La Sportiva Tarantula Boulder Womens Climbing Shoes Review

La Sportiva’s Tarantula Boulder Womens is my favourite pick for any new (or comfort-seeking) boulderer who wants a super-forgiving shoe but still cares about performance.

If you have a low-volume foot or find other ‘starter’ shoes too painful or baggy, these stand out. They edge well for their category, smear just fine on most modern plastic, and let you climb long gym sessions without peeling them off every ten minutes.

They’re not the shoe for cave problems or crazy heel hooks—but for the price, fit, and all-around comfort, they punch above their weight. Not for aggressive climbers, but perfect for most of the rest.

When La Sportiva dropped a version of the Tarantula made just for bouldering, in a women’s/lower-volume fit, I had to try them.

I know a lot of climbers who are new, or coming back to the sport, or just never want to grimace every time they pull a shoe on.

My quest: Could the Tarantula Boulder Womens be the holy grail comfy shoe—without being useless on harder moves?

Let’s take a look at what makes this climbing shoe unique.

I’ll admit, I’m picky about edging because I started out climbing (badly) on tiny vertical limestone.

With these, I didn’t expect much—the sole is flat and nowhere near as stiff as, say, a Miura. But honestly, the first session at the gym I surprised myself by sticking a delicate inside edge on the yellow slab, right on a pebble.

That gave me confidence to try them outside on the local granite. Yes, you won’t get the iron-clad platform a full aggressive shoe gives, but the thicker toe box rubber and medium stiffness mean you can actually trust the Tarantula Boulder on decently small holds.

If you like to edge on every move, or want to try V5+ on your toes only, this isn’t your shoe. But for most gym problems and real-world climbing, they’re so much less floppy feeling than the typical beginner shoe.

The toe profile lets you dial in the edge better than I expected—just don’t try to grab a dime edge on a 45-degree wall!

Smearing is where these shoes really shine for most climbers. Straight out of the box, I took them up the 25-degree slabs at the gym where my usual shoes sometimes feel too stiff.

The softer sole and flexible upper let my foot conform to the wall, so it felt like there was more rubber making contact—that equals grip.

On textured outdoor slabs, the shoes felt secure. I could trust my feet without that sliding sensation.

The rubber isn’t the grippiest ever (not Vibram XS Grip2-level sticky), but it’s more than good enough for gym volumes, wooden campus boards, and most modern indoor surfaces.

On slick stuff, I did have to focus a bit more on body tension, but honestly—if you’re just learning to smear, you’ll love how forgiving these are.

Real talk: This is the real winner for the Tarantula Boulder Womens. I sized them right around my street size—EU 38.5 (I’m a street 38)—and wore them comfortably for full gym sessions the first week.

No crying in the locker room, no desperately tearing them off between every attempt. First wear, my toes were gently snug but not curled, and that never became real pain.

The lined interior helps kill hot spots, and the tongue never bunched or rubbed. The break-in was pretty much instant—by day three, it felt like a slipper.

If you have wide feet, the fit could be a little tight across the ball, but anyone with lower-volume feet will be grinning. These are the least torturous ‘real’ climbing shoes I’ve used.

Here’s one spot where comfort means you lose a bit. These aren’t the most sensitive shoes in the world—I could feel bigger footholds, but small, sharp edges were definitely less visible through the sole.

The tradeoff is that you can climb for hours without bruised toes. If you’re used to something like a Testarossa, you’ll notice the numbness in micro-footwork.

As a plus, that little buffer can protect beginner toes from ouch moments—so, for most of us, it’s the right call.

I used the Tarantula Boulder Womens during a moonboard-style session with higher-than-normal toe hooks—think that classic move, hooking a gym volume, trying to hit the next crimp while not barn-dooring.

The toe patch is adequate, not stellar. It’ll hold you in place for a standard toe hook, but on overhangs with big tension, your foot can slip if you’re not precise.

The heel cup is medium depth and stayed put if I cranked down the velcro. For basic heel hooks (gym jugs, normal edges), it did the job. But when I tried to stick a twisty heel hook on a flatish indoor hold (you know that move—twist, roll, pray), the heel started to squirm and felt like it could pop.

