Butora Acro Review

Climbing Shoes are a small piece of equipment but probably have the biggest impact on you when climbing. It will affect pretty much every area of your climb, the main one being actually supporting you on the side of the rock face. 

Even if you are very new to climbing, you will absolutely want to know all of the details about a certain pair of climbing shoes. Experience is definitely going to be the best way to find out your best climbing shoe, but you will want to have solid knowledge beforehand with Butora Acro Review. 

Not only will this basic information save you from harm since you will know a lot of the flaws before getting your climbing shoe, but you will also enjoy your climb much more since you know the adventure was catered by you and all the information that you discovered.

What if I’m Already Experienced?

If you’ve got a lot more experience as a climber, you might not have done too much research and the majority of your knowledge you may have learned from experience. But now is a great time to go back and review over some details of either a climbing shoe that you have right now or you are looking to purchase in the near future

Doing it that way you will know why specifically you loved other climbing shoes previously, or why specifically you did not like this shoe or that shoe. It will definitely refine your selection process, which you probably already have because of experience, and really will make you that much more of a truly knowledgeable climber.

Below is the details of the Butora Acro Review and expertly consider the many pros and cons of this particular climbing shoe. 

In Depth Guide of the Butora Acro Climbing Shoe

Butora Acro Review

Butora Acro Climbing Shoe Score

  • Sensitivity – 8 out of 10
  • Comfort – 7 out of 10
  • Cracks – 8 out of 10
  • Edging – 9 out of 10
  • Pockets – 9 out of 10

How Well Does the Butora Acro Climbing Shoe Actually Perform?

Edging With This Shoe is Easy

If you’re looking for a shoe that is pretty phenomenal at edging, the Acro is definitely a good choice for you. The build of the shoe is pretty rigid, so you’ll be able to toe into crevices and cracks that would be uncomfortable to do with softer climbing shoes. 

Both the toe of this climbing shoe and also the midsole are pretty stiff. This works out really great if you are on a pretty hard climb with rock outcroppings that are very small and hard to get purchase on.

The stiff, rigid toe and midsole makes sure you get a good hold on those slim edges of the rock face. 

The ability of any part of your shoe to be able to hang on to a small portion of rock is going to depend on how rigid and stiff the overall shoe is. These are the muscles in your body that deliver the most support.

  • Sole
  • Heel
  • Toe
  • Ball
  • Calf
  • Thigh

If you have a shoe that’s too soft, you’re going to be using way too much of your own muscles in each of thes groups to stay erect on the rock and you won’t be able to last as long as you would if you had a ton of support from your actual shoe. 

However, the Acro still has great sensitivity. You’ll be able to really feel the hard edges of the rock face so you know where it’s solid and where it’s not. Also, you’ll have a better chance of actually finding those toe holds that you would otherwise miss out on.

Crack Climbing Not a Problem

Even though the Acro is really rigid and great for harsh terrain, its profile is still low enough to fit into much smaller crevices that other climbing shoes wouldn’t be able to fit into. 

This shoe is pretty amazing at crack climbing. Even though you don’t have a lot of ledge space (or mostly none) you can still wedge your foot into each side of the crevice but still have enough shoe strength to give you great stability. 

Great for Pockets

The downturn of the Acro is really great for slipping your toe into smaller pockets in the rock face. The shape lets the shoe still have plenty of support while only putting a small portion of the shoe into the pocket of the rock. 

It’s also great for pockets because at the very edge of the climbing shoe there is an extra bit of downturn. This means that you can actually toe hook really well and your foot won’t slip out of the rock hold. 

The Rubber is Strong

The rubber that covers a lot more area of this climbing shoe than others is made out of a mix of NEO Fuse rubber which Butora actually makes themselves. 

It’s a little on the thin side, but since it is built so rigidly it still holds up really well to tough pockets. And how thin it is actually aids in the sensitivity as well.

Is the Butora Acro Climbing Shoe Comfortable?

Good for Crag, But Not for Multi-Pitch Climbs

If you are just going to be crag climbing all day, you probably won’t have any problems with this shoe. However, if you are going to be doing a multi-pitch climb, you may want to go with a climbing shoe that isn’t so rigid, because after a while this one gets a little uncomfortable e. 

But there are also foam open-cells in the toes of the shoes to try to combat the rigidness, and it does a pretty good job of it. 

The Leather is Great

The Acro has a leather upper which works really well for durability and also for making the shoe not too stinky after a long view. 

The elastic on the shoe isn’t very tight. You’ll have to keep the velcro straps pretty tight, which might add to how uncomfortable it gets on multi-pitch climbs.

