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arete2
Apr 2, 2002, 8:47 PM
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I am thinking about getting a new pair of shoes, and I know that lots of people get their shoes sized really small, like my partner he has small shoes that work great for climbing but he can not stand wearing them for more than 3 minutes. So my question is, is it worth having small shoes that work great but hurt like crazy?
Arete
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dustinap
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Apr 2, 2002, 9:56 PM
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I have two pairs of shoes I often wear. One is a very comfy pair of mythos, the other is a very tight, as in I have to pull them off while being lowered, pair of cobras. They both work great. I feel more confident in my cobras because I can feel what is going on. As far as my climbing ability goes, I can pull hard in both of them, but I can pull ONE letter grade harder in my cobras. Worth the pain huh?
I'd suggest refering to the one million other shoe sizing threads on this site, and also if you're new getting a more technical pair of shoes so you can feel what is going on and learn to trust your feet. Remeber, some shoes such as Muiras for example NEED to be sized tightly however.
BTW, I just checked your profile, if you can hangdog up a 5.12B, you should know how to size your shoes. It's always funny, I'm 15, up until about a month ago when I'd go to buy a new pair of shoes, my mom would ask the people at the place how tightly they should fit and so on.
[ This Message was edited by: dustinap on 2002-04-02 13:58 ]
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hardcoredana
Apr 2, 2002, 10:36 PM
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Yes, and no.
Most climbing shoes, especially shoes that are unlined and made of leather (read: not lined, sythetic shoes), will stretch about a 1/2 to whole size larger with repeated wear. If you are buying a pair of leather shoes, you will want to buy a pair that is just a little too tight, so that when they do stretch out, they fit perfectly.
The trick is to know how small is too small. I made the mistake of buying a pair of shoes that are too small, and now that they have stopped stretching, they are too tight. I still climb in them (but I have formed some pretty ugly callouses on my toes as a result).
You also want to consider for what purpose you will be using the shoes. If you are looking for a pair of bouldering shoes, by all means, buy a smaller pair. You won't have them on your feet for a long time, so you will be able to withstand a little more tightness. If you are looking for a pair of all day trad shoes, go with a bigger pair. You wore my most comfortable pair of shoes a pair of 5.10 Diamonds, size 37, (whereas my sport/bouldering shoes are 35.5) for 8 hours in a row once, and my feet were in a lot of pain the next day.
DustinAP gives good advice: consider getting more than one pair of shoes, a pair for each of the different types of climbing you will be doing. And also take a look around at the other threads on shoes or try to search all the forums for threads relating to shoes.
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miagi
Apr 2, 2002, 11:49 PM
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For slippers, you should get them tight. But you dont want them too tight. You shouldnt have any real pain when wearing them. They should be tight but not constricting. You need them to be a little uncomfortable but not painful. Its hard to describe. For laced shoes you dont need them as tight as slippers. You just need the shoes tight enough so you can edge well.
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radistrad
Apr 2, 2002, 11:58 PM
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I say buy 'em so they fit well enough so you can wear them all day.
I buy mine about a 1/2 size small.
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tavs
Apr 3, 2002, 2:24 PM
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Not as simple as laced versus slippers. As someone above mentioned, the Muiras (laced) should be sized pretty tight to get the benefits of the shoe design (that is, if they're too big, you'll get some "slop" in the toe box and won't get the best down toe ability of the shoe), but I've found that Anasazi velcroes are designed in such a way that I don't need to downsize as much to get a good fit and the great edging power of the shoe. It really varies by shoe--some need to be tight or you might as well not get them, others are great when more comfortable. Try each shoe, in different (comfortable, tight, super-tight) sizings to see what works for you...that's the best advice I can give.
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dupree
Apr 3, 2002, 3:10 PM
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Beware the stretch factor: I sized my Moccasyms just a half-size below my street shoe size, which meant they were pretty uncomfortable at first, but they've already stretched through the comfort zone and into feeling a bit sloppy...it's hard to guesstimate the stretch, I guess.
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lostangel
Apr 3, 2002, 3:26 PM
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In my opinion yes!!!!! because they are gonna streach and your shoes are vital!
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theamish
Apr 3, 2002, 3:47 PM
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I had a shoe maker explain to me that it is impossible for a shoe to be stretched lenght wise, they only stretch side to side. If he is correct you may want to keep that in mind. Years ago I was watching a guy who was nailing a 5.13+ (way beyond me) and he made the statement "buy shoes that don't hurt because all you will concentrate on is the pain rather than the climb". This advice has worked well for me ...... one last thing, no 2 shoes fit the same so your question doesn't have a simple answer. Do what works best for you.
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fo_d
Apr 4, 2002, 2:10 AM
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I jsut bought a pair of 5.10 x-ray's on line, one size below my street shoes. YEOOOW! man my right foot is screaming, I climbed in them for the 1st time today and they worked well but the pain made it more dificult to put my weight on my right toe's. fortunatly these are unlined shoes and will stretch, but if these shoes were to stay the same size and not stretch, there is no way I could climb regularly with that pain. so for me, no its not worth it, I dont mind a little discomfort but thats about it. My LaSpotiva muria's hurt at 1st but now they are down to mild discomfort.
Les
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