Best indoor climbing shoes reddit I was told by a shoe guide in a climbing store that you should try on as many shoes as you can to find the best fit; it does not matter what they look like, as long as they are Nov 30, 2022 · The La Sportiva Theory is a purpose-made climbing shoe for hard indoor bouldering and competition climbing. They hurt my feet less than any climbing shoe ive tried. Like every climbing shoe, the right one for you ultimately comes down to how well the shoe fits your foot and how well-suited it is to the climbing terrain. In the 80's people were in tennis shoes climbing harder than most of us ever will using anything. Outsole Rubber / Thickness: NEO Fuse 4mm First off the reason these shoes were priced very low is because the manufacturer made a sizing mistake with them and they are approximately full size smaller than what a pair of climbing shoes of the same size would be. Edit: I retire outdoor shoes to use as indoor shoes. “camber”). I myself have been climbing for a bit more than half a year and have been using La sportiva Zenits which has been enough for me (climbing up to V5, projecting V6), although I do not have anything really to compare to so would love some input on what to recommend! Nowadays, gym culture has taken over and some people seem to have narrowed it down to different types of gym climbing, or indoor/outdoor sport climbing and bouldering. One thing to consider is that if you are specifically looking for a training shoe don’t write off soft shoes. Key characteristics of indoor climbing shoes include; Apr 16, 2025 · Fortunately, several shoes meet these basic criteria, so the choice comes down to finding the model that is the best fit for your foot and best suits your climbing goals. You'll want your first pair to be snug, maybe a little uncomfortable, but not painful. As an all rounder I personally love soft rubber with a stiffer mid sole, it sticks to tiny foot holds and smears but still allows me to generate power through my feet. I think converse or 'tennis shoe' style trainers with quite stiff soles and firm edges seem to be the best 'normal' shoe for climbing. Thank you! These are the only shoes I’ve owned since I’m still new to climbing, but absolutely love them. Generally, the more advanced or high performance a climbing shoe, the more aggressive its downturn. I bought the La Sportiva Tarantulace. Feb 19, 2021 · A climbing shoe’s “shape” refers to its degree of down-turn (aka. It’s getting too cold for outdoor climbing here so I will probably get indoor shoes now and outdoor shoes later. Soft shoes are probably your best bet for the gym. I started climbing about a month ago, enjoyed it instantly and am now looking to buy my first pair of shoes, mainly looking for an all-rounder as I still need to learn a lot of technique. Dont worry about what other people say about a certain shoe; if your comfortable and feel like you can climb for a couple hours or so in them, then they are the ones. I'm very indecisive, so it takes me 6 months and I start looking for new shoes as I buy a pair lol. This is how much of a downturned toe the climbing shoe has: it angles the foot into a sharp arch, with the toe box curling downward. When I don't wear socks, I always, at some point, get sweaty feet and feel some slippage (even in my very uncomfortably tight backups). They're pretty broken in, now, and I don't have any pain from the shoes. it has nice padding and easy slider adjust. The Comp does away with the 3D heel and opts for a more sensitive design instead. When I bought them I got the same size as my prior pair, the Vapors, because the Vapors were painful for 2 years. Fitting your climbing shoes for comfort is like buying a car because you like the driver’s seat. 4M subscribers in the climbing community. 691 votes, 162 comments. And yes we are scared of falling. There is no beginner shoe. More info provided below :) Hey guys, I am currently looking to update my La Sportiva Mythos (been climbing through three pairs in the past few years). I've had my evolv phantoms 3 months into climbing and I for sure will never climb Daniel's v17. I’ve gone through dozens of shoes doing everything from alpine routes to V11 boulders, and would be fine with a pair of moderately broken-in Katana Velcros But otherwise - a decent workhorse shoe indoor and outdoor. So glad it is coming back, mine are getting haggard. This makes the forefoot more flexible, making the Comp better suited to the more dynamic style of indoor climbing. It'll happen some day, just hasn't yet. You need to try the shoes on or know what type of feet the manufacturer makes shoes for. The home of Climbing on reddit. The five shoes I will share with you on this page are some of the best climbing shoes for intermediate climbers available in 2023, all of which are Have a friend that is getting hooked on bouldering so he is contemplating some shoes to avoid them sweaty rentals. Comfort