Best All-Around Rock Climbing Shoes For Newbie Climbers
The framing is right: once you have top-roped a few times and decided you like it, shoes are the first real purchase, and the temptation is to buy the wrong ones.
For a first pair, buy a flat, neutral, moderately stiff shoe. Not downturned, not aggressively cambered. The aggressive shoes in the shop are built for steep overhanging sport routes and they are painful to stand in, which matters when you are learning to stand on small holds for long periods.
Fit, which is the whole decision:
- Snug, not agonising. Toes flat or very slightly curled, touching the end, no dead space at the heel. The old advice to size down two full sizes and suffer is out of fashion for good reason.
- Try them on late in the day, when your feet are largest, and with no socks.
- Leather stretches, synthetic does not. A leather shoe can be bought slightly tighter; a synthetic one is the size it will always be.
- Velcro over laces for a first pair, because you will take them off between climbs constantly.
What has changed since this was written: resoling became mainstream and is the single best piece of advice nobody gives beginners. A good shoe can be resoled three or four times for a fraction of the replacement cost, so buy a quality shoe and resole it before the rubber wears through to the rand. Once you hit the rand, the repair is much more expensive.
And the thing that actually improves your climbing: footwork, not footwear. A cheap well-fitting shoe and a season of deliberate practice beats an expensive shoe every time.
Part of the guide to boots, shoes and sandals.