Scarpa Instinct VSR LV

Has anyone tried the new LV version of the Instinct VSR?  My son climbs in the Drago LV and Vapor S Women's, both of which he likes, but we're looking for something a little stiffer overall.  The Drago is very soft, and the Vapor is stiffer but softens up a lot after a little use.  The regular Women's Instinct VS didn't quite fit right around the heel and mid-foot, but thinking the LV VSR may improve on that issue.  So far haven't been able to find anywhere locally to try them on, though.  

How does the Instinct line in general do for stiffness?  If you've tried the new LV VSR, thought on it?

I've been using them for about a month. Way smaller heal than the vsr. I think it's very similar to the wns drago. Very good shoe if your toes fit the instinct range but need a tighter heal. A little softer than I would hope for but you can't have everything

Paul L wrote:

My son climbs in the Drago LV and Vapor S Women's, both of which he likes, but we're looking for something a little stiffer overall.

Yeah, it sounds like the Purple instincts could be exactly what he's looking for. They're noticeably stiffer than Drago LVs, but I found them softer than other instincts (Women's, VSR, VS, lace up). IMO, they should have called them the 'Scarpa Instinct Comp' instead of the 'Scarpa Instinct VSR LV', since I find them softer (and more comfortable) than VSRs. (Anyone else notice they're softer than blue VSRs, or is it all in my head or luck of the batch...?) 

Keep in mind that the Instinct shape is a lot different than Drago; they'll be shaped more similar to the Vapor S Wmn. I recommend getting either the same size as the Drago LV or going 0.5 size up for a similar fit. I'd do the same size as a Women's Instinct, which is probably the same size as the Vapor S Wmn.  

I just got these and climbed in them in the gym for the first time. I've had several other pairs of Instincts and worn the same size in all of them...the VSR LV seem to fit me way baggier, looser / wider on the foot and also a bit looser in the heel. Pretty surprising. The toes feel good, wouldn't have wanted to size down anymore, and so far I feel solid climbing in them though.  Anyone else notice this? Wondering if I'm just noticing the extra volume because they're softer and flex so much more?

I agree with Leon. I have been climbing in the Drago LV and the Instinct VSRs (blue) for years.  I prefer the Drago 90% of the time but will go VSR if a little more edging power is needed. Both are a little baggy in the heel for me. I wanted the VSR LVs to be the perfect in-between that everyone is claiming them to be, and have a better fit in the heel. I got the VSR LVs last week (same size as the blues, 43.5) and was terribly confused. I sincerely could not feel any difference between the blue VSRs and the purple VSR LVs in the heel. Even visually, the heels are the same width, I swear. This is insane to me because that certainly didn't seem to be the case in that detailed Scapa vid I'm sure everyone has watched. I also thought there was more room in other areas compared to the blues; I needed to cinch down the strap tighter on the purples to get the same fit, and I'll stress I'm doing this comparison with a fully broken-in pair of blue VSRs, which are already a bit bagged out. I didn't climb in the LVs because I don't think I'll keep them; maybe on the wall there would be subtleties that separate them from the blues, but I just don't see it. One more thing that bothered me is that Scarpa points out how the rubber on the top of the foot is now butted up to the leather so it doesn't pull up, but for me, that's never been the problem area. The lower rubber piece that goes around the top of the toes, however, has pulled up like crazy on my blue VSRs, and they made no changes in that area for the LVs. I didn't want/need another pair of blue VSRs, and that's what I felt like I got, at best. 

I've been climbing in the VSR LVs for a few months and as far as sizing goes, to me they feel a half size smaller than the VSR in the forefoot, probably due to the heel fit. The heel is about as tall as the VSR heel, maybe a bit lower, but doesn't feel nearly as deep. The dead air gap between my heel and the apex of the heel is close to zero, certainly the best of any shoe I've tried. In order to get the heel to fit really well though, I find that I have to really pull up on the tabs to get that last half millimeter or whatever of height, otherwise it doesn't quite go over the apex of my heel and sit super snuggly. It gets there though. The VSR heel, while baggy on me, sits solidly high and doesn't have any vertical give. The women's instinct lace heel fits me quite good in terms of volume, but the PAF heel just sits a bit too low. Fine 90% of the time but sometimes I do feel the heel dragging down more than I want on some hooks.

It is noticeably softer than the VSR which to me is a bit of a bummer. The dragos already fit the bill of soft shoes, and what I really want is a shoe I can drive a lot of power through the toe like the VS/VSR, but with a heel that fits me well. Great shoe still.

I agree w/ Brandon. I wear the VSR LV in the same size as my VSRs, and they definitely feel tighter in the heel, and also tighter in the forefoot due to the tighter heel pushing my foot forward. Visually, the heel of the LV is clearly narrower compared to my VSRs. I've always had issues with dead space under my heel and that remains a bit of a problem with the LVs although less so than other shoes.

Softness wise they feel about the same as my VSRs but it's possible I haven't broken them in enough yet. They did help me send one of my longtime heel hook intensive boulder projects, so I'm a fan. 

VSR LV and VSR side by side:

And these are mine. I'm not crazy, I swear. They are both loosely filled with newspaper with the strap lightly closed. The mid-foot bagginess is deceiving when they aren't on a foot.

I had already ordered a pair before this most recent round of feedback, and my son finally tried them on yesterday. 

Initial review would be in line with the folks saying that the heel appears to have maintained most of its volume, if not more.  It may not rise up quite as high, but certainly seems to be just as wide if not wider than even the women's Instinct.  Forefoot and toe-box fit great, but a lot of air around the side of the heel going up towards the arch.  

The overall feel of the shoe seems perfect, but the low-volume adjustment seems odd.  Even tried them with socks, since we do order new shoes a half-size up and it's for a rapidly growing kid, but there was still a lot of room on the sides.  

[edit] Adam and Prav: I assume so, but the shoes in each of your photos are side-by-sides of the same size?  That can't just be a production run thing, right?  Or Scarpa did some sort of resizing across the whole line of shoes?  What size are each of you in?  For instance, would Scarpa have made their size 40 a little smaller, but their 43 a little bigger?  Seems very unlikely

The white Sportiva Katanas also might be of interest... stiffer than the Instinct but pretty narrow heel and the same Grip rubber.

Mine are the same size; both 43.5. I know there is some variability in production runs; I have 3 pairs of Dragos in size 44, and one of them does fit tighter, but it is a very very small difference. It would be tough to convince me that was the difference in the fit of the Instincts. 

Mine are both size 40. I just got a second pair in and it fits the same as my first pair.