We’ve read the reviews across the web for the La Sportiva Skwama Climbing Shoe and summarize the results below:
Universal Ranking
PeakScore: 91 (out of 100)
User Rating: 4.8 stars 
Expert Rating: 4.1 stars 
Number of Ratings Reviewed: 124
Pros & Cons
Reasons to buy:
User Reviews
- Good at toe hooks, heel hooks, and smearing.
- Tight fit and comfortable.
- Good on micro edges.
Expert Reviews
- Comfortable.
- Easy to put on/take off.
- Climbs well on all kinds of rock and types of climbs.
- The shoe is not lined and uses leather in place of synthetic which lessens odor.
- Great price for a high-end climbing shoe.
- Velcro is positioned high enough so it doesn’t get in your way when crack climbing.
- Aggressive.
- Wider than most aggressive shoes thus making them comfortable.
Reasons NOT to buy:
User Reviews
- Not durable.
- Soft shoe so you need more foot strength.
- Heel can be loose or toes too cramped.
- One user reported poor traction.
- The shoes run large and need to be downsized anywhere between a half size to a size and a half smaller.
Expert Reviews
- 15 pitch break in period.
- Need to take foot out of shoe on belays to last an all day multi-pitch.
- Not the best at edging but not the worst.
- There is a lack of support underfoot.
- Leather upper stretches out more than other shoes.
Summary:
The La Sportiva Skawama climbing shoe is aggressive and comfortable. It’s able to hold itself on little nubs of granite, smear, and climb cracks like a dream (at a decent price). The main thing to keep in mind with this shoe is sizing—you’ll probably need to go down a half size.