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La Sportiva Katana Lace review: fit, sizing and what climbers say

A lace-up, moderately downturned edging shoe that is at its best on outdoor rock: technical sport, trad and long multi-pitch routes. Buy it if you want one precise, supportive shoe for vertical to gently overhanging terrain and thin cracks. It is less suited to steep gym bouldering and toe-hook-heavy problems.

  • Intermediate
  • Sport
  • Trad
  • Multi-pitch
  • Outdoor
  • Vertical
  • Cracks
  • All-round

Size down about one size from your street shoe

For a snug all-round fit, a street UK 9 (EU 43) is a UK 8 (EU 42) in the Katana Lace. Go half a size smaller for hard bouldering, or bigger for long days. It's a starting point: feet differ, so try them on if you can.

Your size in the Katana Lace

Your street shoe size

UK9

Aggressive

Tight, hard bouldering

UK7½EU 41

Recommended

Snug all-rounder

UK8EU 42

Relaxed

Long sessions

UK8½EU 42½

Comfort

Beginners, multi-pitch

UK9EU 43
Your size in all 292 shoes

How the Katana Lace fits

NarrowLow volume
Heel
Snug, low-volume heel cup that holds well on heel hooks; climbers with high-volume heels may get slip.
Toe box
Pointed, fairly narrow toe box with a flatter toe angle than most performance shoes; good in thin cracks and small edges.
Suits
Narrow to medium feet and narrow heels. Wide forefeet usually find it tight; La Sportiva also makes a lower-volume women's version.

What climbers say

From independent reviews and buyers' feedback; each point is backed by at least two sources.

Strengths

  • Excellent edging: the stiff 4 mm XS Edge sole and precise toe stand on very small holds
  • Versatile across outdoor styles, from slab and face to thin cracks and moderate overhangs
  • Comfortable for its performance level; laces let you loosen it for warm-ups and cinch it for cruxes
  • Supportive enough to reduce foot fatigue on long pitches
  • Durable rubber and upper that hold their shape over long use

Watch out for

  • Weak at toe hooks: little toe-top rubber and a stiff flex
  • Stiffness costs sensitivity, and it struggles on sustained steep terrain and gym volumes
  • Narrow fit does not suit wide feet or high-volume heels
  • Expensive
Stretch and break-in: The leather/microfiber upper gives roughly half a size, sometimes a bit more over time; OutdoorGearLab's spec table says 0.5-1 EU size. Reviewers suggest about 0.5-1 US size under street size for comfort and up to 1.5-2 down for a tight performance fit, plus a few sessions of break-in. Keep the laces snug or the toe box loosens and edging suffers.

La Sportiva Katana Lace size chart

Your street size, then the size to get for each fit. From La Sportiva's size chart and how this model runs.

La Sportiva Katana Lace size chart
StreetAggressiveRecommendedRelaxedComfort
UK 4EU 37–UK 3EU 35½UK 3½EU 36UK 4EU 37
UK 4½EU 37½UK 3EU 35½UK 3½EU 36UK 4EU 37UK 4½EU 37½
UK 5EU 38UK 3½EU 36UK 4EU 37UK 4½EU 37½UK 5EU 38
UK 5½EU 38½UK 4EU 37UK 4½EU 37½UK 5EU 38UK 5½EU 38½
UK 6EU 39½UK 4½EU 37½UK 5EU 38UK 5½EU 38½UK 6EU 39
UK 6½EU 40UK 5EU 38UK 5½EU 38½UK 6EU 39UK 6½EU 39½
UK 7EU 40½UK 5½EU 38½UK 6EU 39UK 6½EU 39½UK 7EU 40½
UK 7½EU 41½UK 6EU 39UK 6½EU 39½UK 7EU 40½UK 7½EU 41
UK 8EU 42UK 6½EU 39½UK 7EU 40½UK 7½EU 41UK 8EU 42
UK 8½EU 42½UK 7EU 40½UK 7½EU 41UK 8EU 42UK 8½EU 42½
UK 9EU 43UK 7½EU 41UK 8EU 42UK 8½EU 42½UK 9EU 43
UK 9½EU 44UK 8EU 42UK 8½EU 42½UK 9EU 43UK 9½EU 43½
UK 10EU 44½UK 8½EU 42½UK 9EU 43UK 9½EU 43½–
UK 10½EU 45UK 9EU 43UK 9½EU 43½––
UK 11EU 45½UK 9½EU 43½–––

– means past the end of the La Sportiva size chart we have.

What La Sportiva says

“Generally sized down 1-3 EU sizes from a standard EU street shoe size.”

Quoted from the La Sportiva product page

Specs

Rubber
Vibram XS Edge, 4 mm
Downturn
moderate
Asymmetry
moderate
Stiffness
stiff
Closure
laces
Version
men's
Made for
sport
Upper
Microfiber + leather, slip-lasted tubular construction
Lining
Pacific lining (forefoot and back)
Weight
250 g (per shoe, maker figure (size not stated); Rock+Run lists 500 g per pair, EU 39)
Resoleable
Yes
Price
$239 (list price, 2026-10-08)
Released
2010 (heel/outsole update c. 2022)

Same sizing: Katana Lace (last season), Katana Lace Women's

Compare with

Sources

  1. La Sportiva USA: Katana Lace
  2. Rock+Run: La Sportiva Katana Lace
  3. OutdoorGearLab review (Nov 2025)
  4. Climber News: Katana Lace review
  5. 99Boulders: Katana Lace review

Checked 8 October 2026 (Katana Lace (current men's/unisex model with the c. 2022 heel update; La Sportiva USA listing, Oct 2026)). Gear Loop isn't affiliated with the maker and earns nothing from these links.

More La Sportiva shoes

La Sportiva sizing →

Estimates. Fit depends on foot shape and preference.