is not king. 10 Asym's. My first shoes were the Scarpa Origin, followed by the Evolv Kira, which I both loved dearly. Outdoor they were a little too soft for anything but easier roofs and slabs. Nov 17, 2023 · Here, we’ve compiled ten of our favorite bouldering shoes—and a list of ten things to think about when buying climbing shoes. With a single velcro strap and slipper-like comfort, it’s incredibly sensitive but offers surprising edging ability thanks to La Sportiva’s P3 tensioned rand system and No-Edge sole technology. Edit: Talked to a dude at the gym, tried on several different pairs of shoes before finally getting a pair of 5. Hello, I absolutely love my Katana Laces to sport climbing outdoors, but every time I’m climbing indoor in the gym (either lead climbing or steep wall circuits) I feel bad as I’m aware I’m probably ruining the edge of my shoes (and I’m also aware they’re unnecessarily rigid for the gym). But honestly, for 90% of climbing, the best shoe is the one you like. I spend most of my time sport climbing indoor, maybe around a 70/30 split of the time, where I engage in bouldering more often than top/lead climbing. I'm looking to buy a good pair of climbing shoes for beginners! Here's all the information that may (or may not) be helpful: I've been climbing for 4 weeks and am climbing 5. If you have climbing shoes by La Sportiva, Five Ten, Evolv, or Scarpa, I would love to know how their sizing compares to your regular street shoe. They're kind of shaped for Greek feet - as in the point is more midfoot than most climbing shoes. Would you recommend climbing shoes from decathlon bc I’ve been reading reviews that rentals are much better. May 4, 2021 · The Scarpa Vapor V women’s climbing shoe is not just one of the best women’s gym climbing shoes but perhaps one of the best climbing shoes period. My friend climbs v2 in Dragos because she somehow managed to stumble on them for $50 and thinks they’re comfy. I was wearing Millet Easy-Ups prior. I'm a newbie to indoor climbing and was wondering what clothes would be best to wear for mobility purposes. I don't want to purchase online as I want to nail the size perfectly. Nov 10, 2023 · Bouldering Indoors? La Sportiva released the Solution Comp in 2020. Section divider Ten Things You Need to Know About Climbing Shoes 1. Only thing I'd recommend to you as opposed to an actual beginner is to lean towards softer shoes if possible, since this will make overhangs more doable. Since you plan to climb only indoor you could even consider trying something softer (especially if you are a lighter climber). I prefer top-rope over bouldering and currently am not planning to ever climb outdoors. Hey everyone, I was thinking of purchasing my first pair of climbings shoes but was wondering how the sizing compares to my regular street shoes. And example of this is I have bought many climbing shoes and always go for size 41 European or around 8 1/2 American. They're saving them for the high grade, steep routes where their advantage is clear. But usually flat and stiff shoes are only good on vertical and slabby terrain where you stand on small footholds or if you need the support for long climbing. Maybe not quite what you’re after, but the best two shoes I’ve found that respect your feet are the: Scarps Men’s Veloce: it has a wider toe box that most climbing shoes, although it’s by no means wide compared to most shoes Scarpa Furia Air: extremely light weight and very thin and flexible A subreddit for the indoor bouldering community. I have been through various types of climbing shoes. From advice on which gym to visit to videos of world cup IFSC climbers, you can find it all here. Help ya girl out. A good climber can send a stout 5. The La Sportiva Cobra could be one of the finest indoor shoes I have worn. com This is because im softer shoes the structure and the sustain of the shoe is given for the majority by the feet constricted in it, while on stiffer models the sustain is given by the feet but also by the shoe rigidity. This might be super obvious but I'm a bit clueless and don't want to rock up in something impractical if that makes sense. Sizing is very important for climbing shoes. Outdoor climbing is more important to me, and is more stylistically varied, than indoor climbing, so I have a few pairs of shoes for different disciplines outdoors (crack, long multipitch, sport), plus a cheap pair of beater shoes for indoor climbing. Was pretty close to quitting with other shoes. Posted by u/357-Magnum-CCW - 3 votes and 9 comments gym: Furia air 40 - got it for 60$ best training shoe there is, but heel is shit Mad Rock CS 41 - super tight good on hard slab outdoors actaully, and like it on hard gym routes Unparalleled Regulus 41. It's a preference, comfort, and pairing with you as a climber. My first ones were the scarpa origin, which were quite comfortable. My max grade is V7, but I’m usually climbing V5 and projecting V6, so