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La Sportiva love

It is what it is. It’s a red rock.

Big boy Jim Horton topping out some secret gems out in Lower Hound Ears. Secret spots, 🤫

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Drive By crag at the Red River Gorge in Kentucky

Hey there! I totally understand the plight of the climbing shoe vs. comfort problem. My advice is to wear something comfortable but as tight as you are willing to go. My first pair fit like regular shoes where I had room for my big toE at the end of the shoe. This is a critical mistake in climbing and I will tell you why. Number 1, the primary reason that climbing shoes were designed were for you to focus all of the strength from your foot into the very tip of your big toe. The tough rubber allows all of the weight you place downward to be utilized on very tiny footholds like the ones you will be encountering at indoor gyms and especially outside on real rock. When you buy a larger, more comfortable shoe like I did, the looseness in the front of the shoe absolutely ruins the integrity of the climbing shoe’s design and you end up having to put all of your weight were we are accustomed to putting out weight, the balls of our feet. Number 2, this is extremely bad for climbing technique and also is much more strenuous on your foot, attempting to climb in shoes that were meant to be used on the toe. I completely understand wanting to be comfortable in a shoe, but climbing is a sport that requires sacrifices, hands and feet are going to be tortured minimally. The best way I would describe the perfect climbing shoes for your feet are. Find the pair that are excruciatingly painful to get your foot into. Next, up a half or a full size to maintain a tight fit, but a level of comfort you might describe as “mediocre”. The main thing to remember is that all shoes will stretch! No matter what the box says (primarily synthetic shoes say they will not stretch, but they definitely do). Another thing to remember is that as a beginner, as you learn more about different types of shoes and gear, you will be trying different shoes when you are ready to replace your first pair. Every shoe company has a different fit, and each shoe design will have a different level of comfort depending on the style of climbing you are doing. Boulderers typically go for a moderately aggressive to fully aggressive downturned toe box shoe and a variety of designs based on their foot size and width for the heel. Sport climbing tends to lean towards a more laid back, less aggressive shoe style that has a much flatter sole and is easier to wear for longer periods of time. The third type of climbing shoe is for anyone who likes them, but the most comfortable pairs of shoes are typically rugged and durable and trad climbers love to wear these because they have versatility and comfort unlike the thin rubber made for sport and bouldering climbs where people are on and off routes/problems within 30 - 40 minutes. Trad climbers typically climb anywhere from an hour to 8 hour days scaling multi-pitch climbs and can’t be squeezing their feet into tiny shoes that begin to throb after 15 minutes on in one session. All this info might be a little overwhelming, but remember that your peers will have great information about their first experiences with climbing shoes and will give you some recommendations that will hopefully fit your abilities and style. If it’s possible, check out a shoe demo! You will hit the jackpot if one of these is in your area. They come around a lot of gyms and are always advertising these to get people like you affiliated with their shoes! They will basically bring 40 to 50 pairs of each shoe their company makes and lets anyone try them on and climb in them as well as offer advice on which pair will suit your style of climbing. I love shoe demos and have had my fair share of learning exactly what shoes I like and dislike from these events. If shoe demos aren’t nearby in your area, go to the local shop that sells climbing shoes (REI sells shoes if you dont have a local shop) and ask for some advice! My last bit of advice is DEFINITELY go with a popular shoe first. Get yourself acquainted with some of the name brands and the shoes that you see most often in your gym/crag. They are typically the ones that have great fit and remarkable life. 

Osiris boulder

Osiris (v10)

Down Payment (v9)

The Mechanic (v7)

Alex Thompson on Pocket Pool, a classic v4 at Stonefort!

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Craggin’ Wagon