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acherry
Mar 31, 2009, 4:33 AM
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I'm looking for a crack shoe that doesn't suck. I've been moving more and more into trad and specifically on cracks from previously doing more sport-esque face type routes. The least aggressive pair of shoes I currently have are terrible in cracks - montrails that don't quite let my toes go flat.
So anyone out there have any experience-based advice for how either the Scarpa Techno or the Sportiva Nago perform in crack (Think, like , 0.75 C4 sized crack) ? And/or how the two compare?
Thanks ladies.
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carabiner96
Mar 31, 2009, 12:50 PM
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The nagos are not going to be as stiff, they're also going to a little wider and the whole shoe will be softer from sole to uppers.
I'm a little biased because I have the techos and they fit like a dream and love to be cranked into cracks...like, I can rail on these things and my feet still feel peachey. The lacing system is also more advanced compared to the nagos.
Also, my impression of the nagos is that they're more of an intro/gym shoe? Could be wrong, but solid crack shoe does not come to mind when i think of the nagos.
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acherry
Mar 31, 2009, 1:58 PM
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That is exactly my impression based on trying them on. Was hoping someone would tell me the cheaper ones worked great for crack.
How's the rubber on the Technos?
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clee03m
Mar 31, 2009, 3:53 PM
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I have not tried a lot of crack shoes, but I'll give you my opinion. So take it with a grain of salt.
I like 5'10 gambit. Rand is wider, so it doesn't hurt as much when you jam. Rubber is soft enough you can do friction climb, but aggressive enough to edge. But compared to my aggressive sport shoes, I do feel my feet sliding a little, which freaks me out sometimes. I think Onyxx (?) rubber on them is nice.
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tigerlilly
Mar 31, 2009, 4:38 PM
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acherry wrote: How's the rubber on the Technos?
It's Vibram XS Grip, same as a lot of LaSportivas, if you're familiar with that.
Kathy
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acherry
Mar 31, 2009, 5:03 PM
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Cool. I'd take 5.10 or Evolv rubber over Sportiva - but I have also had good luck with Sportiva rubber in the past.
Re: Gambit... I have fairly narrow feet - so I generally don't find 5.10s to fit me very well.
What I really like about both the techno and the nago is that they have an actual flat toes fit. I don't believe any of the 5.10 shoes are really designed like that, no?
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clee03m
Mar 31, 2009, 5:07 PM
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My feet are fairly wide. Wide enough to comfortably fit into men's shoes. Gambit may not be a good fit for you.
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tigerlilly
Mar 31, 2009, 5:10 PM
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I have very narrow feet, tried on the women's Gambits and found them baggy around the toes. 5-10 hasn't made a shoe yet that I can wear. The women's Technos cinch up nice and snug on narrow feet. They are straight-lasted, as opposed to slightly asymetric for the Nagos, if that makes any difference to you.
Kathy
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acherry
Mar 31, 2009, 5:12 PM
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Ok, so I think I'm convinced on the Scarpa Techno. Thanks for your help everyone.
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lvpyne
Mar 31, 2009, 9:04 PM
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I'll throw in Mythos as another option for a good crack climbing shoe. You didn't list them as one of your options, so I'm not sure if you've tried them and hate them, but I crack climb a lot and I really like my Mythos.
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acherry
Mar 31, 2009, 9:24 PM
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I have two issues with the mythos:
1) the laces come so much closer to the end of the shoe that I'm worried I'll trash them really easily.
2) the rand is less stiff than I think I want for learning to get better at crack climbing.
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lvpyne
Mar 31, 2009, 9:31 PM
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acherry wrote: 1) the laces come so much closer to the end of the shoe that I'm worried I'll trash them really easily.
I haven't ever had a problem with the laces getting worn, even after wearing them for several weeks straight at Indian Creek. A friend of mine, however, was concerned about lace wear on his Mythos and put tape over the tips...not sure if that ever helped him...
acherry wrote: 2) the rand is less stiff than I think I want for learning to get better at crack climbing.
Everything with shoes is personal preference -- you'll find some folks that love one kind of shoe and others that despise the same type.  Good luck!
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carabiner96
Mar 31, 2009, 9:40 PM
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I've come to a personal conclusion that the mythos are the most over rated, over hyped shoe ever. Someone earlier mentioned that the la sport rubber is crappy, and it seems to be especially so on the mythos. I've given them 2 tries (once purple once green)...not impressed.
