Scarpa Thunder Climbing Shoe - Vibram XS Edge - 2010 BCS

Have two pairs of these and use them in the gym as well as outside. When climbing outside I feel comfortable with every style (face, crack, slab) and wear them easily all day. Very durable rubber as I climbed a full outdoor season in them.
I would not necessarily rate them as a beginner only shoe, as I know some folks who climb up to 5.11's (outside) in them.
No smelling problem either using them on average 2-3 times a week. Just make sure (as with every shoe) you air/dry them out properly afterwards.

Shoes are solid. At the discount price they are truly a steal. I use them mainly for my gym shoes and they have held up well for 2 months now. They also perform well for intermediate sport climbs. I sized down 1 full size and they stretched perfectly for me. I bought another pair and threw them in the closet. Would recommend them to anyone that just needs a pair of workhorse shoes. Had a pair of evolv's prior to these, and as I have read in other reviews they stunk more than most shoes. These don't stink at all yet. Great shoe, well worth $60.

I was surprised at how much I like these shoes! I bought them for myself as a non-aggressive all-around shoe after wearing through my La Sportiva Mythos because they're such an amazing deal, then ended up getting them for two of my family members as well because I liked them so much. I sized down 1.5 sizes from my street shoe (usually wear a 42, bought a 40.5). They're tight but not too uncomfortable, especially after a break in period of a week or so. They have a pretty stiff sole so they edge and smear well, are really sticky, and are decent in cracks. Good for longer climbs or if I had purchased a 41 they'd be perfect for all day adventures. Would be an excellent beginner shoe. They do have a pretty deep heel cup but it fits my foot just fine. If other Scarpas fit you well these probably will too and you absolutely cannot beat the price.

Taking the price into consideration, this shoe is a steal. They're not the most aggressive shoe, but for a gym shoe, or a versatile shoe they're awesome.

They areare the best shoe that I've used this will be my fourth pair. They don't last that long though

If you are cursed with size 14 feet this is the shoe for you. Plenty of toe room but still fits good in the heel. Of all the shoes that I've tried to make-do with, this one fits perfect. Just snug enough without crippling you for life. Fits true to street size.

When I first started climbing this was the first shoe I ever bought, the price allowed me not to feel like a broke the bank on gear for a sport I might not even want to keep doing. And remember when you first get into climbing your going to shred through your first pair of shoes very very quickly.

This shoe got me through a huge part of my learning curve and held up well to a lot of "beginner" abuse such as toe dragging slipping off small holds and just holds in general . Another nice feature I found with this shoe was the lacing and toe box on this shoe, when you first start out as a climber your really not in the mind set to cram your foot into small little shoes just to maximize climbing potential. Your still at a climbing level where your wanting to fall in love with the sport and really see if this is "your" kind of sport. Scarpa did a really bang up job on making a semi-performace shoe that I feel appeals to newer climbers.

I couldn't really give this shoe more than 3 stars since well I feel it was never designed to be a 5 star shoe in the first place but also for two KEY points.

1. After about 5 months of climbing in these things 3 days a week I had to put them in a ZIP-LOCK bag before putting them in my climbing bag since the stunk soooo bad!

2. After a few months of climbing and pushing my self to climb harder routes I was having a problem with the shoes being able to hang on to smaller foot holds which resulted in a lot of skinning of my knees.