The Rock Climber's Shoe Manual

[jorgemendoza]

I know there are a lot of threads about "the best climbing shoe ever" topic, but I find the opinions in this forum more interesting than what I have found in others, hence, the idea to start this "Climbing Shoe Manual" here.

I have always climbed with "flat" and "soft" shoes (slippers). I have lately been climbing more in the gym than outside, and I have been struck by reality. Most people use aggressive downturned shoes.

Now, do you think training with shoes that are soft will make your feet "stronger"?

My approach in regards to which shoes to wear is that if I am warming up, ARC-ing, limit bouldering, I wear my slippers; on the other hand, if I am trying a project, I wear the shoes that would be more suitable for the project. I like to believe that wearing my slippers make me develop better footwork and trains my body tension as I can't use the downturned part to "hook" a foothold.

Ideas, thoughts, experiences...?

[PME]

I think it comes down to personal preference mostly, and type of climbing you are doing. If you feel like you climb best in one type of shoe then you should wear them. I have noticed Adam Ondra sometimes has weird shoe combinations and choices. Personally, my shoe choice varies greatly depending on what style of climbing I am doing.

[jessebruni]

I tend to wear softer shoes (though still downturned) for training, and stiffer shoes for performance. I do not wear flat shoes.

[jonfrisby]

I think you should match the shoe to the style of climbing at all times - so when limit bouldering, if the problem is at 30 degrees overhanging, you want a downturned shoe to make it as specific an application of technique as possible. I also think a lot of people wear bagged out shoes when arcing - that's a terrible idea because you will not train footwork nearly as you could in an appropriate shoe. For ARC, I like to wear a comfortable shoe, but only a half to one size bigger than performance. Definitely nothing baggy

[MarkAnderson]

Ya, I agree. I think it's important to wear "good" shoes whenever technique training is involved. So all the time I think it's true that soft shoes force you to push more with your toes, but I don't consider that a positive thing most of the time. I think with most people, soft shoes train them to avoid small footholds. It's possible that someone who was really focused on training foot strength could get something out of using a soft shoe and making a point to use small footholds, but most people won't be that focused.

I wear shoes appropriate to the task, like Jon said, and generally a half-size bigger than what I wear outside.

All that said, I've come to the realization that I have abnormally strong feet. Perhaps due to their stumpy, hobbit-like shape; perhaps due to a decade of trail-running; perhaps due to countless hours of ARCing in Moccasyms during my 20's.

[jessebruni]

Apr 1, 2015 8:31:03 GMT -7 MarkAnderson said:

perhaps due to countless hours of ARCing in Moccasyms during my 20's.

This right here. I used to do the same thing in my old university gym, and the only way we could set hard boulders was by using natural feet or tiny foot jibs, so footwork was of supreme importance. I have always been told by climbers at a similar level to me that I have pretty strong feet and I think this was a large component of that. Perhaps I'm biased in this regard though, I can certainly understand where Mark is coming from with his thoughts that climbing in softer shoes will make you trust your feet less. Perhaps the important things is just to be aware that if you choose to wear soft shoes there are benefits but also drawbacks and learn to know what those are.

[MarkAnderson]

Ya, I was trying to make the point that wearing soft shoes can pay dividends if you really make an effort to use small footholds. However, I think the vast majority of climbers lack the discipline to achieve this payoff, and instead they will learn to avoid weighting their feet at all costs.

[Tony Monbetsu]

I have a pair of Mad Rock Sharks that I use indoors and a pair of Mythos that I use outside. I recently retired my previous pair of Sharks, partly because the toes were getting so chewed up from my horrendous footwork dragging them all over the wall. In my new pair, stiffer and tighter, I'm struck by a few things. I really feel like they're forcing me to be careful, accurate, and precise with my footwork- kicking a hold hurts, and I don't want to tear them up the way I did the last pair. So for me, wearing these tight and aggressively downturned shoes has helped me focus more on accurate footwork, giving me feedback- both negative and positive.

They also help me to rest more by forcing me to take them off at intervals, but that's another issue.

[climber511]

I have size 13 feet and have found that I need a relatively stiffer shoe to actually end up with a similar overall stiffness compared to people who wear shoes in smaller sizes - which seems pretty intuitive when you think about the lever arm stuff going on and the generally greater bodyweight of big footed people. When I was younger and climbed much more often my feet were stronger also but I still could stand on smaller footholds more comfortably (like while placing gear) with a relatively stiffer platform.