Acherry...if the technos will fit your foot, they're the most fab shoe I've ever had. Get two pairs....I pretty much wear one while the other one is getting resoled. Ok, its a bit of an exaggeration, but I love them that much. They're the only shoe I've ever gotten twice.
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acherry
Mar 31, 2009, 9:48 PM
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Sigh.. if only I had the $ to get two pairs at once! I'd be much less conflicted. I'd by both! Yup, I'm a shoe whore. For sure.
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tavs
Mar 31, 2009, 10:34 PM
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Best crack climbing shoe ever: 5.10 Mocs. If you can fit them (and admittedly, I also have a wide foot, so 5.10 shoes are always fine for me), they rock. Cruise around Indian Creek and you'll see probably 75% of folks wearing them. Lots of people reinforce the leather upper with shoe goo type stuff and they'll last for a while. Plus, relatively cheap.
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acherry
Apr 1, 2009, 12:19 AM
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I sooo wish 5.10 would make a women's version - slightly lower volume, and lower ankle cut. So, as you can guess, yeah, they don't fit me either.
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clausti
Apr 1, 2009, 1:22 PM
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acherry wrote: Sigh.. if only I had the $ to get two pairs at once! I'd be much less conflicted. I'd by both! Yup, I'm a shoe whore. For sure.
I hear they're having a sale on mythos over in the classifieds section
I'll be down at the New this weekend, if anyone wants them.
(This post was edited by clausti on Apr 1, 2009, 1:22 PM)
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caliclimbergrl
Apr 1, 2009, 10:59 PM
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I have really narrow feet too, so I'll give my opinion for what it's worth.
I've never worn the Nago climbing so I can't give you any feedback about it, but I didn't like the way it fit when I tried it on.
I have the Technos and I really really like them for crack climbing. I also think they edge well which can be important depending where you climb. When doing finger cracks, a small ledge here or there for a foot can really help on a climb and shoes that edge well help a lot on that.
But I have to say, my favorite shoes for cracks are still mythos. I LOVE my mythos and wear still wear them most of the time for cracks. The Techno is supposed to be Scarpa's version of the mythos and I think they're really similar. I think the mythos are a bit more comfortable though and while the Techno edges better, I think mythos smear better.
It's funny, I actually bought the Technos for thin cracks since they have such a low profile in the toe. But I think mythos actually work better for thin cracks -- they're softer so they mush into the cracks and stick. The techno is a good shoe too though -- they're my second favorite. :)
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iamthewallress
Apr 2, 2009, 3:35 AM
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The Scarpas look and feel nice, but I wouldn't buy them b/c the integral rand/sole = complicated or impossible (and very costly if possible) to resole unless someone knows someone who specializes in them.
I wear girl Mythos for all day/wider cracks and Mocs for thinner. A little loose and "sloppy" for other disciplines can be good in thinner cracks. Lacing to the toe = a better fit for me. I just buy lots of laces. It's cheaper in the long run b/c Mythos last forever (with resoles) in my experience.
(This post was edited by iamthewallress on Apr 2, 2009, 3:39 AM)
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petsfed
Apr 3, 2009, 3:12 AM
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iamthewallress wrote: The Scarpas look and feel nice, but I wouldn't buy them b/c the integral rand/sole = complicated or impossible (and very costly if possible) to resole unless someone knows someone who specializes in them. I wear girl Mythos for all day/wider cracks and Mocs for thinner. A little loose and "sloppy" for other disciplines can be good in thinner cracks. Lacing to the toe = a better fit for me. I just buy lots of laces. It's cheaper in the long run b/c Mythos last forever (with resoles) in my experience.
The problem is that it takes forever to relace a pair of mythos.
I've had good luck with Acopas, and my preferred all-around shoes are my Katanas. But then, I climb wide, flaring, granite cracks a lot, so that might figure in.
As far as rubber goes, your first priority should be to ensure a good fit. The best rubber in the world will not correct for a lousy fit, and lousy fit has a much greater impact on performance than rubber.
