The La Sportiva Tarantulace is an entry-level women’s climbing shoe that's slightly more aggressive than regular beginner shoes. Aside from the usual rigid sole and flat profile, the La Sportiva Tarantulace features a last with moderate asymmetry for better performance generally and also enhanced technical precision. New climbers may find this a little unusual at first, but once their feet adjust, this shoe will let them progress much faster than a non-asymmetric beginner shoe would.As for comfort and wear, the La Sportiva Tarantulace Women features an unlined upper that, once broken in, will provide maximum comfort and a custom fit. The highly adjustable lace closure allows you to get the best fit for your foot, and isn’t too much of a pain to undo either. The sole is La Sportiva's own Frixion RS rubber that's designed to be extra durable so as to not wear out before your climbing level has improved enough to necessitate buying a new shoe. Its stiff sole provides maximum foot support for feet unused to climbing shoes, and it will excel on vertical climbing. The Tarantulace Women differs in several ways for its male counterpart. Firstly, it’s shaped slightly differently to accommodate the general shape of women’s feet. Secondly, it’s less rigid and made with slightly lighter materials, meaning it moulds more efficiently to your feet and balances out the general male / female weight difference by adapting better to holds at a lower pressure exertion.La Sportiva recommend sizing this shoe loose for the highest level of comfort, but bear in mind that the unlined suede leather can stretch up to a full size. A great beginner's shoe with mild performance!