Bouldering vs rock climbing shoes reddit. Don't just buy what other people love.

Bouldering vs rock climbing shoes reddit They should mold to your foot a bit over time. I'm still using my beginner shoes that I got from a sports shop called Decathlon. They get uncomfortable if I wear them for long sessions. My 9. A subreddit for the indoor bouldering community. Do: Get a resole before you need it. It used to mean multi-pitch, single-pitch, trad, sport, bouldering, gym, etc. Expect a bit of stretch but not massively so, i. I switched to a more aggressive shoe, the Scarpa Vapor Vs, after my first year of bouldering. It amuses me greatly how the quintessential bouldering shoe, the La Sportiva Solution is barely present among bouldering finalists but has a sizeable representation among lead finalists. I prefer softer shoes as a default, but I always have something stiffer in my bag, and on some rock types will only bring a medium soft shoe like Solutions as my softest shoe. I fucking love the shoes. For versatility—meaning, facility on both radical steeps and with volume smearing on comp-style problems—look at soft shoes with only a mild downturn; you r/RockClimbingShoes: A subreddit designed to help those looking for rock climbing shoes. The #1 climbing shoe rule: The shoe has to fit your specific foot shape. My shoes were so bad it was causing actual friction in my relationship. As you delve deeper into the world of climbing, you may find you’ll want specialized shoes for specific types of climbing, based on fit, feel, friction, comfort or durability, and end up with a quiver of shoes. Ahhhh, I forget the Miura vs and it's sister shoe from Scarpa/Heinz Mariacher, the Veloce. Nov 17, 2023 · Here, we’ve compiled ten of our favorite bouldering shoes—and a list of ten things to think about when buying climbing shoes. If you have climbing shoes by La Sportiva, Five Ten, Evolv, or Scarpa, I would love to know how their sizing compares to your regular street shoe. I started out bouldering and have recently been getting into sport climbing. When people talk this shoe is > than that for X its almost entirely preference. Shoe choice is also definitely a skill and knowing how to use a stiff shoe is a skill. But assuming someone has tried shoes that were adjusted correctly - one for socks- one without- then the difference is smaller. **Edit: I understand why this is the case, I'm pointing out the irony how the shoe designed for bouldering no longer fits competition bouldering style. And yes: you can also feel the rock better, this alone does not make you stick better but yes it does help in finding the correct spot on the wall. Don't just buy what other people love. My rock climbing teachers recommended me the sportiva kubo. Indoors there are no small footholds and no long climbs most climbing you will do is either steep or on volumes so soft and downturned. 12c ( less pain more chill, might wear them for projecting something on the beta burn when it takes a very long time) Genius 40. I’d go either true to size or only a half size down max Edit: 9 is for other mad rock shoes. -it’s a short period of trying super hard then stopping, like doing a max set at the gym, I enjoy this type of hard and fast exercise followed by a rest period. They aren't ultralight, but they were super cheap, the grips grip, and they pack pretty well in a technical pack for climbs. 10 Asym's. If u don't mind flatter shoes a Rep showed me sportiva finale, these were super comfy shape wise but not my size. I'm an 8 foot and I bought a 7. See which fit you best. Every shoe is built for a different shaped foot; the Drago might be my Cindarella slipper and your torture device. I have flat and rather narrow low-volume feet. More info provided below :) Hey guys, I am currently looking to update my La Sportiva Mythos (been climbing through three pairs in the past few years). Go to a shop/place and try on as many shoes as you can. But most modern shoes (remember solutions are +10 years old) just use the shoe structure to perform the midsole function of old. Work boots, climbing shoes, uh Okay that's all, but they still rock!!! But any of the shoes are climable almost anywhere. My first pair of climbing shoes were the Evolv Nikitas, which are super comfortable and surprisingly durable, (I've had them for years and I still wear them to top rope and lead outdoors). I spend most of my time sport climbing indoor, maybe around a 70/30 split of the time, where I engage in bouldering more often than top/lead climbing. (My sneaker shoe size is 10 btw. the reasonable balance between cheaping out and providing a quality experience IS those rental shoes, though! for the people who typically use rental shoes--i. Whichever one you end up throwing for holds with low core tension and poor control will be injurious. I find they don’t need to be downsized much. Has anyone seen any barefoot style ‘wide’ climbing shoes that follow a proper foot shape? Anybody have any recommendations on some good burner gym shoes? Currently I am rocking some of the old blue hiangles from the $50 sale a couple years ago, but I am starting to burn through the toes. They offer the grip, precision, and control you need to send it on any problem or route. I was previously recommended by friends to perhaps invest in a more intermediate climbing shoe as my bouldering problems often involve some overhang. This