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Butora Endeavor Review (2024): Comfy Shoes?

Butora Endeavor Review

The Butora Endeavor is a neutral climbing shoe whose versatility makes it ideal for beginners and experienced climbers looking for comfort.

Bottom Line

9.4Expert Score
The Butora Endeavor is an enchantingly comfortable and versatile neutral climbing shoe
The Butora Endeavor are many climbers one-stop-shop when spending a long day at the crag or gym. They attempt to be a competent all-rounder with a real focus on comfort. Not as stiff as some high-performance models (though of course not as flexible as your sneakers!), the Endeavor uses sticky rubber and a few thoughtful features to perform well on everything from mellow slabs to slightly overhanging terrain.

These properties make this climbing shoe perfect for big, multi-pitch days. These are a jack-of-all-trades, no doubt. But there are few options for climbing shoes with such a neutral, comfortable fit – and they offer a wide version in the Endeavor Moss model. If you’ve been struggling to find a comfortable pair of climbing kicks (with all-around performance!), these might be worth a look…
Comfort
9.5
Performance
9
Durability
9.5
Value for Money
9.5
PROS
  • Comfortable
  • Precision edging
  • Fully lined with organic hemp for odor control
  • Won’t stretch
  • Long life
  • Endeavor Moss wide version available
CONS
  • Limited heel/toe hooking capabilities
  • Only suitable for easy bouldering problems

A Detailed Look At The Butora Endeavor

The Endeavor is a kind of moderate performing, medium flex hybrid climbing shoe, designed with a pretty broad range of terrain in mind. Using well-thought-out construction and premium materials, these shoes offer serious comfort and all-around performance at a competitive, dirtbag-friendly price point.

Mens’ vs. Womens’

Butora Endeavor men and women climbing shoes

The primary difference between the men’s and women’s versions of the shoe is a lower cut heel and a smaller ankle for women. This mirrors an anatomical difference in the sexes and should make the fit more secure. A wide fit for the women’s model is also available.

Comfort Straps and Memory Foam

The Endeavor fastens using alternating velcro tabs – one pulls to the left, the other to the right. This seems like a small design feature. But it’s one that worked great for us when trying to get a tight, custom fit.

Butora Endeavor rubber outsole

The triple fork webbing and Poron memory foam used for the synthetic portions of the shoe (the tongue and upper) also helps to close down a secure, comfortable fit. The split-leather footbed may also have played a role here.

Neo Fuse Rubber Sole

The Neo Fuse sticky rubber sole feels good indoors and outdoors at a range of temperatures. But this is a point where there’s some discussion. One tester was disappointed with the shoe’s abilities outdoors, on granite, on a chilly afternoon. But remember – this is designed as a competent, comfortable all-arounder with super solid construction. Our tester may have had high expectations of performance in too broad a range of conditions. That climber was happy with how the same climbing shoe performed in the gym.

ABS Injection-Molded Midsole

The 3d injection-molded ABs midsole helps keep your toes pressed tight against the right part of the shoe – without the discomfort of an aggressive curve.

Endeavor Butora

This explains some of the shoe’s surprising edging performance, offering a stiff platform for power and giving us confidence on some pretty tiny edges. For a more ‘relaxed’ style of climbing shoe, there’s decent edging to be had.

Natural Fibers for Odor Control

Using leather for the majority of the shoe and a hemp-based lining reduces the risk of developing stink. In our experience, hemp does a pretty good job of odor control and many other climbers have been impressed with this feature. The mix of leather and synthetic fabrics here also acts to minimize stretch, helping the shoe maintain its custom fitting over time.

Reinforced Heel and Toe

A welded polyurethane reinforcement is present in the heel and toe of the Butora Endeavor.

Butora Endeavor heel

The one in the front helps with both deformation of the toe shape over time and jamming maneuvers and the heel pad offers some rigidity for hooking without the need for a full heel cup. The leather upper heel on this part of the climbing shoe also helps with comfort and stability during these maneuvers.

Comfort

Given that this is the focus of this particular model, it’s no surprise that they feel good. But it’s the long hours you can wear these without feeling fatigued that sets them apart from many other moderate performance pairs.

Butora Endeavor leather upper

Following the natural line of the foot, the slightly asymmetrical toe shape, and ABS midsole offer near-full rigidity when the big toe is engaged – without the usual crushing of a performance climbing shoe.

Anti-Twist Sole

The back half uses natural leather, a construction that in combination with the midsole, offers more stability and torsion rigidity – preventing sideways twisting of the sole. Despite all this, these don’t feel wildly different from your street shoe when standing around on the ground between pitches – especially if worn a half size to a size up.

