Instinct VS

Says Scarpa lists it as the least durable shoe in the line and it wears out quickly at high volume.

“But after a comparatively short time of high volume you will definitely have worn it out. At least that is my experience.”

Resoled it and uses it daily; comfortable and durable, but the heel is a bit loose.

“its comfy enough to use every day and train in due to the great durability. I will prob buy a VSR once my VS starts to fall apart as the heal is a bit too loose for my liking.”

Likes the Instinct VS for performance but the insides of both big toenails are constantly bruised on their very wide feet.

The Instinct VS in 44 fit like a glove for over 3 years, though the first month was really painful.

The Instinct VS is the only shoe they can go half a size under street in and keep toes curled; comfortably climbs 60ft walls at street size before needing a break.

After a year in the Instinct VS, the heel is so baggy they can see it deform on lateral heel hooks.

Their Instinct VS in 41.5 is perfect after break-in: comfortable and precise.

Enjoys the Instinct VS for pointy toe work and slab, with Dragos for dynamic comp-style problems.

Bought Instinct VS for long vertical routes; disliked the stiffness at first coming from Dragos, but liked them after breaking in.

Uses an Instinct VS for tiny granite edges and technical heels, trusting it despite feeling little.

Has the Instinct VS and Drago LV and likes both for their purposes; the VS is way stiffer and great for edging.

Has a pair of Instinct VS: a brutal break-in that is particularly painful on the toe knuckle, though great once broken in.

Wears the Instinct VS in a 41 for all-day climbing.

The heel on their Instinct VS is too baggy; they only pull them out when it's cold and they want to wear socks.

The single-strap Instinct VS has been their favourite climbing shoe for years; they wrote a full review of it.

Their Instinct VS is great for very specific things, while Kubos are the better all-rounder.

Their orange Instinct VS was unbearably painful at first but broke in well after a few months.

Settled on the Instinct VS after 10 pairs even though the heel is super baggy for them.

Loves their orange Instincts; their favourite for board and overhang climbing.

Switching from Drago LVs to Instincts eased their toe pain, and the Instinct VS feels better than the VSR.

Their Instinct VS took time to break in and still only stays on 15 minutes, but works great on small footholds.

Uses the Instinct VS for everything.

Bouldered indoors and out in the Instinct VS for many years with great longevity.

New Instinct VS in the same size as previous Scarpas digs into their Achilles and is painful and distracting after two wears.

Went through soft shoes like Veloce and Drago quickly; the harder-wearing Instinct VS has been better as an everyday gym shoe.

With wide, thick feet the Instinct VS was a massive pain to break in and still hurts their big toes.

Keeps Instinct VS a size smaller for edging; rarely used but a godsend when needed.

Climbs in the Instinct VS rather than the softer VSR and has never met a boulder they couldn't do for lack of friction on a volume, at most needing extra tries; soft shoes leave their toes sore on small footholds.

Instinct VS is the best fit they've found for wide feet, but the heel is loose on heel hooks.

Instinct VS gives great lockdown for them; the Vapor heel was baggy by comparison.

New Instinct VS at 41.5 can't be worn more than 10 minutes without big-toe knuckle pain.

Instinct VS fits great except for air below the heel, which makes edging a bit worse and smearing easier; fine for the gym.

Their main shoe is the Instinct VS: the fit is great and they love its heel and toe hooking.

With a wide foot and narrow heel, found the Instinct VS by far the comfiest and best-fitting shoe they tried, but got a blister on the big-toe knuckle from the toe rubber within an hour.

“They are perfect but I have been climbing for about an hour and have developed a blister on my big toe knuckle from the rubber on top of the top.”

After hating the La Sportiva Solution's heel, found the women's Instinct VS a perfect fit from the first try and absolutely loves it.

“First time I put on the Scarpa Instincts vsw they’re were 100/100 haha. Absolutely love them”

Took the Instinct VS aggressively sized; it hurt and made their toes numb at first, but after warm showers in them and 10–12 sessions it stretched to a perfect tight fit.

“they hurt and made my toes go numb at first, but after a couple warm/hot showers in them along with about 10-12 sessions they stretched to be a perfect *tight* fit.”

Moved from the Drago to the women's Instinct VS: much stiffer with a slower break-in and a similar but not identical fit; better for almost everything except some smearing and toe hooks.

“It's a lot stiffer. Break in is a lot slower. Fits similarly, but not the same. Worth trying on in person. Better for me for almost all things, except certain smearing-- and certain toehooks.”

Their main shoes are the Instinct VS in 40.5, which fit very well; they feel tight at first and after long breaks, and with regular climbing they have wondered about going half a size down.

“Those are Scarpa’s Instinct VS, size 40,5. Those fit very well and I’m quite used to them.”

A 5.12+/13- sport climber switching from La Sportiva started with the Instinct VS as an all-rounder and finds it a great fit that works well enough for everything.

“I started with instinct VS with the goal of an all around shoe and I feel it's a great fit. It works well enough for everything.”

Bought the Instinct VS half a size bigger than their VSR (42.5) and broke it in within a few weeks; uses it outdoors when they need to keep shoes on longer.

Tried the women's Instinct VS and still had dead space at the heel, a bit less than in the Shaman 2S LV; the toes hurt for the first 30 minutes, then felt comfy.

With a very flat, skinny heel, finds the women's Instinct VS the only shoe that sort of fits, but says recent versions have a higher-volume heel and ankle, so new pairs don't fit like their old ones.

“The Scarpa Instinct Women’s VS W is the only shoe on the market that sort of fits me. It was a better heel but in the last few years”

Normally climbs in the Instinct VS but finds it wears out quickly with lots of practice volume, so bought a cheaper shoe for volume days.