I bought a pair of these about six months ago. Some thoughts:

* They're designed for wider feet. I have long, somewhat narrow feet, and I find the sole a bit too wide. You can partially correct with the laces, but you'll lose a little confidence on smaller holds.

* The heel doesn't slip. I chose them over La Sportiva's Naga shoe for this reason.

* The leather expands significantly. My in-store size (10.5; I wear an 11.5 street shoe) was almost unbearable to stand on for any length of time. After six or eight climbing sessions, the shoes expanded to be the ideal length. I can wear them for about fifteen minutes at a time before I want to chuck them off. Here's how to size a new pair: extend your foot to a ballet point. If there's any clearance or looseness at all at the tip of the shoe, it's too big. The toe box for a new leather shoe should feel very snug with your foot in a point and very uncomfortable with your foot flat. Go up a half-size if the shoe is synthetic.

* The rubber is decently sticky, not great, and the inside edge isn't that sharp. At a gym 5.10 level, I found them adequate. At 5.11/5.12 with thin holds, there isn't enough feel to be confident.

* I've managed to wear through the rubber in front of both toes. I don't scramble up routes and rarely do any sort of foot dragging. I retired my previous pair of shoes undamaged after climbing for twice as long. This shoe will be totally unforgiving of poor foot technique.

On balance, not a bad shoe, and significantly stickier and more comfortable than the gym rental shoes. It's definitely for mid-range use though. If you're a novice climber, you're liable to wear through the soles quickly. And if you're accelerating to the harder routes, you'll probably want a sharper toe.