First Pair of Shoes

This topic has 15 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 19 years, 1 month ago by wrj.

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20 July 2005 at 12:00 AM #2694 Reply
Ash
I’m looking at buying my first pair of shoes soon. Any advice from experienced climbers would be welcome. It sounds like the more competitive the shoe, the less comfortable it will be.

Does anyone want to sell an old pair?

Where do people suggest buying from?

Cheers
20 July 2005 at 12:00 AM #2695 Reply
John Knight
There’s usually three options, all of them good.

1. Get a pair of cheapies for around 100 bucks (not so good), check mountain design’s cheapeast.

2. get a pair for a bit more than 150 bucks, i like scarpa helixes. nice comfort, decent for smaller holds on slab, good beginner shoe and decent all-rounder.

3. get a second-hand pair from the gym and have ’em re-soled. i don’t think the hangout does this anymore, but ask at rockface.

the more advanced, the more aggressive, the more specific, and the more uncomfortable. Really advanced shoes are seriosuly nasty to wear, and won’t be good for slab, but great for overhang, etc.
20 July 2005 at 12:00 AM #2696 Reply
Jon
I went through this a few months ago 🙂

Try on as many as you can – everyones foot is different and you need to find a pair of shoes comfortable for yourself.

I bought my shoes very tight and was cursing the first few climbs but they did stretch and form nicely to my foot after the inital pain 🙂

Lace up vs Velcro – I went the Velcro route for ease of taking off my shoes in between bouldering probs.

Stretch – unlined shoes will strech while lined will not very much.

I started off with a pair of Mad Rock Flashes which I was very happy with – nice and sticky, but the did rub 2 of my toes a lil so I had to tape them.

I recently just purchased a pair of La Sportiva Katanas and they are just so damn comfortable and I love them !

At the moment from memory Mainpeak are having a sale on a lot of their shoes (some 50% off) so I suggest you go down there and check it out.
20 July 2005 at 12:00 AM #2697 Reply
Ash
Cheers Jon,

I’d read through your post and the replies it got but thought I’d try to sponge a bit more wisdom anyway.
20 July 2005 at 12:00 AM #2698 Reply
Kris
ASH,

Mainpeak selling Madrock range 50% off at the moment. By all accounts the Flash are a great alround gym/outdoor shoe. For 75 bucks can’t go wrong! Too easy
20 July 2005 at 12:00 AM #2699 Reply
Di
Check Damo’s post in the For Sale section, he’s selling his gear (shoes and harness) for cheap.
20 July 2005 at 12:00 AM #2700 Reply
Jon
Damo is a mate of mine – duhh yea check out his gear – if his shoes fit go for it!!
20 July 2005 at 12:00 AM #2701 Reply
Ross
For first shoes the main thing is comfort. You probably will not notice any change in performance between hi-tech and plain vanilla as you footwork is probably too poor for that (I’m not picking on you). I mean you need a competitive shoe like a new cyclist needs a $10,000 road bike.

The shoe can be as tight as you want (I suggest not much) but avoid painful ones. Pain quickly happens when the shape of the shoe is fundamentally different from the shape of your foot or when buckles/straps/seams and similar push against the bony bits like knuckles, heel, sides of ball. Note that some shoes are longest in the middle, some at the big toe etc. Don’t buy shoes that cause pain.
20 July 2005 at 12:00 AM #2702 Reply
Rod
Check how much they stretch.

I buy La Sportiva 1.5 sizes smaller (Oz standard) than is comfortably painful to bear for 10 minutes. They’re great after 3 months. I can’t do that super tight initial sizing in 5.10’s as they cause me to cramp. Shape is personal but I have the Miura, a lace up version of the Katana, and a pretty good all rounder plus the Mythos for gyms (I have my own gym in the attic, saves time and money). I’ve recently resoled and noticed that smear performance improved.

You’ll find a wealth of information on first shoe tips by searching TradGirl.
22 July 2005 at 12:00 AM #2703 Reply
Ash
Cheers Kris,

I had a look at the Madrocks but they didn’t agree with my feet.

Thanks for all the other advice too.
23 July 2005 at 12:00 AM #2704 Reply
Jamie
for a first pair of shoes, as ross said go for a more comfy pair, i used the boreal aces and they were fantastic, probably not to flash compared with the newer brands coming out nowdays, buy the have a stiffer sole which allows your feet to get used to the things they need to do while climbing, after a couple of years get something with a softer sole to allow you more feel and sensitivity on the rock.
26 July 2005 at 12:00 AM #2705 Reply
Ben
I bought a pair of La Sportiva Cliff Blues for my first pair. THey have a reasonably flat, unaggressive last and you can walk around in them for ages while everyone else is constantly redoing their laces/velcro. They are really good for outdoor work where you can be in them for a long time but also well a rounded shoe for the aspiring gym junky.
26 July 2005 at 12:00 AM #2706 Reply
Ash
Well I bought a pair of La Sportiva Cliff Blues.

They seem nice and comfortable (considering what they are) and perhaps in a few years I’ll go in for the toe-deforming performance of a fancier pair.

Thanks again for all the advice.
6 August 2005 at 12:00 AM #2707 Reply
rraga
buy something cheap
6 August 2005 at 12:00 AM #2708 Reply
angus
the finer the shoes the better the climbing
6 August 2005 at 12:00 AM #2709 Reply
wrj
does any want to sell them ffor a cheap price?
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