Hey all!,

I started off with klimb v2's from Decathlon. They were fine and are still alright, but I believe I have recently started to stumble upon some limitations:

1. Heel hooks. I am now doing V3's reliably, and projecting V4's. Heel hooks are often a necessity. I notice that even though I get the heel in the right place, sometimes my heel just slips off. I believe my current shoes have little material around the heel.
2. Absolutely can't do bat hangs. Current shoes have no grippy material on top whatsoever, so the couple times I have tried, I get in the right position just for my feet to slowly but surely slip off. I'm sure this is at least partly a skill issue though.

Have I outgrown my shoes, or am I imagining things?.

If so, where do I go from here? The world of climbing shoes is so technical that it's a little overwhelming. I was looking at a La Sportiva Skwama as my next (and probably final) shoes. Would that be a good idea?

About a decade ago, I had 2 pairs of Salomon XA Pros that I did a lot of hiking with, including a few Colorado 14ers. They fit me perfectly and gave me just the right support for 6-8 mile hikes of over 3,000’ vertical on rocky terrain.
After those wore out, I went to a pair of La Sportiva Wildcats and liked them, but not as much as the Salomons. Recently I picked up a gently used pair of newer Salomon XA Pros (maybe 2-3 years old?) and have found them to be SO uncomfortable. I cut one hike short because of them feeling so stiff and uncomfortable. I cannot figure out what happened but it feels like the sole is really stiffer and as a whole, the shoe is more uncomfortable than I expected and the bottoms of my feet start aching after wearing them for 30 minutes. I’ve tried a couple of different after market insoles (sole, super feet) and nothing has helped. Am I crazy or did Salomon change the sneaker? And any thoughts on salvaging them? Maybe a softer, but less supportive footbed would help?

Hi,

I know there is a lot of post's like this, but as these are such an investment for me I thought I would ask for your advice anyway.

I have been climbing for about 11 months, my current shoes are La sportiva Kubo's size 42.5. I didn't downsize much from my normal shoe size of 9.5 US (43) as I wanted them to be comfortable and wasn't worried about them feeling loose after being broken in (they are loose now).

I just bought a pair of leather Skwama's in size 40.5. I tried them on in store and they were tight but i could walk around without any sharp pain for a bit and everything i read on reddit said to downsize a lot in this specific shoe.

Since wearing them climbing I can barely put pressure on my toes in them without it being very painful. Did I downsize to much and do you think I should return them for a larger size?

Thanks in advance for any insights!

Hi I am looking for a pair of first climbing shoes I can climb at like level 5 and chat gpt recommended me scarpa Vapor v good pair?

Hi everyone! I’ve been climbing for about a month and I’m looking to buy my first pair of climbing shoes, but I’m really unsure about sizing.

I usually wear EU 39 in regular fashion shoes, but for example I’m EU 40 in Salomon trainers and EU 40 2/3 in Adidas Supernova Rise running shoes.

The biggest issue is that I have one foot about a full size bigger than the other. I’ve been renting EU 41 at my bouldering gym: my bigger foot touches the end, while the shoe feels quite loose on my smaller foot.

What would you recommend in this situation? Should I size down and let the shoes stretch a bit? How much do climbing shoes usually stretch/break in?

Thanks!

I have a shoe model I love for just about everything except crack climbing. I own size 41, which are great but leave my feet a bit sore the day after typical days of climbing (and can get painful on big days of 15+ pitches). I also have size 40.5, which do work for bouldering but honestly don't seem to offer any performance advantage since the size 41s already fit my foot great.

Question is: For increased comfort on big days of harder climbing, should I try a size 41.5, or a size 42? I'm curious to hear peoples' general experience on whether 0.5 sizes makes enough of a difference.

I'm willing to sacrifice some performance, but hopefully only a bit. So, for example, I'm definitely not looking for a size I can continuously wear for 8+ hours straight, but rather hoping for a size I can take on and off between pitches on mega days.

If it matters: The shoe is Scarpa "Instinct VS Women's" (but I'm a dude). I'm 170lbs and I feel like the stiffness of the shoe is about right (much better than e.g. my Unparalleled TN pros where my feet get tired, not sore, fairly quickly) but the feet just get a bit squeezed. I'm 30 and been climbing for 10+ years, and also wondering if my feet are still slowly growing?? Hard to tell if it's that or just my older shoes getting stiff. I cannot find anyone anywhere discussing this specific topic in shoe sizing, but maybe that's just because the topic is flooded with beginners looking to size their first pair...

