Description of Scarpa Marathon Rock Climbing Shoe:
A stiff forefoot, comfortable fit, and a dot rubber heel make the Scarpa Marathon Rock Climbing Shoe ideal for casting off on multi-pitch trad routes. The Marathon's solid edging platform gives you confidence when the next pitch is an 80ft slab with four bolts, and the Marathon's padded tongue increases comfort as you jam another sinker hand crack. This Scarpa climbing shoe's padded heel has dot rubber traction for comfort and traction during grueling walk offs, and the slightly asymmetrical fit gives you exceptional performance while maintaining excellent comfort all day.
Bottom Line: Twelve pitches of crack and face climbing is just a warm up for the Scarpa Marathon Climbing Shoes.
The shoe performed super well for a short while. Comfy, awesome toe box, perfect for an all around shoe and the extra padding on the tongue is super nice. Serious design flaws. Scarpa put their brand marker right where the shoe gets stressed when jamming cracks so it blew it out after three uses, both shoes, Then ALL the stitching fell apart on the laces so, that when you tighten them it just pulls the loops out of the leather. poor construction. I am a big Scarpa Fan, this is my fifth pair, highly recommend the brand, but this shoe needs work.
I'm just getting into climbing and am purchasing my first pair of shoes. Unfortunately, these shoes don't fit, so I can't say much about how they function because I'm returning them. But I'll mention sizing, because this is what I was trying to find when I was ordering.
I wear a size 8.5-9 (usually 39 European) in women's street shoes. I ordered a size 39 in the Scarpa Marathons, but they're too small - mostly in the big toe area. I think a 40 would probably fit me best. The heel also comes up a bit higher than I think I'd like, so I'm not sure they'd fit right if they were the right size. For comparison, I ordered a 39.5 in the Scarpa Tifosi and they were probably a whole size too small. If you're trying to compare to sizes in other brands: a Montrail Splitter 40 (womens) fit perfectly and a Five Ten Anasazi 8.5 (41.5) was too small in the toe (I think a 42 would have done it).
Scarpa shoes are made in Italy and they seem like they're very high quality. (For reference, Five Ten is made in USA and the Montrails are made in China - boo). Reviewers on Sierra Trading Post noted that these shoes stained their feet yellow, which I would be a little worried about, but I guess if the shoes are comfortable it's worth it.
Out of the box these shoes are tight, but thanks to the leather uppers they will eventually break in. I also wear a 10 (43.5) and it has taken several weeks for break in, but now I can go all day. It might still be a good idea to go 1 size larger then normal...best to try on 1st? These shoes work great (I climb 11's) and I found them for just over $50 on sale....I do get strange looks due to the unconventional heal design. I wouldn't use them for walk offs though.
