Climbing gear company Black Diamond offers a staple line of tools and apparel soon to include climbing shoes, rounding out its comprehensive mountainside marketplace, which just recently introduced climbing ropes. This new line of shoes has been in the works for two years. After much anticipation, the first two styles will be available exclusively at REI this fall and eventually to additional retailers.
The lineup will include a specific type of shoe suited to every category: the Momentum for indoor climbing, the Aspect for trad climbing, and the Shadow and the Focus for aggressive sport climbing. The Momentum stands out as the ideal solution for climbers prone to sweaty feet in hot and humid indoor gym conditions, boasting a polyester-propylene knit that is woven more tightly for strength in certain areas and more loosely in others for added breathability.
The Momentum features a neutral, flat last for comfort during grueling gym and cragging sessions. These all-purpose shoes utilize NeoFriction rubber, and will be available in Velcro, lace-up, and children’s versions. As opposed to more aggressive shoes, the Momentum features stretch where it is needed most and microfiber liners in the toes to mitigate fit while allocating comfort.
The Aspect is a German-style leather lace-up trad shoe boasting a low profile toe ideal for crack climbing, and NeoFriction Force rubber for superior edging. The Shadow and the Focus are designed to be precise, with the Focus featuring NeoFriction Force rubber for technical routes and the Shadow offering a softer NeoFriction Fuse, designated for those pumpy, overhanging routes.
The Aspect, Shadow, and Focus will provide the Momentum’s unique polyester knit weave in their tongues as an added breathability feature. All models are made with rubber injected into 3D molds as opposed to traditional cutting and shaping, improving product consistency across the line.
The Momentum will be available in men’s and women’s sizes for $90 at REI and kids’ sizes for $60. The Aspect will retail for $140, the Focus for $174, and the Shadow for $180. The Momentum is available for pre-order on REI’s website.
