scarpa maestro rock shoe family earns rock and ice 2018 best in gear award

The Best in Gear Award is given to climbing gear with exceptional innovation, best-in-class performance.

BOULDER, Colo. (Dec. 17, 2018) – The SCARPA Maestro family, a high-performance new collection of rock shoes built for trad climbing and situations where people are in their shoes for longer periods of time, earned a 2018 Best in Gear (BIG) Award this month from Rock and Ice Magazine, one of North America’s most respected climbing publications.

The BIG Award is given to 10 products that rise above the fray in innovation, value and performance. Rock and Ice notes that the Maestro shines in all three. The awards were announced in the magazine’s November issue.

“The Maestro is a high-performance all arounder, a rarity among rock shoes,” says Duane Raleigh, Publisher and Editor in Chief of Rock and Ice Magazine. “It has just enough downturn, just enough rand tension, and just enough midsole to power up your feet with just enough squeeze and support to make it a precision tool for face and cracks.”

 The Maestro family, redefines the belief that rock shoes built for trad climbing have to be stiff in order to perform well thanks to a new high-performance rubber rand system and soft, comfortable Eco Leather. The Maestro shoes start with SCARPA’s new IPC-Tension active rand system, which provides serious support without unnecessary stiffness. To help with comfort, innovative patterning in the upper relocates seams away from spots where they could cause discomfort, particularly when wedging feet into cracks. Comfort also stems from the use of a premium Eco Leather, an incredibly soft and supple, yet durable, leather. In addition, Eco Leather uses a process that alleviates the environmental impact of tanning. 

The Maestro Mid has a higher-cut for ankle protection in cracks, and the women’s Maestro Mid is the first women’s specific high-cut trad shoe on the market. The men’s and women’s Maestro, by contrast, are lower-cut, ideal for technical face climbing. They also use a more powerful version of the IPC-Tension active rand.

“The staff at Rock and Ice are serious climbers who invest serious time into their reviews. Look no further than the fact that they subject most gear to 50 pitches or 50 days of climbing before reviewing it,” said Kim Miller, CEO of SCARPA North America. “We invested a lot into creating the Maestro family, and that’s why this award means so much to us and to our community. We’re incredibly grateful for this recognition.” 

About SCARPA and SCARPA North America

Founded in 1938, SCARPA builds performance footwear for climbing, hiking, skiing, mountaineering, trail running and other outdoor pursuits from its headquarters in Asolo, Italy. SCARPA has been owned and operated by the Parisotto family since 1956. In 2005, SCARPA opened its North American headquarters in Boulder, Colo., staffed and directed by veterans of the North American outdoor industry, to oversee sales, marketing and distribution in the U.S., Canada and South America. For more information about SCARPA footwear, visit www.scarpa.com.

-X X X-

Media Contacts: Dave Simpson I Verde Brand Communications I dave@verdepr.com

Becca Katz I becca@verdepr.com I (970) 259-3555