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iamthewallress
Apr 3, 2009, 4:09 AM
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petsfed wrote: iamthewallress wrote: The Scarpas look and feel nice, but I wouldn't buy them b/c the integral rand/sole = complicated or impossible (and very costly if possible) to resole unless someone knows someone who specializes in them. I wear girl Mythos for all day/wider cracks and Mocs for thinner. A little loose and "sloppy" for other disciplines can be good in thinner cracks. Lacing to the toe = a better fit for me. I just buy lots of laces. It's cheaper in the long run b/c Mythos last forever (with resoles) in my experience. The problem is that it takes forever to relace a pair of mythos. I've had good luck with Acopas, and my preferred all-around shoes are my Katanas. But then, I climb wide, flaring, granite cracks a lot, so that might figure in. As far as rubber goes, your first priority should be to ensure a good fit. The best rubber in the world will not correct for a lousy fit, and lousy fit has a much greater impact on performance than rubber.
W/ a pair of tweezers a relace is no problem. My resoler does new laces when I send them in too. I rarely saw through my laces on granite...only sandstone.
My point about fit is that a looser fit = a good fit for thin cracks. It might seem sloppy on face or in the store, but you'll get more rand in the crack on a 1-incher.
I'll send rubber that I don't like to the resoler out of the box. (Mythos...ahem.)
You wear katanas in wide cracks? They are so downturned that your toes must scream. I wear those in the gym and like them there, but prefer flat toes for foot-barring.
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petsfed
Apr 3, 2009, 3:06 PM
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iamthewallress wrote: petsfed wrote: iamthewallress wrote: The Scarpas look and feel nice, but I wouldn't buy them b/c the integral rand/sole = complicated or impossible (and very costly if possible) to resole unless someone knows someone who specializes in them. I wear girl Mythos for all day/wider cracks and Mocs for thinner. A little loose and "sloppy" for other disciplines can be good in thinner cracks. Lacing to the toe = a better fit for me. I just buy lots of laces. It's cheaper in the long run b/c Mythos last forever (with resoles) in my experience. The problem is that it takes forever to relace a pair of mythos. I've had good luck with Acopas, and my preferred all-around shoes are my Katanas. But then, I climb wide, flaring, granite cracks a lot, so that might figure in. As far as rubber goes, your first priority should be to ensure a good fit. The best rubber in the world will not correct for a lousy fit, and lousy fit has a much greater impact on performance than rubber. W/ a pair of tweezers a relace is no problem. My resoler does new laces when I send them in too. I rarely saw through my laces on granite...only sandstone. My point about fit is that a looser fit = a good fit for thin cracks. It might seem sloppy on face or in the store, but you'll get more rand in the crack on a 1-incher. I'll send rubber that I don't like to the resoler out of the box. (Mythos...ahem.) You wear katanas in wide cracks? They are so downturned that your toes must scream. I wear those in the gym and like them there, but prefer flat toes for foot-barring.
My forefoot is the exact shape of the katanas. There is zero slop, but my toes aren't curled. When they fit like that, the Katanas are simply amazing from fingers to off-fists. I still break out the JBs for sustained offwidth, but the katanas climb everything else, because I'm fortunate enough to have just the right foot shape to make them work.
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acherry
Apr 3, 2009, 3:54 PM
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iamthewallress wrote: The Scarpas look and feel nice, but I wouldn't buy them b/c the integral rand/sole = complicated or impossible (and very costly if possible) to resole unless someone knows someone who specializes in them.
I've tried the Technos on twice and I have to say I didn't notice anything out-of-the-ordinary about the sole/rand. Would you have a link to lit online that discusses this issue. I'd be very interested to read about it. You'll have to forgive me for not immediately taking your word for it. :)
petsfed wrote: My forefoot is the exact shape of the katanas. There is zero slop, but my toes aren't curled. When they fit like that, the Katanas are simply amazing from fingers to off-fists. I still break out the JBs for sustained offwidth, but the katanas climb everything else, because I'm fortunate enough to have just the right foot shape to make them work.
I can actually imagine what you mean. I've got a narrow foot overall, but my forefoot is much wider than my heal. I could see how the Katanas about a full size up would work reasonably well. I've found that once they're broken in they really aren't very down-turned.
(This post was edited by acherry on Apr 3, 2009, 3:56 PM)
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carabiner96
Apr 3, 2009, 5:14 PM
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Fwiw, i just got my technos resoled at the plattsburg place for $30.
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iamthewallress
Apr 3, 2009, 5:25 PM
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Look at the heal. The sole = the rand.
Price resoles vs. resoles w/ rand replacement and also consider the difficulty of devising the integral version in a garage resole shop, and you'll see why I was concerned about resoling these.
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