So far the Red Chilli’s have proved to be excellent climbing shoes. They’re called “Impact Zone” because they have thick rubber padding on the heel, called the “Impact zone”. It’s useful on smaller crags where it’s not worth changing shoes to climb back down, and you occasionally find yourself jumping from rock to rock.

They’re a little edgier than the Jokers, so they seem to work a little better where you only have tiny footholds.

Red Chilli Impact Zone - climbing shoes

You’ll find excellent grip on most rock types, though I think they’re maybe not quite as sticky as the jokers. The rubber seems a little harder, which might mean they’ll last a bit longer. I’ll update you on that over the next year.

A bulbous heel with sticky rubber reinforcement makes heel hooks really effective.

I really like the convenience of the velcro straps, and unlike shoe laces they never come undone when you’re climbing.

Interestingly with the Red Chilli shoes, I had to go half a size smaller than I had with my Boreal Jokers. Size 7.5 compared with my previous size 8.

Post update April 2011: There’s a great selection of Red Chilli climbing shoes for both men and women here. The Spirit VCR has been remodeled. I’ll be most interested to hear what they’re like.

Climbing equipment review: Red Chilli Spirit VCR, Impact Zone Velcro, climbing shoes is a post from: Rock Climbing UK, an online UK climbing magazine, written BY UK climbers FOR UK climbers.

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