makes it easier to apply pressure with the area near your big toe. Below you will find some of my favorite bouldering shoes right now. OP, if the shoes fit they should be fine for all your current climbing pursuits. Different shoe models do work better or worse on certain kinds of climbs, and some climbers find that some climbs are only possible for them in certain kinds of shoes. Spend $160 on aggressive climbing shoes and then wear them to the gym to climb vert 5. - I've had the Scarpa Velocity climbing shoes in the beginning in the size 37,5 (my regular shoe size is 36,5 to 37) and even though they are a size/half a size bigger than my regular shoes, I still experience horrible pain in my big toe (the toe seems to curl up in the shoe and since I'm alpine climbing, when there comes a part, where I need to Idk why people downvoted this comment, starting with the sensitive good shoes for bouldering is the only way to get used to sensitive shoes for bouldering, you can get in tarantulas or some other stiff shoes with no downturn and when you feel like you can climb better but your feet aren't helping you as much and you go for performance shoes you're almost back to 0 because you climb different But even the cheapest climbing shoes are miles better than rentals. 5EU): My favorite shoe so far. I've been climbing for a while and tend to stick to tarantulas because they have a consistent-ish fit. But when on a rope which is inherently safer, Im literally shitting myself in a roof climb. But the performance difference between a poorly fitted shoe and a well fitted shoe is far bigger than the performance difference between these two models. e my new shoes were uncomfortable after an hour or so of climbing the first few sessions after buying them, but not to the point of constricting blood. These c Similar boat. What do you mean by all rounders? It seems that the definition is changing. This is an odd one - went rock climbing today and discovered the shoes are pretty painful for someone wearing ‘barefoot’ shoes constantly for years. Dumb name, awesome product. Either way, I agree. Are they better than my abilities? Obviously if it’s a tight fit with socks it’ll be looser without. Not in terms of thinness, but in toe splay - or lack of. I’m guessing solutions probably do (hence the stiffness) whereas the comps don’t. e. Fitting your climbing shoes for comfort is like buying a car because you like the driver’s seat. If you can, find a store near you (climbing gyms will often sell shoes, if you're in America there's probably an rei near you) and try on different brands, since each will fit differently (different toeboxes, different heels, etc). My gym grades: White: V0 Yellow: V0-V2 Blue: V1-V3 Purple: V2-V4 Black: V3-V5 Red: V4-V6 I can comfortably climb the purples (V2-V4). If you love reading this review of the best bouldering shoes, then you'll likely love reading some of our other climbing content: Best Climbing Shoes. 4. They should probably feel comfortable actually. I've seen so little consistency between women's vs men's climbing shoes and who they actually fit (more diversity among women or among men than between women and men, for instance). Nov 30, 2022 · The La Sportiva Theory is a purpose-made climbing shoe for hard indoor bouldering and competition climbing. Foot shape dictates it. This sub tends to have more people with a focus on bouldering, the average bouldering grade tends to be a bit high for the sport grade led (compared to crux of sport route). They had a wide toe box and let you stand on the thinnest granite crystals. Just wondering what the best shoes to get are. ( better at smears, allows a little less percision, allows me to climb a bit quicker) Chimera 40 - overhanging sport below 5. In the 80's people were in tennis shoes climbing harder than most of us ever will using anything. I wear size 44EU street shoes. Learn good footwork. In the gym, I like to have a performance oriented shoe that's just barely comfortable enough, but gives me the performance I want while climbing. 5 for scarpas usually Need shoes, been doing a good amount of bouldering and indoor climbing. For real techy bouldering the benefits of extra sense/fingertip power outweighs those of gloves, as there are no gloves I'm aware of with climbing-shoe-rubber fingertips or whatnot. Relative toe length. With a single velcro strap and slipper-like comfort, it’s incredibly sensitive but offers surprising edging ability thanks to La Sportiva’s P3 tensioned rand system and No-Edge sole technology. If I was climbing a long splitter, mocs every day. 0 to 5. Best Climbing Harnesses. Another different style are slip on types like up moccs May 27, 2025 · Gym bouldering/board training: For gym bouldering or board sessions where you’re frequently removing the shoes, you want a slipper or a Velcro-closure shoe that makes for easy on/off. The Best Bouldering Shoes in 2023. 5 - thin Climbers use the term 'climbing' as a catch all, but non-climbers are more likely to be familiar with "rock climbing" (which usually means top roping), and boulders will use rock climbing to mean climbing with a rope to differentiate it from bouldering, although to a newbie it seems like bouldering is also be a form of rock climbing. , people who are brand new to climbing and/or are just trying it for the day--rental shoes provide a significant advantage over street shoes, especially if you don't know any technique. Hi all! I have been climbing for 2. Comfort is not king. Bouldering vs Rock Climbing. They won't stretch enough to get We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. 