La Sportiva Reviews

Please don't give these con artists any of your money. The quality is terrible and their customer service is arrogant and delusional. When you're paying premium prices you should get a quality product. My stitching came undone after barely any use and they claimed I was rubbing it excessively and wearing it out. Either they're looking at different pictures than what I sent or they're just being dishonest, because that's clearly not the case. This company doesn't deserve a single star, though unfortunately that's the lowest option. Whatever you do, don't spend money here.

Really let down on both their customer service and their product quality, especially with the gaiters I ordered. I've emailed them multiple times but got nowhere. Their customer service issues started immediately - I ordered size S/M but the product arrived labeled only as S, which looked too small. The website didn't explain what shoe size that corresponded to, so it was impossible to choose correctly. They said they'd follow up but never did. Then they claimed they never heard from me and promised to forward my question - which they didn't. After several more emails with zero response, they sent me to a completely different company with no connection to them. This should have been a quick fix, but instead got treated like I wasn't worth their time. As for the product itself, it's unacceptable quality. After using them once, the cords fell off one shoe and then the other. The front hooks that were supposed to hold everything together just detached from the shoes. The zipper started going backward, causing the whole thing to slide down. The entire point of wearing gaiters was defeated.

La Sportiva just lost out on a sale. I reached out to customer service twice through voicemail and sent multiple emails about their newsletter signup offer for 15% off. I was ready to buy but nobody ever got back to me. They completely missed the opportunity.

I'm really frustrated with La Sportiva's approach to customer service. I've been trying to get a simple buckle replacement for my Vega touring boots for six weeks now with nothing to show for it. Instead of just sending me the replacement part, they bounced me around between the original retailer I can't visit anymore, then a Norwegian distributor called Atello who wasn't even active. After tons of back and forth emails, I kept getting blown off and ignored. They seemed more interested in giving me the runaround than actually helping. Bottom line: the customer service is weak, there's no real commitment to solving problems, and getting replacement parts is nearly impossible. You should look elsewhere if you need reliable spare parts support.

Similar to other reviews I've seen, I'm in the UK and ordered shoes directly from La Sportiva with no warning about customs charges because they're outside the EU. Their customer service is appalling - when I complained they just pointed me to their terms and conditions page. Companies need to be completely upfront about all costs at checkout so people can actually make informed purchasing decisions. That transparency is essential.

Had a bad experience with customer service overall. We got approach shoes for our son directly from La Sportiva since his size was sold out everywhere else. Shipping was fast, which was great. But then we got slapped with an £82 import bill on shoes that only cost £160. While we expected there might be taxes since the UK left the EU, that amount feels way too high and unreasonable. They never mentioned any potential extra costs before ordering. No other mountaineering company based in Europe has charged us anything close to this. When we reached out to La Sportiva they didn't care at all and just gave us dismissive answers. We won't be shopping with them again and will tell everyone in our community to avoid them.

Absolutely terrible customer service. Think twice before ordering directly from La Sportiva's site. I bought running shoes straight from them because I couldn't find my size elsewhere. The fit wasn't right for my feet and they had no arch support. I tried them on once at home, never removed the tags or used them otherwise. When I sent them back, I had to pay for return shipping myself. Three weeks later they emailed saying the shoes were too dirty and worn to accept, which is complete nonsense. I'm done with this brand after how they handled my return.

Their size charts are way off - everything runs super small. The return shipping costs are ridiculous too, 26 euros just to send back a pair of shoes. Definitely not buying from them again. I tracked my return package and they received it on the 7th but I still haven't seen the refund show up in my account. I've sent a couple emails but got nothing back. This customer service is a joke.

Got a pair of Equilibrium hiking boots five months ago and they've completely fallen apart. After climbing Ben Nevis three times and doing three trips in the Transylvanian Mountains, these boots are basically trash. The sole is worn through, my heel hurts so bad I had to add padding to the insole, the foot support is the worst I've ever had in hiking boots, the toe box destroys your feet, and they developed a weird rubber smell even though I rotate socks and keep them clean. I've owned plenty of hiking boots over the years and never dealt with these kinds of problems. When going downhill the lacing system is way too stretchy and offers no stability. The sole grips great when new but once it wears down it gets packed with mud and becomes dangerously slippery on rocks. I've had several close calls on downhill sections. For the outrageous price, these boots just don't hold up. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone based on how quickly they fell apart.

Don't buy climbing shoes from La Sportiva. The rubber on my Tarantulaces started falling off after just a few uses. When I reached out, La Sportiva connected me with an official UK repair shop who told me this happens all the time because they're made in Asia, not Italy, using cheap rubber that doesn't bond properly. They refused to repair them because the rubber is too toxic to work with. I tried getting help from customer service - they were nice at first until I mentioned which repair shop told me the truth. After that they completely stopped communicating. Really think hard before giving money to a company that operates this way.