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Description
Climbing shoes give you added grip on the wall and offer a significant advantage by way of both performance and durability over traditional shoes. Climbing shoes are intended to fit snuggly, almost uncomfortably so, because it provides grip, leverage and support when standing on small holds. Though they may not be fun to wear, it would be next to impossible to climb anything without them.
How to choose
The fit of your climbing shoe will mean the difference between a long day at the crag enjoying yourself, and a miserable, painful experience fraught with bunions and blisters. Climbing shoes should be fit snugly, with your toes flat or slightly bent at the knuckles in order to achieve a higher level of power and performance as you stand on and push off of the smallest micro-edges. The heel pocket should also fit snugly and conform to your heel, as the rand that wraps around the heel should be pushing your toes forward into the toe box for that extra power and control. To know how to get your shoes to fit “just right” depends on the materials and construction of the shoe as well as the shape of your foot.
Use this handy conversion table to learn where to start.
Tips & Tricks:
- Don’t be wed to your street size; use it as a starting point. Oftentimes you will find that your street size may be too big for a proper-fitting climbing shoe.
- Avoid having any extra space at all in front of your toes, it will greatly reduce the rigidity of the toe box and hinder your ability to stay on footholds.
- Climbing shoes, by and large, are sized using European shoe sizes. This allows for a truly dialed-in fit.