Butora Gomi Wide - Women's Review

Performance Comparison

Comfort

We sized these shoes more for comfort than for performance this round, which allowed us to have a fairly pleasant experience in an otherwise fairly aggressive and difficult shoe to break in. The all-rubber toe-box that makes the Gomi great for toe hooking and scumming also means that the shoes won't stretch much when breaking in. This still proved to be the case though ours were comfortable to begin with, they didn't stretch much at all through our testing period. Their aggressive shape pairs well with the soft midsole, allowing them to conform to your foot without binding it in an uncomfortable, unnatural position.

Sensitivity

After a few days in these shoes, the rubber softened up to make the Gomi an impressively sensitive shoe. Though not quite up there in our comparison metrics with the highest-ranked products on the market, the Gomi holds it down as a sensitive-enough shoe for most climbing. Perhaps not our go-to for minuscule granite crystal smedging, the Gomi holds its own on most styles of climbing in this realm.

Edging

This shoe's comfort zone is pasted on the side of a steep arete — the more surface area the better. Unfortunately, this means that the Gomi doesn't receive our highest praise in the edging metric. The softness that makes these shoes sensitive and comfortable means that on the flip side, they can't hold an edge as well as a stiffer shoe will. IF you must edge in these, make sure it's not for long, or your feet may be complaining.

Crack Climbing

At first glance, these shoes would not be the trad climbers first pick, but we were fairly impressed by these rubber-encased slippers when it came to jamming. They are soft enough to be torqued into cracks without pain and the Velcro strap is high enough to stay out of the way when jamming hand-sized or larger cracks.

Pockets

We tested the wide version of the Gomi to accommodate our wide-footed lead tester. The toe box seemed to be a bit bulky and lacked some of the precision that a more tapered toe box provides. That said, the softness of this slipper allowed us to climb on steep terrain and toe into steep pockets well.

We liked the Gomi for pocketed bouldering, but would perhaps choose a shoe with a bit more support underfoot for the long pocketed routes found at The Fins and other sport climbing destinations.

Ease of Use

In terms of design, the Butora Gomi is fairly straightforward. A single Velcro strap secures the slipper. The ankle opening is wide enough to easily get your foot inside without too much hassle. We found the pull tab on the tongue of these shoes to be superfluous and not necessarily that useful, instead, we just used the heel pull tab to assist in getting these shoes on and off, but this is fairly small potatoes in the overall design of these shoes.

Value

Well under the average price for a comparable model from other brands, the Butora Gomi is a contender for our Best Buy Award with its current price tag. If you are looking for a well-made, aggressively shaped shoe that performs well in almost all styles of climbing without costing an arm and a leg, the Gomi could be for you.

Conclusion