market demand capitalism?

For me, the fit difference was night and day. To be honest, I hadn’t even heard there was a difference so I didn’t have a bias going into the purchase.

I sold mine and switched to BD Aspect Pro and scored a good deal on Butora Altura so I’m covering the hole the TC pro left with those two shoes.

The difference was that the fit felt much narrower. It didn’t break in after plenty of pitches. And that yellow lace protector dug into my foot when flexing the shoe. 

Bummer, I guess I always knew this day would come. 

Not casting any doubt towards Nate at all when I say this - I have personally not noticed a difference in fit but I also tend not to have fitment challenges with shoes. I have a narrower foot and sportiva tends to work best for me. I have the old and new TC Pros and I prefer the older ones but that's based more on the look of the shoe. If anything, the new ones do take longer to break in and I have a friend who swears that hers have never broken in so Nate is onto something there.

Both models have garbage quality shoelaces. I snapped them on my old pair and replaced the laces on both pairs after that happened.

Just chiming in that I also noticed a bit of a difference - not life changing but prefer the old school ones as well. For some reason feels like they’re a bit less stiff for smearing as well while still providing ideal support for jamming but that might just be in my head

I prefer the old ones. New ones dug into my Achilles and I ended up cutting the back to relieve the pressure. If I go a size larger, they're too long. 

Personally prefer the new ones - I still have a pair or two of the old ones in good condition but never wear them when I care about performance. The achilles is a bit tighter on the new ones and causes me a bit of pain but also seems to make edging a bit more precise so this is a good tradeoff for me. They also basically fixed the 6th toe delamination issues which is awesome. I also feel like the fit is ever so slightly tweaked towards my feet (katakis fit me perfectly but I can't get a good trad fit in the old katana laces)

I personally found them to feel a little wider in the forefoot, the revised tongue spills less out on the inside of the shoe, the achillies definitely has less tension than the previous version with a bit more of an instant comfort feel.

Disclaimer: this is from trying them on the shop. 

I have wide feet and high volume and found the newer ones fit much better. They broke in fine for me. The old ones had a seam that pressed into my foot in the wrong place. Everyone’s foot is different!

I did find the achilles tighter than other shoes (can’t compare to the old TCs because they fit so poorly I never bought them) when I’m on slab, and relieved that by cutting the rubber that wraps the ankle. There are some threads on this mod.

Check out the reviews:

https://www.lasportivausa.com/tc-pro.html

New ones seem stiffer to me, and not quite as comfy on long days. Also had to size down to match the old pair.

New are stiffer, ever so slightly more downturned, 1/2 size smaller, better laces, better tongue, better durability for crack climbing. On the other hand not as comfy for long days. Also the toe shape is more pointy on the olds and more round on the new.

The conclusion is, the new TC Pros are wider and narrower, stiffer and softer, with more and less heel sling. 

LaSportiva created the perfect shoe. Maybe not perfect because the laces still suck but they did fix the delamination problem.

Aaron K wrote:

New are stiffer, ever so slightly more downturned, 1/2 size smaller, better laces, better tongue, better durability for crack climbing. On the other hand not as comfy for long days. Also the toe shape is more pointy on the olds and more round on the new.

Perfect objective review. Thanks Aaron!

Disclaimer: Haven't tried them.

Kinda think they didn't change the last, but it seems like people say the Achilles strap is less tight. The change in fit feels more like a difference in individual pieces of leather. I have a few pairs of old tc in the same size, and they all fit pretty differently.

The sizing changed but the fit is pretty similar for me.  I feel like the new ones stick on slab better.  However...  (THE BIG ONE), they put stitching at the heel and more or less between the two pull tabs.  If you're trying to jam your feet into the shoes you will break the stitching.  You have to take the time to loosen the lacing every time.

Gumby King wrote:

The sizing changed but the fit is pretty similar for me.  I feel like the new ones stick on slab better.  However...  (THE BIG ONE), they put stitching at the heel and more or less between the two pull tabs.  If you're trying to jam your feet into the shoes you will break the stitching.  You have to take the time to loosen the lacing every time.

Before I sliced mine purposely, I accidentally ripped the stitching without much force.

Aaron K wrote:

New are stiffer, ever so slightly more downturned, 1/2 size smaller, better laces, better tongue, better durability for crack climbing. On the other hand not as comfy for long days. Also the toe shape is more pointy on the olds and more round on the new.

This is a really accurate list of changes I've noticed around the 39.5 size.

I do think they break in more than the old ones, so while out of the box they're smaller, after 10 days they feel about the same.

The rounded toe is huge improvement for my foot shape getting rid of dead space in the tip. Maybe slightly worse for thin cracks but way better for smedging and standing on crystals.

Like others have mentioned, I've also experienced discomfort in the toe box from the plastic lace insert. I can comment further on fit differences since the toe box feel was enough of a deal breaker. Also, I think new TC pros look ugly, with their laminate leather construction and engraving of two Yosemite topos of climbs I'm unlikely to ever do.

I couldn’t get the sizing right, either felt too big or too small relative to my OG’s 

If anyone has any good condition 45 V1’s hit me up! Lol