Black Diamond Aspect Pro Climbing Shoe: A Worthy Rival to the TC Pro

• Shoe Tested: Black Diamond Aspect Pro - a mid-top shoe designed for trad and sport climbing, single or multi-pitch.

• Length/Style of Test: We have both been wearing our Aspect Pros since November 2024 for a combined 75+ days climbing local to the Bishop area and trips outside of the area. That climbing has included everything from granite slabs/cracks and steep/overhanging pocketed volcanic tuff to pulling plates on long sandstone multi-pitches, tricky basalt in Crawdad Canyon, and gently overhanging limestone in southwest Utah. Difficulty ranged from 5.6 to 5.11+ and V0 to V4 across trad, sport, and bouldering.

• Verdict: Without a shred of doubt, the Black Diamond Aspect Pro is a worthy rival and generally equal in all ways to the far better known La Sportiva TC Pro while providing some slightly different features. We think the difference between them is less about any feature and more about which one better fits the unique shape of your foot. We both have wide feet (around 2E) and thought the fit was distinctly better for us than TC Pros of similar size.

2. Construction & Material Features

First things first - what is the shoe made of and how is it designed/made?

• Shoe Shape
  • Moderate downturn in forefoot provides a slight performance feel to the shoe like you'd experience in a Katana Lace or a bouldering shoe without sacrificing its ability to smear and crack climb.
  • 3D molded heel with noticeable straighter profile along achilles which largely removes ability for shoe to cut into your heel (see comparison picture below in section 3).
  • Noticeably slimmer toe box profile than comparable shoes across industry which allows for better purchase in thin seams and rand smears.
• Upper/Lining:
  • [Upper] 30% Leather, 10% Nylon, 70% Rubber
  • [Lining] 25% Leather, 75% Polyester
  • Ecco DriTan™ leather upper/lining with molded rubber components rounding out upper construction.
  • Mid-height design provides extra ankle protection for crack climbing.
  • Extra protection in toe box in addition to a patch of toe rubber for added durability and comfort when toe jamming.
• Midsole:
  • 100% TPU
  • Activated slingshot and midsole using a high elasticity tension rubber similar to the La Sportiva P3 Power Platform system resulting in a full-length, stiff midsole intended to provide comfort on long days.
• Outsole:
  • 100% Rubber
  • Use of BD's proprietary Black Label Fuse rubber which is meant to be similar in stiffness and durability to the Vibram XS Edge rubber employed in many other shoes like the TC Pro. It's performance yielded no observable difference in our testing and was impressively versatile across steep vertical edges, crack, and slab. It was as good as any rubber we've used on other shoes.
  • Split sole intended to provide greater sensitivity under foot when edging or smearing.
    

3. Fit & Comfort

More than most people realize, the fit of a climbing shoe matters more than its features. A shoe that fits you well will inherently provide confidence and a boost in performance. Here's how the Aspect Pro fits:

• Sizing: BD uses American sizes which makes for difficulty in making a direct comparison to the European sizes used by the other major shoe companies. (Note: A switch to European sizing is supposed to occur sometime in 2025/2026 according to our BD reps.) We used the size conversion chart provided on the box (and website), and the sizing proved spot-on. We both went for a just a slight bend in our toes with the intention of using being able to use them as all-around shoes rather than purely for performance.

• Fitting Nuances:

• • Toe/Foot Shape Compatibility: The first thing we would say is that of the three major mid-top shoes on the market (La Sportiva TC Pro, Scarpa Generator, and the Aspect Pro) we found the Aspect Pros to best fit our 2E wide forefeet that ranged from between EU 42-44. Another of our staff members felt the Scarpa Generator was the right shape for his larger EU 46 size foot, but it did not fit our slightly smaller feet super well. Here at the store, we believe that the most important aspect of any shoe is the way it fits your foot, not the reputation of the shoe or which professional wears it. As such, we were optimistic about the shoe from the start of the testing period when we wore our pairs for the first time and found they fit our feet like gloves. Colin has even had multiple foot surgeries related to bunions and has had no issues wearing them strapped tight for minutes trying hard on a single-pitch or tied more loosely for hours in a multi-pitch environment.

  • Heel Fit: The Aspect Pro has a 3D molded heel, a feature from many brands which has not historically fit either of our feet well, especially in the La Sportiva 3D molded heels on shoes like the Solutions. However, in this case, the Aspect Pro fit our heels very snugly with little to no dead space as long as we sized the length right. While it is molded, the heel is softer (much like a TC Pro heel) in construction and adapted far better to our heels. we only infrequently experienced the "shoefarting" written about by other reviewers late on longer days when our feet had begun to stretch out the shoe and sweat. Outside of those couple instances in that specific situation, air gaps in the fit were not an issue and we attribute that to sizing the right shoe length upfront, not some other trick up our sleeves after the fact. Additionally, the cut of the heel profile (along the achilles) in the Aspect Pro is far more gradual and straighter than the TC Pro as you can see in the comparative photo below. We both have had pain from the TC Pro digging into our achilles occasionally (and it is not an uncommon comment from our customers here at the store). We had zero issues from the Aspect Pro and categorize this as yet another feature which makes the shoe a superior option for people with this foot shape.