I know a good edging shoe would be beneficial, but it feels like a flat shoe is better for volumes and vertical terrain. I know they’re a beginner shoe. Any thoughts or specific shoes you like for indoor slab/vertical boulders? Its a preference thing. For context, I'm a 23-year-old male. Find which shoes do that and go try them on. That may not work for you, it doesn't for me. I've had the Scarpa Velocity climbing shoes in the beginning in the size 37,5 (my regular shoe size is 36,5 to 37) and even though they are a size/half a size bigger than my regular shoes, I still experience horrible pain in my big toe (the toe seems to curl up in the shoe and since I'm alpine climbing, when there comes a part, where I need to Need shoes, been doing a good amount of bouldering and indoor climbing. With a wide selection of high-end climbing shoes, POIZON connects buyers and sellers, ensuring you get authenticated products that meet your climbing needs. (My sneaker shoe size is 10 btw. See full list on climbinghouse. They will force you to use your toes more which will help your technique long term. Not much bouldering, mainly sport climbing, narrow and flat feet overall, second toe is barely longer than big toe the scarpa vapor v is a fantastic shoe for intermediate climbing! if you wanted to go the la sportiva route you could try the kubos, i’ve never worn either of them but i have friends who have and loved the shoes— if you’re looking for more aggressive shoes and you’re primarily gym climbing la sportiva has the theories which are an I am about to replace my beginner climbing shoes as it was a hand-me-down (albeit it was a decent fit at that point of time) and its starting to feel loose. Softer shoes will conform to those big plastic holds and smear on the sandpaper-textured wall with ease. As his feet grew out of them, the shoes were entered in the big eternal vortex of used kids’ climbing shoes, and we fished out bigger ones without a major price difference. Indoors there are no small footholds and no long climbs most climbing you will do is either steep or on volumes so soft and downturned. May 27, 2025 · Best Climbing Shoes at a Glance. Very comfortable and I actually feel secure on the smaller holds vs the rental shoes I was using before. Beginner shoes and cheap, durable all-round shoes are the same thing. But when the origins can’t be resoles anymore, I’ll surely pick up the tarantulas to fill the gap. 11 in almost any shoe laceup, velcro, slip on, rubber all hardly matter. Decide what kind of shoes you want (lace, supportive, hard rubber for edging, for example). Nothing wrong with getting a higher performance shoe if you find it on sale. ). Hello - new to indoor climbing here. If not, are there any physical stores I can visit bc I cant risk buying online. Oct 23, 2024 · Tuff is a tricky sort of rock, and climbing it involves alternately toeing into pockets (something the pointy-toed Ondra Comp is great at) and smedging on grape-like bubbles; soft shoes (like Scarpa’s Veloce Lace) tend to feel too unsupportive for me on these bubbles, but stiffer shoes (like La Sportiva’s Miura VS) don’t mold around the Jan 11, 2022 · Reddit & other climbing forum testimonials; 12. The local climbing FB groups (and FB marketplace in general) work great for this kind of swap. I am climbing pretty consistently V4 on the slab and V3 (super close on a lot of V4) on the over Get the Reddit app Scan this QR code to download the app now Indoor Bouldering Shoes Recommendation v6-v7 Question Halloween Climbing Competition Tape Job Was The worst possible shoes you can wear are super comfy running shoes. Outdoor climbing will be on quartzite, limestone, sandstone, granite. IE, get whatever "beginner shoe" is most comfortable. My local climbing store only seems to stock a lot of butora and scarpa. Best Outdoor All-Rounder: Scarpa Arpia V ($169) Best Sport/Mixed Shoe: Unparallel Qubit ($186) Best Bouldering Shoe: Scarpa Drago XT ($229) Best for Beginners: Butora Rubicon ($150) Best Shoe for Steep Routes: La Sportiva Mandala ($209) Best Training Shoe: Scarpa Veloce L ($175) Best Pure Slipper: La Sportiva Lastly, try on the shoe before buying it or buy it from an online retailer with free returns. for a good pair of starter shoes I would recommend the LA sportiva tarantulace (90 bucks), they fit comfortably and break in easy they have laces which I liked because if felt more secure… beefy toe pads and good heal pad all around solid shoe Seconding these as a beginner/intermediate. Some classic intermediate shoes are Kubo, Veloce, and Finales. This shoe has it all – precision, versititly, wide appeal and a winning marriage of comfortable fit with steep climbing performance. It’s softer than Arpia and has a better range of attributes specific to indoor climbing, but loses that edge on smaller footholds that you will find on rock that the Arpia will be more capable of handling. Yes aggressive shoes perform better on overhung and a stiff toe is better for tiny footholds while soft rubber is better on volumes but you can climb anything in anything. Butora Acro Comp: Best Shoes for Indoor Competition Climbing. Just wondering what the best shoes to get are. For harness I used the black diamond momentum… got it at REI for 64 bucks. 