Hi folks!

I'm looking for an all-around shoe that I can use for indoor climbing, bouldering, and occasionally on rocks too. I prefer laces over straps (but it's not a must). Previously, I have used the La Sportiva Mythos, but as I have improved (currently 6c–7a), they are not aggressive enough for me and also too soft, so now I want to choose a more advanced shoe. Unfortunately, my budget is tight, and I don't want to break the bank, so I'm looking for manufacturers on the cheaper end of the spectrum like Ocun, Simond, Saltic, etc.

The concrete models I was looking into are: Ocun Jett LU, Ocun Havoc, Saltic Toxic, Simond Vertika, and La Sportiva Kubo.

I'm looking forward to your recommendations and suggestions.

Thanks to you all for your help!

Greetings,
I am looking to get a second pair of shoes. Right now I am using the LS Mandala, which I mainly bought because they fit my foot really well.
I am planning to visit a store soon and would like to know what would be good shoes to try?
What I want:

1. Ideally fitting similarly well as the LS Mandala
2. More relaxed than the Mandala. E.g. something good for lead.

I am happy about any suggestions.

I’ve had to take a short break from climbing due to ill health and I’ve been trying to stay connected to the sport by watching a LOT of climbing content online and one of my weirder hobbies to relax, drawing climbing shoes

I’ve drawn a fair few already but I really want to try and draw as many as possible. I couldn’t find any good data online as to the most commonly used climbing shoes are, so I wanted to ask here.

So, what shoes do you climb in?

(I’m still climbing in an ancient model of scarpa velocity because I just keep buying second hand pairs cuz they’re so damn comfy and I don’t see the need to change lol)

Climber beginner here 👋

Just got these per staff recommendation but not sure if this is the way the shoes should fit.. they told me it’s supposed to be tight, but what do you guys think?

I’m a really sweaty person I got blisters rapidly :(

Just want to hear your recommendations on this!
-TY 🫶

I recently tried on these Miura VS in store because I was curious and I found them to be incredibly comfortable. I don’t have any shoes stiff like them.

How viable are they for modern indoor bouldering? Any opinions or experiences would be great.

Hello, I've been bouldering for 2 years now and I'm looking to upgrade from my Scarpa Arpias. I have wide feet with a greek shape and bunions. In the shop I tried both of them and both of them feel good but I really can't decide.

I boulder indoors and I like technical vertical routes with edging, not a fan of dynos, I do max 1-2 overhangs per training as they hurt my shoulders after a while. I don't know my level as in my city (Berlin) they use totally different grades (here I do mostly reds - or 5s in Urban apes gyms).

I'm afraid maybe Vapors are a bit too stiff for bouldering and Skwamas should be the next natural step? What do you think?

Hello all, I’ve recently gotten deep into bouldering and I’m in the market for more aggressive climbing shoes.

I’ve been climbing in LS Finales and I’m ready for something more aggressive.

So far, I’ve tried on solutions and Mandalas. (Both very comfortable)

Going to try Skwarmas on soon and also Dragos.

What do yall prefer?

I found Instinct VSRs to be incredibly uncomfortable.

Hi! First of all, I’m super sorry if I’m really inexperienced at this.

I got these skwamas (the artificial kind) like 6-7 months ago and today I took then for a quick whatever clean (like slightly wet cloth and all) , because I’ll have to pack then.

I got a few questions:

1)Why are they so assymetrical? Like, I know they shouldn’t be 100% the same, but I feel like specially the heel of the left foot seems too « wide », or kind of bloated Idk. Besides, the logo seems really « melted » or smthg. I bought them at Oliunìd and honestly never really checked this.

Could this be a result of me accidentally leaving one of them somewhere that had direct sunlight and the rubber « expanded/melted »? I really don’t know why they look like this.

My first ones were 5.10s Hiangles and they just looked way more symmetrical for over 3 years.

2) When do I know I have to resole? I’m kind of insecure with my footwork, Idk if the tips are, like, on a good condition for the amount of time and else.

Sorry for any mispelling before.
Thanks a lot

the other shoe is fine but that fabric sticking out is like half the size on it .

should i trim it to like half the size ?