5 drone 2s feel too small. Gorilla stomp. The tarantulace isn't a better performing shoe. Best Chalk Bags. It's been a good experience, they are really comfortable and versatile for both climbing and short rock routes. When I bought them I got the same size as my prior pair, the Vapors, because the Vapors were painful for 2 years. Its a preference thing. Love your shoes. You should always have like 6-7 different pairs of shoes lol, tight soft shoes, tight edging shoes, multipitch medium shoes, end of the weekend upsized soft and edging shoes, the freshie sending pair, and a lucky pair for good measure. 8s. 3. Those were fine, but they sucked, so I did the next reasonable step and used my student loan money to buy a brand new pair of Miuras VS ($180) (I have problems managing money). Yes aggressive shoes perform better on overhung and a stiff toe is better for tiny footholds while soft rubber is better on volumes but you can climb anything in anything. I gym climb 2-3/week, primarily sport climb when outside (a variety of styles but not too much overhang at this point) and occasionally boulder outside. The Finales are slightly more asymmetrical, meaning that the shoes are shaped to turn more towards the big toe than what is natural for feet. You're right concerning those shoes, of course. TLDR: I am looking for intermediate but comfortable climbing shoes for indoor climbing with slight/medium downturn and low/medium pre-tensioning. Apr 10, 2022 · The sport of rock climbing, both indoors and out, is one of the most rapidly growing athletic pursuits of the past decade. Nov 10, 2023 · With the exception of a few models, many of the bouldering shoes I share below are chosen with intermediate and advanced climbers in mind. Similarly entry level Butora shoes are very good value for money, so newer climbers may gravitate to Butora for the low cost even though they prefer other brands. But usually flat and stiff shoes are only good on vertical and slabby terrain where you stand on small footholds or if you need the support for long climbing. For bouldering in the long run i would aim to have at least 2 shoes running all time: One supersoft comfy for training/warm up and one aggressive af for the sends. Before you start climbing wipe the bottom end of your shoe to get off any chalk to make the rubber stick better. Laces are a little slower to take on and off but are more adjustable. There are items of clothing that make a lot more sense being specific to sex, such as tops. More aggressive climbing shoes are uncomfortable to stand in, so you see people take them off while they're belaying or taking a break. Pretty much the only shoe that fit semi-comfortably, due to my wide, flat Hobbit-esque feet. I've loved them for everything. Bouldering problems use the font scale (starting at 3 and going up to 8C+), while rock climbing routes use systems like the Yosemite decimal system (5. Nothing special just £40 climbing shoes. I have five ten teams and la sportiva futuras for my try-hard shoes so I am not worried about getting something ultra-performant. The first sentence or two in the description of this product literally mentions bouldering… “The DU(rango) gets a successor: the CIRCUIT VCR’s name is based on the "circuits" in the famous bouldering paradise of Fontainebleau, where many different routes are climbed one after another in a difficulty level. 15d). If you are brand new to climbing, then I suggest heading over to our beginner bouldering shoe guide instead. I have been using the Miura VS for the past 10 years and I have narrow feet. You didn't give remarks on your feelings with the LS Solution or Skwamas, but what the Kubo and Katana you seem to favor have in common is that they are more moderately downturned. Not very Nov 4, 2024 · How do bouldering grades compare to rock climbing grades? The boulder grade rating system differs from climbing grades. Put these in your shoes. Maybe you can look at Specific shoe model choice for specific types of climbing (overhang, indoor, outdoor, sport vs trad vs bouldering), and try to find a correlation. Apr 16, 2025 · Whether you're trad climbing, bouldering, or crack climbing, climbing shoes are a must, no matter your style. As for what shoe to buy, specifically, it'll help if you tell us what sort of routes will you be climbing, on what rock, will it be bouldering, sport or trad, and whether your feet are wide or narrow at the ball of the foot and at the heel, bulky or kinda flat, and which of your toes is longest :) When I started climbing 5 months ago, I had a $5 pair of mad rock shoes I got at a yard sale. Gear Reviews Overview Page Mixed climbing is done in gloves, easier alpine trad in the winter may be done in gloves, crack climbing usually involves at least a partial glove or tape glove. My question is why do I struggle so much when sport climbing compared to bouldering. Others have success with Tenaya oasi lv, mad rock drone lv and Evolv phantom. One shoe I haven’t been able to replace is my old Fiveten Quantums from ~ 2018. Don't let anyone tell you to downsize and don't worry about the stretch. 