Tight But Comfortable

The leather/synthetic upper, split leather footbeds over medium-stiff soles and velcro tabs also deserve a mention when discussing comfort. The tabs simply help to get a secure but relaxed fit.

Butora Endeavor climbing shoes

But the Poron memory foam hidden in the synthetic tongue lets you pull hard on these tabs for a tight fit without discomfort. Using split leather in the soles with an organic hemp liner around the foot will help to offset the potential stinkiness of the synthetic materials used in this climbing shoe.

Performance

Butora Endeavor unboxing climbing shoes

Edging

This climbing shoe likes edges. The toe shape, midsole insert, and way the shoe rises to engage the front of the foot help the Butora Endeavor perform well above what we expected. The Neo Fuse rubber is, according to the manufacturer’s copy, “built for edging, smearing, and smedging” (we like this final portmanteau). Easy bouldering, moderate sport routes, and long multi-pitch days are when this pair of climbing shoes shine. It can handle even the more precise end of edging that these activities demand.

These are primarily designed as a one-pair solution for most climbing techniques. But like other performance/comfort hybrids we’ve seen, they don’t compromise too much in the edging department to achieve their relaxed fit.

Smearing

Butora Endeavor are equally comfortable performing smearing maneuvers. The sensitive, medium stiff sole can smear rock and gym surface equally well, delivering lots of power in the twist. The toe shape and midsole help the sole to follow the natural line of the foot, keeping the rubber tight against the base of your foot. There’s always a sticky rubber kick pad underfoot with these shoes.

Heel/Toe Hooking

Both the heel and toe of the Butora Endeavor have some concessions to hooking maneuvers, even if they are not the focus of the shoe. A welded polyurethane reinforcement in the heel, combined with the solid leather back half of the shoe help with stability and grip in heel hooks. We’re not talking about anything too advanced. But for basic heel hooking moves are possible.

The toe features a similar piece of reinforced polyurethane that helps prevent deformation and allows the wearer to put greater pressure on the toe without discomfort. It’ll help you achieve stability for basic hooking moves. But that’s really not the focus of these rock shoes.

Uses

Crack Climbing

butora endeavor on feet

The toe profile of the Butora Endeavor is certainly small enough to fit in cracks as they appear as part of a climb. However, these are not designed for intensive cracks or crack-heavy climbing. The durability of the Butora Endeavor is probably good enough to stand up to the rigors of climbing cracks. But a shoe built specifically for this purpose will feature more padding and protection than what is seen here.

Steep Terrain

Unique features like the toe shape and 3d injection-molded sole help the Endeavor to fit snugly and perform on steep terrain. Even after a few months, the hemp lining prevents any stretch and keeps the shoe performing at the same high level.

Sensitivity

They’re sensitive enough for even pretty small nubs and edges, smear (and smedge) surprisingly well, and can offer basic stability and hold in some hooks. In everything right up to slightly overhanging terrain, these will perform well.

Trad Climbing

Any shoe that’s suitable for sport climbing will almost certainly be capable of some trad climbing – if a little over-engineered. Because these are a mellower-type of design, they work great on trad routes. Especially longer ones.

Man climbing the rock

Sport Climbing/Bouldering

Moderate sport climbing is what the Endeavor were made for. And they love it. Our review wouldn’t be complete without once again mentioning how comfortable these are for the comfort they represent. We’ve had to review quite a few shoes in recent months and these are the ones that stand out for most sport climbing situations. If your day is going to involve some multi-pitch climbs and comfort is a focus, these shoes make sense.

Limitations

There are some limitations, however. You’ll meet some people who can climb a 5.14 in these, no problem. But those of us with more average skills might need a little help from a more aggressive shoe. Difficult bouldering problems will be off-limits in these shoes to all but Peter Parker.

Conclusion

The Butrora Endeavor represents a sweet spot in the performance-comfort curve. Well-built, comfortable, easy to resole, and suitable for the majority of climbing situations – it’s no wonder they are so popular. If you’re a beginner to intermediate climber looking for a competent one-stop shop, these could be the shoes for you.

If you’re a more advanced climber looking for a mellow pair of shoes for longer, easier days, they also might be worth a look. Some climbing guides are always on the lookout for the most comfortable pair of shoes they can wear to work. These may be new contenders.

Facts

Butora Endeavor climbing shoes

Technical Specs

Weight8.8 oz/250 g
FitComfort
ShapeAsymmetric
DownturnNeutral
Sole thicknessn/a
StiffnessStiff
ClosureVelcro
ResoleableYes
VeganNo

Use

ActivitiesAll-around, Face, Sport
Level Any

Technologies

OutsoleButora Neo Fuse rubber
MidsoleFull midsole
UpperSuede/leather

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