• • Mid-Foot Fit & Lacing System: The Aspect Pro's split sole enabled for a very snug fit around the midfoot for both of us and would do so likely for anyone else as well (particularly compared to the flatter, non-split TC Pro) while the padded (but breathable) tongue and soft leather lining ensured that the fit remained comfortable. The tongue was easy to position correctly when putting them on and never caused any issues or pressure points by bunching up after tightening the laces and roping up. As for the laces, the unique, relatively thick (compared to other climbing shoes, not on the whole), ribbed laces proved to be a standout feature for us both. It was simple to get and maintain uniform tension on the shoe from top to bottom - no need for a pulling each part of the lace sequentially from bottom to top. The thicker, ribbed nature of the lace made the knot secure when complete and yet also easy to untie after climbing no matter how pumped you were. Both shortcomings that we have seen and experienced a lot of variability with in TC Pro laces. We are bold enough to say that we think all climbing shoes should use these BD laces...seriously.
    

• Break-in Period: The shoes were stiff out of the box and generally have remained just as stiff since then, with only some slight softening which we think has been beneficial to their comfort and fit (and slab performance) at zero cost to the efficacy of the stiffness. They have retained their original stiffness much better than the TC Pro for both of us, while still providing high-quality smearing on slab.

4. Performance by Technique Type

A. Crack

Cracks should be the bread and butter of any mid-top trad shoe and the Aspect Pro does not disappoint. In fact, it even brings some unique features to a market space that overwhelmingly features variations of the same stiff, tall toe box profile shoes. The split outsole and slimmer toe box profile of the Aspect Pro are unique among this style of shoes and provide it with a distinct ability to gain purchase in thin seams and confidently execute tough rand smears. The flip side of these features is that the Aspect Pro does not handle wider cracks as well as its competitors due to its relative lack of protection. While we found them usable up to hand-sized cracks, there was some pain when foot jamming at that size and anything larger as the slimmer shoe struggle to fill up the space and lacked the typical non-split sole stiffness to support the foot in lengthy foot jams or heel-toe cams - both things we saw as a natural by-product of the sportier than normal design of the shoe.

B. Smearing

A great smearing shoe requires the ability to maximize the surface area contact of your rubber, the sensitivity to feel micro-features, and just a smidge of stiffness to support standing over the course of a long pitch. Bigger, mid-top trad shoes typically have the first and third features, but miss on the second regarding sensitivity. The Aspect Pro definitely upends that paradigm. You might think that the slight downturn or harder rubber would detract from its smearing performance by limiting surface area or sensitivity, but the split outsole makes up for that by providing flexibility to the shoe's forefoot to bend and  maximize surface area contact with the rock, while the slimmer toe profile enables greater feel of the rock underneath. Our initial skepticism was quickly reversed and we both came to respect the shoe's ability to smear on the polished granite slabs of trade routes in Pine Creek Canyon outside of Bishop (though it should be noted that Matt hates slab and makes Colin lead all of those pitches).

C. Edging

Because of its split sole, we both were slightly pessimistic as to how the Aspect Pro would edge, especially after we had broken in the shoes. In the end though, we were both very pleasantly surprised and found it to edge nearly as good as the non-split TC Pro and Scarpa Generator. We chalked this up to the activated slingshot and the full-length midsole making up for support lost in the split outsole. Additionally, we found the slimmer toe box profile gave us greater precision in placing our big toe exactly where we wanted and feel the rock feature underneath. The BD Black Label rubber performed as well as any other we have ever worn and capably keyed into features when trying to stomp on tiny crystals.

D. Pulling in Overhangs / Steep Terrain

As you might expect, this mildly downturned, mid-top, trad-focused shoe is not a great option for routes that require grabbing/pulling with your feet like those at the Hurricave or the Delta Wall in Pine Creek. With that being said, the features reminiscent of bouldering shoes on the Aspect Pro (e.g. the split sole, toe patch, and 3D molded heel) do give it an advantage compared to other similar shoes in any routes that may feature small sections of this terrain in the form of a roof or bulge.

5. Durability

We both found the shoe to be very durable in all respects.

Upper/Liner/Laces: We experienced no rips, tears, or discoloration of any kind and never really felt concerned about any of these things occurring. Crazily enough, both pairs are still very much the same shade of white as when they came out of the box. As for the laces, they still show no signs of wear and tear which is a welcome difference from La Sportiva laces that always seem to fail multiple times before the shoe itself does.

Rubber: The BD Black Label Fuse rubber proved exceedingly durable and was slow to wear down. It was only this past week (6 months after the start of testing) that Colin took his into The Rubber Room to be re-soled (and that was mainly due to a chunk of sole next to the rand coming off in a crack). Matt has still yet to re-sole his shoes and likely has another 10-15 climbing days before he will need to do so.

6. Comparison to Other Shoes

One thing is for sure, the Aspect Pro stands alone within the mid-top market. It is not simply a copy of the TC Pro, Generator, and other models. If you are looking for a mid-top shoe that performs well in thin cracks and has the versatile sensitivity to both smear and edge well, you should absolutely give the Aspect Pro a shot. Even if you are just in the market to buy your first-ever mid-top trad shoe, you should absolutely try the Aspect Pro to determine if its shape and fit are right one for you - the most important part of shoe selection. If so, you will have a top-end shoe that will give you solid performance for years to come.

7. Final Verdict

Options for all-day trad climbing shoes have historically been limited—especially ones that rival the La Sportiva TC Pro. While the Aspect Pro may not unseat this iconic model or magically onsight 5.13 for us mortals, it earns serious respect for its innovative design and distinct advantages. It is absolutely a worthy rival to the TC Pro and should be considered by everyone in the market for a mid-top trad-focused shoe. (Don't forget...it is also worth considering the Scarpa Generator Mid as it offers another foot shape option for you to try out, particularly for those with wider feet).

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