5 years and am currently climbing in women's Miura Lace Ups. If I was climbing a hard overhang with lots of tiny foot features, I'd reach for my Katanas and be a little bemused using my mocs. Generally the aragon is seen as a small upgrade from the tarantulace. For over a decade, our climbing experts have tested over 75 shoes side-by-side to bring you the most comprehensive climbing shoe review in existence. Don't trust to much on such pics just try on different shoes and find whatever works for you. If you are set on only bouldering, you will be more happy with the boulder one in the long run, but keep in mind that with rubber there is a little loss in comfort. I wear a 10. com for a database of foot shapes and sizing on climbing shoes. Hey everyone, I was thinking of purchasing my first pair of climbings shoes but was wondering how the sizing compares to my regular street shoes. I've been climbing for about 4-5 months now and climbed my first V3-V5 yesterday. Nowadays, gym culture has taken over and some people seem to have narrowed it down to different types of gym climbing, or indoor/outdoor sport climbing and bouldering. I would recommend to you: -Mad Rock Drone HV: All round hard sender. But also og Dragons are the greatest shoe of all time Most modern climbing shoes don’t have a midsole at all. While they class it as wide. Check sizesquirrel. They're pretty broken in, now, and I don't have any pain from the shoes. Edit: Talked to a dude at the gym, tried on several different pairs of shoes before finally getting a pair of 5. I use them in everything now. These are some of my shoes: Scarpa Instinct VS (size 43EU): They're really aggressive, good for tiny edges, heel- and toe-hooking. ) It’s softer than Arpia and has a better range of attributes specific to indoor climbing, but loses that edge on smaller footholds that you will find on rock that the Arpia will be more capable of handling. 5 street shoe and 9 in climbing shoes. Go for a snug, tight but comfortable fit. I have the same shoes as you and they're actually the first pair of climbing shoes that have fit me really well from day 1. Check out our posts for advice and reviews. 9. If I'm not sure or it's going to be a long day where I can bring only one pair of shoes, pinks ftw. Anything related to indoor (and outdoor) goes. The difference between the two shoes for stiffness are slight though. Personally I enjoy bouldering more because 1. 5 - Volume sport climbing shoe for all the other sport climbing Insticnt mens 41. . Other rock types the Solutions might be the stiffest shoe I bring. Boreal Joker Laces (size 42. Your shoes should be tight but definitely not painful. High vs low volume heel, forefoot, arch. Threw some of those suckers in and it greatly reduced the issue. From advice on which gym to visit to videos of world cup IFSC climbers, you can find it all here. and if I'm bouldering steep roofs, I can have a tight, soft shoe. I had the opposite experience. Climbing shoes really doesn't need to be one of them. This activity–once considered the realm of daredevils and slackers–has recently gotten even more widespread attention with the release of big-budget films like Free Solo and The Dawn Wall. I wore the tarantulace (and still do sometimes) for a longtime then decided to try the bouldering shoe. I prefer them to climbing shoes for easy 5th and below because after hours in even descent sloppy moccasin-type climbing shoes, my toes need a break. Differences in climbing ability are a lot bigger than differences between different shoe models. I've been climbing for a year and I think my level is low-intermediate. I find it does fit a bit wider, but if you're looking for a bit more agressive shoe with a moderately stiffer sole, you'll like them. I don’t have a problem… 😂. Section divider Ten Things You Need to Know About Climbing Shoes 1. Spend $60 on climbing shoes and be surprised when they fall apart after 2 months of gym sessions. - cheaper, the rope + grigri + harness aren’t super expensive but it’s an initial cost for sure. Only thing that was decent and I'm about to buy is sportiva futuras. For your first shoe get something relatively flat with a relatively neutral toe position. If you want a good shoe that’s not super expensive and good on volumes I’d recommend the mad rock remoras, I keep coming back to them, by far my favorite shoe. I can throw for a huge dyno with only two pads underneath me and have no fear. However, asymmetry in shoes is a trade off against comfort. I’ve been using a pair of Mad Rock Remoras for comfy shoes, and UP Flagships for try hard shoes. Personally, I enjoy having a quiver of shoes to choose from, so if I'm sport climbing, I can have a more comfortable, stiffer shoe. Keep in mind that climbing shoes are meant to be loaded through the toes and heels, not as much walking, so this is taken into account in the design. But since they are one of the few shoes that have 3 straps to tighten. The trick to velcro shoes for cracks is that the straps are supposed to only go in one direction, so that jamming only tightens the s Normal climbing shoes without a rubber are not made for toehooking and will be short lived if you do that, depending on your level of experience and style of bouldering. - I can just go alone 2. Love them both, but they don’t do the same job as the Quantums. Not really good for friction on volumes and stuff. hidvop nzy tnpfu dnpu jrw faqwvp jvctzqr dtj uovyl ktvi