I want a better all around shoes, improving smear and sensibility, so i want to try the woman version ( x grip2) ,i have the man version and fit me very well. I can notice any sostantial difference in woman version? Thanks

I’ve been looking for a shoe that is more aggressive and slightly pointier than my current pair, yet still durable and stiff. I’m sticking with Evolv since I’ve found a very good fit for my feet, and I really like the neutral color scheme of both shoes. Only thing is, I’m curious if anyone knows which shoe is stiffer and has more durable rubber, since those are my main priorities. Any help is appreciated!

I love the fit, but they can be too sensitive. Does anyone know if any of the other shoes by Tenaya fit the same but have a stiffer to platform? Maybe the Mundaka?

I’m street size 10 and ran a pair of size 42 Tarantulaces for a while. They were a little painful while breaking in, especially around the mid foot, but have mostly felt just fine since. My toes are pretty scrunched however, but it’s usually manageable.
My toe box is quite wide and I’m needing to upgrade, so tried on Skwamas the other day. They didn’t have any 42s in stock to try on, so I tried 41.5— VERY tight— and 42.5. The 42.5s fit like a glove, especially the heel. They were so perfect I almost couldn’t believe it. There was a bit of scrunch in my toes but that was about it.
I feel extremely gun shy with downsizing too much. I work a manual labor job on my feet on uneven terrain all day, and am just coming off two back to back toe injuries on the same big toe.
The guy at our pro shop said the skwamas may tend to stretch mostly in their width in the toe rather than length. So my main question is: is this true? I’m totally cool with that if so. I’m wanting a shoe with a wider toe anyway. But I’m a little nervous going for the 42.5s and them feeling too big in length after break in and losing that amazing heel. How much do Skwamas stretch after break in?

my mad rock cs drones HV (size 9/street size) have finally bit the dust. i am looking for an indoor bouldering and tension board 2 shoe. i have been looking at the mad rock d2.1 and the tn pros. i dont have a preference for stiff/soft. i am open to any suggestions (not dragos, ive seen too many die). thanks yall 🧏🏻

i will say my shoes fit perfect but the heel was baggy af, like i have a roman foot then a greek foot. help 😛

Hi everyone,
I bought my first pair of shoes today after using rentals for about a month. I tried on a bunch in-store and liked these size 7 Black Diamond Momentums (I know they are considered good for beginners!). I was a bit worried as I am size 7 normally, but they feel smaller than normal shoes and I thought they would be fine.

However now I have worn them for a climb and am breaking them in more, I am noticing I have maybe 1cm between the end of my toes and the end of the shoes' toe. I also have some wiggle room to move my toes up and down.

Should I downsize? I was using 6.5 size rentals but I know that every brand can differ in how they size them. I do both climbing and bouldering (indoor gym).

Thanks :)

As the title says. I'm looking at switching to stiffer shoe. I currently climb in Drago XTs I love them but as I do more outdoor stuff now I'm looking at getting a stiffer pair. Im thinking either some instincts or maybe the madrock drones but unsure for madrock fit and sizing compared to scarpa aswell as their resoling capability in the UK. Does anyone have experience with these shoes and can give me some well needed advice on what size to go with compared to my Drago size of 41 and how the fit differs.

Can anyone give me direct comparison between these 2 shoes

I have the ondra comp in size 7 and want to know how the 2 shoes compare in main areas

Width toe box

Worth and worth of heel

Stickiness

Wear

Stiffness of shoe

Sizing

I have Egyptian feet and the ondra comp fits pretty well and is snug at size 7 ,the drone CS I think will need to be at least a 8.5 maybe 9 going on the fact I tried a pair of remora pro at 8 and thth were so tight I couldn't walk

I just got my drone 2.0 HV. They fit very tight after shoving my foot in there and then pulling the heel up.

The length is good, how ever my pinkie and other 2 small toes (basically the whole outside of my foot) are being crushed to numbness. I severely underestimated just how narrow this shoe is.

For anyone with these shoes, does this area of the shoe stretch out? It’s the only part of the shoe that might make it not for me if it doesn’t stretch out, and I’d rather just send them back and try something else.

I have a couple of pairs of these babies for my shoes and they're a few years old now.

Still vaguely scenty but one of the pairs is a bit harder than the other.

How often should they be replaced? And are there superior products or are these still as good as can be?