La Sportiva TX3 Approach Shoe Brown Size:

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The cord loop on the heel (presumably designed so they can be clipped onto a climbing harness) also gets caught on sticks when bushbashing (This loop can easily be removed if you find this problematic). We wanted durability without sacrificing weight and climbing performance without losing hiking support. La Sportiva makes several approach shoes, and their TX3 seems to fall right in the middle of the spectrum of hiking and climbing.

Hi, I'm Michael Lanza, creator of The Big Outside and former Northwest Editor at Backpacker magazine.The most intense wear on the lacing system did occurred in narrow slot canyons in Utah, which are much harder on footwear, so this weakness is less likely to be an issue in more open Australian-style canyons.

While some committed ultralighters advocate wearing neoprene socks with non-waterproof, lightweight shoes such as the TX3 in wet conditions, I personally prefer to go with a waterproof-breathable shoe or boot, and pairing that with more comfortable, wool socks. The key issues here are the lack of water drainage below the level of the mesh upper, no protection against sand and pebbles entering the shoe, and a lacing system that is not able to deal well with abrasion. The midfoot fit of the TX Guide is on the narrow side and very similar to the Bushido II and Lycan 2. Leather may stretch a bit compared to a synthetic, but these uppers are still lined, so I’m not betting that after an initial break-in period, they’ll stretch all that much.While we concluded that the lighter TX2 easily meets the needs of the average climber, we just couldn't deny the TX3's performance in rough terrain. While this shoe is designed to be lightweight and minimalist, La Sportiva don’t appear to have achieved this by sacrificing durability. The award-winning La Sportiva TX4 and Salewa Wildfire 2 are more comfortable for hiking than the soft climbing-focused approach shoes, yet climb very well nonetheless, and strike a good balance for users who need a shoe that can both climb and hike long distances. Since the flatirons here champion smearing, the TX 3 may just work well enough for me at the moment.