The Rapha Climber's shoes have arrived just in time for Christmas, having been teased and rumoured for some time now.
These fancy kicks are based on the super light Giro Prolight SLX II shoes, but feature a slightly weightier perforated synthetic leather upper instead of the Giro’s Evofiber microfibre.
Unboxing the Climber's shoes is an experience in itself!
The packaging and presentation are top-notch, and make getting the shoes out of the box feel like a real occasion. A recycled cardboard shipping box leads into a solid white shoebox with a magnetic closure.
Delving further reveals a large envelope with care instructions and some light reading. The shoes themselves are presented in individual shoe bags.
A proven sole sits underneath the perforated synthetic leather upper
The shoes use Easton's SLX II high-modulus carbon soles, so they should be flex-free underfoot.
Looking inside the shoe reveals another high-end touch – Giro's SuperNaturalFit footbed. This inner sole offers interchangeable arch support held in place by Velcro. Three arch height options are included.
Foot retention is handled by a three Velcro straps on each shoe, held in place by titanium loops. The titanium hardware is seen again in the threads for the replaceable heal tread and in the three-hole cleat threads.
The Rapha Climber’s shoes are said to be 34g heavier than the equivalent sized Giro Prolight. Our 43 EU pair is 459g.
In addition to the black/pink colourscheme of our test pair, Rapha also offers the Climber's shoes in blue or white. It won't come as a surprises that the Climber's shoes come at a premium price of £280 / US$400 / AU$440, although they are still cheaper than the previous Rapha GT shoes.