That being said, the rubber does cover a good bit of the shoe, which is great for durability and hard climbs, but not great for breathability. 

There is a good bit of synthetic leather along with the actual leather on top of the shoe, so this does add to breathability. If the upper were completely made of leather, the shoe would definitely be less breathable. Also if the upper had more plastic material on it, the breathability would go down further. 

It’s also a decent climbing shoe when you are climbing overhangs that force you to lean awkwardly backwards. Since it’s geared towards giving you a lot of stability on only a little bit of rock, the steeper the climb, the more you see how well this climbing shoe performs. 

That fact, however, doesn’t work so well when you try to climb straight up and down and also when climbing at an incline. It readily misses the mark because of how downturned it is.

Hard to Reach Far Footholds

Another problem with the Acro being so downturned is that since it is curved so rigidly, it might be a little tough to reach foot holds or ledges that are far from you. 

If the shoe wasn’t so curved, it would have better length and be able to reach those holds and pockets farther away. So you’re going to have to do some real stretching to get to that perfect hold that’s just a little too far away. 

Does the Butora Acro Climbing Shoe Have Good Fit?

Good Fit

The leather upper is great, but there is also a synthetic leather mixed in with the real stuff. There is also an inner sock liner that does a great job. It’s really easy to take in and out of the shoe but still fits really snugly in your climbing shoe. 

As for specific sizing, you’re probably going to want to go about a half size down from your normal shoes. This doesn’t always work, but it is definitely a good starting point for you.

This is similar to hiking shoes where the stiffness of the shoe is there to protect you from rough terrain. But obviously this stiffness affects the way the shoe is built and makes it hard to get accurate sizing. However, the half to one size up rule usually works, but you may just need to try a couple of different sizes. 

You Can Order Two Different Sizes for One Pair

An interesting thing about Butora, they cater to people with feet that aren’t both the same size. Some people really do have one foot that is just slightly bigger than the other and it is a pain finding shoes that actually fit right. 

Butora will let you choose two different sizes in the same pair to accommodate you. 

Does the Butora Acro Climbing Shoe Have Good Value?

Great Value

There are definitely more expensive options that offer almost the same exact quality and features as the Butora Acro, so as for value for money, the Acro is a great choice. 

Also, the shoe is built incredibly well so that makes the value for money go up even higher.

Instead of just using glue to cement the rubber parts of the shoe too to the rand. They actually do a heat-mold which makes them much more durable climbing shoes. 

Sometimes the different components of a climbing shoes, the toe box, midsole, heel, upper, are all combined with either a certain kind of glue or threading that just doesn’t hold up as long if there were either less individual pieces or if it was combined through a heat forging process which a much stronger binding. 

Lastly, and probably most importantly, the shoe is one of the least expensive climbing shoes with the aggressive downturn. It ends up being about $30-40 less than similar shoes, which makes it a great buy. 

Pros and Cons of the Butora Acro Climbing Shoe

Pros

  • Edging is great
  • Narrow and wide foot options available
  • Sensitive but still rigid enough to be comfortable

Cons

  • Heel cup space is definitely lacking
  • Not great for completely vertical climbs

How does the Butora Acro Climbing Shoe Compare?

1. Acro VS. Instinct 

Compared to the Scarpa Instinct VS, which has a similar cost, there are a couple of similarities. 

They’re both extremely downturned and have similar shapes to them, making them both great for overhang climbing and getting a good hold on really small ledges. 

But the Acro is definitely built better than the Instinct. The heat forged structure and the mix of leather and synthetic leather just makes it overall more durable. 

Plus the Acro is about $20 cheaper, so that makes it an even easier choice. 

Most of the time the cheaper option is not the way to go. Usually a cheap shoe means cheaply made, with either cheap material or cheaply manufactured without much attention to detail. This isn’t the case with the Acro. It’s build is really solid and the structure is well thought out for difficult climbs. 

2. Acro VS. Skwama

If you want to compare a similar climbing shoe that claims to be soft as well, the La Sportiva Skwama is another similar build. However, it definitely is softer than the Acro, but this makes it not nearly as good at edging. 

The Skwama is also still about $10 more than the Acro, so if price is most important, the Acro is the best choice between the two of them. 

What’s the Verdict on Butora Acro Climbing Shoe?

This shoe can go on a variety of climbs with all different types of rock and cliff faces, so if you’re looking for versatility, this is your shoe. 

The Acro has amazing structure and stiffness but still has great sensitivity. 

It also holds up really well to scrutiny against other similarly built shoes. The price compares really well with those other shoes and the build of the shoes is actually a lot better than its counterparts. There are a couple of cheaper shoes with similar stiffness and features, but they still don’t compare with the Acro.