In reply to Offwidth:
> At the grades you are climbing, overtight shoes will hinder more than help. Some argue climbing in painful climbing shoes is a bad idea for anyone.
Thanks Offwidth, I'll give that link a proper read soon.
I agree that pain is a hindrance to climbing, absolutley! I bailed near the top of a climb because the pain was getting a bit too much.
It's frustrating because it's only my left-big toe that is suffering. Last night I put them on and soaked them in a basin of warm water wiggled my toes around for 20 minutes, then allowed them to dry while still on. This seems to have helped but still needs more stretch. So today I placed bags of water inside them and put them in the freezer.
I'm flying out to Thailand tomorrow morning with Koh Tao the first stop. There's a small indoor climbing gym there so I'll take the shoes and keep at it.
I've bought shoes before that hurt and sold them on but this pair is so close to being fine.
If I persist and get results, I will be back here to report it.
And if I don't get resulst I'll sell them on here probably, we'll see.