La Sportiva

Cobra Eco Climbing Shoe

Awesome shoe ruined by the terrible new rubber.

Wow, the Cobra is a longstanding classic slipper. The OG, the GOAT, and I like the Eco concept, but they do not use Vibram Grip this version of the shoe. The Frixtion rubber they use on this one is harder and far less sticky and malleable. A slipper is soft and malleable shoe...and pairing this hard/generic rubber on this shoe destroys its performance. Please go back to Vibram XS Grip or Grip2. This is terrible shoe as is.

The Awesome Cobra shape but rubber-ugh

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

This shoe is the longstanding classic shape of the Cobra. The Cobra has been my favorite shoe for many years for the gym and sandstone. It's flexibility and sensitivity is unparalleled. The fit of the Eco is the same, but Eco Frixion rubber is not the same as XS Grip. It is notably less sticky largely because it is considerably stiffer than XS Grip which is a huge detractor to the overall performance of this soft, supple and sensitive shoe. Eco Frixion may even be harder than XS Edge which Sportiva uses on its stiff edging shoes. In any case, for me, I won't be buying the Eco anymore. I will seek out the original cobra with XS Grip. Putting hard rubber on this soft and sensitive shoe was a bad design decision. I am so bummed I bought these Eco's.

A comfy and precise shoe

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

Size Bought:

41

I bought the Cobra as an all around shoe and primarily climb granite. I've been using them for long trad, bouldering, sport and the gym. I really wanted a slipper so I didn't have to tie my shoes so often. The shoe is not down turned and comes out of the box with a flat last. It is a very soft shoe. Sizing the shoe was tough because they are not available in my area. I got them in 41 and went up a half size from my TC Pros (40.5) and down a half size from the TX4 approach shoes (41.5). They fit great, the heel is snug and I can wear them for extended times.

Great All-Around Slipper

Overall, really a good shoe. Though I don’t think I would classify it as aggressive, it makes up for it in comfort and let’s be honest, there is not really such a thing as a comfortable and aggressive shoe. The only issue I have is that the heel won’t be having a vacuum fit which I predicted before buying due to the shoe not having any straps and seeing how the rand is situated, it’s really not that big of a problem though.the heel still allows for relatively solid heel hooking. My favorite aspect, aside from the comfort, is the tie and the rubber. The rubber is by far the stickiest I have had out of the half-dozen shoes I have been through. And the toe is precise and pointy and fits perfectly in pockets as well as being sensitive enough to allow effective smearing. I highly recommend these shoes for the gym or a long day out where performance and comfort are equally important. They do stretch a bit, I sized down 2 sizes and in about 2 weeks they were perfect.

Great training shoe

Exactly the same as the original Cobra. Perfectly soft and comfortable. I use this shoe mainly for speed climbing and training indoors, and it hasn't let me down yet. Highly recommend!

The Legend Reborn

Sublimely comfortable while not compromising performance. Like it’s predecessor, the Eco Cobra delivers all-day, all-around aggressive performance under any circumstance – from long multi-pitch granite routes to slick sandstone slopers to steep indoor gym climbing — and everything in-between. I greatly appreciate the use of non-toxic biodegradable leather and recycled materials. I will never leave home without these legendary shoes. ❤️

Great Purchase...10/10

First time I wore them was in a comp. Performed amazingly. Not the best for strenuous heel hooks, but I don’t know of any slip on that’s great for that. Performed surprisingly well on thin slab. Definitely recommend (two buddies that I climbed with already said they were going to buy them after seeing how well mine performed, so there’s that) Be warned, they run a little large. I wear an 11 US tennis shoe. I wear a 9.5 (42.5) in my solutions and those are perfectly tight. Ordered the same size with these and they feel a little bigger, but not too big to be a problem.

Great Speed Shoe

I bought this shoe about a year ago to use for speed climbing. This shoe performs amazingly and I love that 85% of the materials are recycled. Even though these shoes were taking a beating while training speed climbing, they have lasted surprisingly long.

Can't beat a classic !

I've been using these as my gym shoes. I wear a 46 street shoe and ordered 43.5 after trying them on. I like a tight shoe but I'm older than 20 -something...therefore tight within reason. They stretched predictably and are perfect. I have very "boney" outside ankle bones so the rand around the ankle was too high and cut sharply into my ankle...a sharp utility knife remedied that and I have made similar accommodations in other footwear.

Very Good Shoes

These are very good climbing shoes and I highly recommend them. But be weary of sizing, I would recommend going for a 1.5 size smaller than your regular shoes because they WILL stretch. Also they will turn your feet very brown.