UKH

I'm addicted to crack. My only problem is my Tenaya Masai are no good for foot jams as the techy shape make them hurt like mad, Millstone was a pain fest. I'm finding laced shoes don't work well in cracks so I wondered what the collective would recommend? I'm guessing soft, velcro with a fair bit of rubber on the top side?

Unparallel Up Rise Pro - Tom & Pete helped with it! They are mega stiff so you can torque without crushing your toes to much, I love mine. Mega good on edges as well.

youtube.com/watch?v=xe5wlV4jUpQ&

back in the day when I did a lot of cracks in squamish and yosemite the sportiva mythos were terrific. Buy tight as they stretch. They don't try and bend your big toe so it stays narrow to fit into cracks 

Ye these!

They do soften nicely though 

Mine are only starting to soften, they are a bit like the old blancos in that respect and I can smear in them a bit now. Your feet should fit them ok if you wear the masai as well 👍

For the pegged cracks at Millstone (at least the embankment-style E1s) you need something with a good point on the toe. I used to use the Vapor Lace (before they died) and bought the Mago to replace them. Something like the Katana lace would work as well. For larger cracks when you're getting your foot in, it's probably better to get something right stiff like a TC Pro or the new Scarpa thing Rob just reviewed to stop the foot-crush. 

I thought the Masai we're quite stiff but they kill me in the cracks and the laces slip on the rock. I used to have a pair of Katanas but they got stolen.

 I'll check out the suggestions thanks.

Now that's pretty much what I imagined a good crack shoe to look like. How do you find the sizing on these? I'm not one of those who gets 5 sizes lower and take the pain!

Masai are good in cracks and so are lace shoes. If it hurts that much it likely means you are inserting the toe and twisting which is poor technique and forces the knuckles of the toes against the wall of the crack, causing pain. 

Instead, insert the foot sideways and then simply drop your heel down. Your foot/toe will jam in the crack without uncomfortably pressing the knuckles against the wall of the crack. Once it jams, straighten your knee to add stability to the jam and load it. 

This is all described in Pete's excellent book on crack technique which you can find here.