I’d call them ‘good enough’ for 90 percent of beginner/intermediate hooks, but specialist shoes definitely do this better.

My first surprise came when I forgot I was wearing the shoes mid-session—that literally never happens for me. Usually, I’m obsessively timing shoe breaks every half-hour.

These let me focus on improving, heel-to-toe, testing new footwork, without cringing in pain.

Memorable: Finally sticking the cross-through on a green circuit because my feet didn’t ache and I could trust the smears. That’s what you really get—a shoe you can forget, in the best sense.

What changed: I used to think you had to pick torture OR performance. This is one of the first comfort-focused shoes I’ve stuck with, because I actually like using them beyond just ‘warmups’.

If you have:

• Narrow or low-volume feet, these are pretty darn perfect for a comfy, glove-like fit.
• Medium-width feet, they’ll still work if you don’t mind slight snugness around the arch.
• Really wide feet, you’ll probably feel pinched and might even struggle to close the velcro.

The toe box is gently rounded—less pointed than some ‘precision’ La Sportivas—which gives enough room without dead space.

High arches might feel some pressure, but the overall fit is ergonomic for women or anyone with slimmer feet. If you usually swim inside unisex or men’s shoes, you’ll notice a big difference here.

Its low-volume, gently rounded toe box lets:

• Egyptian feet (big toe longest) rest naturally without drag

• Greek feet (second toe longest) lie flat, no curling

• Square feet (toes nearly equal length) settle side by side with zero overlap

Best for narrow and medium-width feet; fits snug without dead space for low-volume feet. Wide-footed climbers will likely feel squeezed across the ball of the foot and at the arch.

Made for women’s feet or anyone needing a low-volume fit. Available in EU 34–42; sized for smaller/medium feet. If you’re between sizes, size up for comfort.

Sizing is always the trick! I learned the hard way (years ago) that squeezing into several sizes down just leads to bruises and misery.

With these, I stuck to my street shoe size EU 38 (US womens 7.5-8) and that was spot on.

• If you want the most comfort, go with your street size or a half-size down.
• If you crave a little extra performance (slightly tighter toe box), you can go down a half size, but don’t overdo it since these don’t stretch much.
• Definitely try both feet, as the women’s fit is more precise than the regular Tarantula.

Don’t do what I did and order two sizes down—your toenails will not thank you.

I’ve put about 50 gym sessions and some outdoor days on mine, and they still look surprisingly good—just a little smoothing at the big toe where I drag like a beginner.

The sole hasn’t delaminated, and the velcro still fastens firmly after many on-off cycles. Stitching and rand are all holding up. Only the upper fabric gets a little dirty (if you care), but there’s no real wear.

That thick rand and medium-stiff rubber should easily outlast the typical gym progression. If you drag your toes a lot, you might wear through in a year, but overall, I’d call build quality solid—especially for the price range.

Honestly, I’d recommend these to most people starting in the sport or anyone wanting a backup comfy gym shoe.

They aren’t a ‘throwaway’ basic shoe—they perform well enough that you won’t outgrow them in a month.

For the price, you get genuine La Sportiva build and design. They lose points on specialist features and feel, but you’re not paying for those.

If you’re pushing V6 or doing technical outdoor projects, you’ll want something spicier. But for everyone else? Top-tier value.

As with anything one size doesn’t fit all. Here are my recommendations.

These are not for:

• Wide-footed climbers—they’ll feel squeezed and unhappy
• Elite boulderers projecting V8+—the power and precision just aren’t there
• Anyone who needs an aggressive toe or monster heel-hook shoe
• People wanting a shoe with max sensitivity for tiny foothold performance

If you dream of standing on micro-edges on roof climbs, keep shopping.

If you’re:

• A beginner just starting bouldering or sport climbing
• Someone with low-volume or narrow feet
• Climbing in the gym or on easy-moderate outdoor climbs
• Looking for a super comfy shoe for long sessions
• Anyone frustrated by baggy or painfully wide shoes

Basically: Anyone who wants a trustworthy, comfy shoe with real La Sportiva performance roots.