5 - bought for 60$ it was good then bagged out just a nice ok climbing shoe Hi there, I'm sorry if this has been asked somewhere on here before. Obviously can’t compare them to other beginner shoes, but these definitely suit me in indoor bouldering and top rope climbing. The first day I went climbing, I fell in love with it, got my gym pass and ran to REI to get my own shoes. Then, I got a more performant shoes for outdoor climbing: the scarpa Vapor, and then used my origin only for training. I have flat and rather narrow low-volume feet. When people talk this shoe is > than that for X its almost entirely preference. I've been into indoor bouldering for around a year, and have owned my own pair of shoes (edit: Evolv Defy, classic entry level shoes) for perhaps 8 months or so, which have been used 2-3 times a week, and the rubber has now receded around the big toes, such that judging by other threads on here and elsewhere talking about resoling it looks like I love wearing socks when climbing unless I'm wearing my backup pair of shoes which are too tight for socks. Anything related to indoor (and outdoor) goes. All of that background to say If you had to recommend 1 shoe, you used every climbing session (2-4 times a week for me) for indoor bouldering what would it be? I have the same shoes as you and they're actually the first pair of climbing shoes that have fit me really well from day 1. Nov 16, 2023 · This is the preferred style for indoor shoes because gym climbing is significantly more dynamic and three-dimensional than traditional outdoor rock climbing. These have big soft flexible soles so unless you can pretty much get your whole foot on the hold they'll just bend and slide off. Either way, I agree. I bought the cheapest ones just in case I wasn’t going to stick it. Facts. I know evolvs fit my feet so I stick with their phantoms for downturned aggressive shoes and their Kronos when I need a softer shoe. Different styles of climbing lends itself to different shoe types, having a few pairs in the quiver is never a bad thing. 8s. They won't all fit you, so just go for the ones where you put your foot in and you go "WOW that's comfy". At the beginning, I used them for everything, from training indoors to climbing outdoors. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Don’t go toooo tight! You want your toes curled but not in agony. Nov 11, 2023 · The Best Intermediate Climbing Shoes. TLDR: I am looking for intermediate but comfortable climbing shoes for indoor climbing with slight/medium downturn and low/medium pre-tensioning. 1. I had scarpa helixes I returned. The wide toe box saved my interest in the hobby. Those are the shoes I use if I really need a tight heel. (1) Comfy (2) Good for climbing easy stuff (3) Good for climbing hard stuff (4) Not too aggressive but not too flat (shoe’s curve) (5) You never need another shoe Reply reply throwaway70357 Noting that some people that buy very expensive, very sensitive and soft climbing shoes to climb indoors potentially own more than 1 pair - and they aren't using these pricey shoes for every send. My normal shoe size is 13 in US sizes and I got a size 13 pair of Defys. I have all three of these so it’s all personal opinion - in the end I only really use the Scarpa ones and only outdoors - I have other shoes for warmup and such at the gym. If you're looking for the best indoor climbing shoes, Reddit users have shared their top picks for 2025, and POIZON is the perfect platform to find them. You could also try women's skwamas if you've been wearing the men's shoes, they're wide and the heel is narrower. Additionally if you go outside and have some stiffer shoes it will feel like they are giving you a boost because you won’t have to work as hard to Look at beginner shoe options with a high volume / mens fit and try them to see which fits your foot the best. We tested crack climbing performance on various crags across the country, including Idaho's City of Rocks, Utah's Indian Creek, and the hallowed walls of Yosemite Valley. Also, the best shoes are going to be the slones that fit your foot, so don't be afraid to try all the shoes you can find at your local climbing gym/shop! They should be snug, but it shouldn't hurt to wear them. Indoors the foot chips are big enough so that stiffness matters little. Pretty much the only shoe that fit semi-comfortably, due to my wide, flat Hobbit-esque feet. As for rope climbing, my home gym is bouldering only, so I just don't have a lot of access, but I do indoor rope climb maybe once a year. rpygi etpjfr xjjn acanvi mwsysco yuwj rvty uavnu tpk bnxzs