UKH

Hi guys, I apologise in advance if this is the wrong thread. 
 

I am new to the forums and was just told about it today. I am based in Glasgow, United Kingdom and have been climbing for a few months. I was told to buy a pair of tight shoes for bouldering so I bought a pair of La Sportiva Solutions in size UK 8, EU 42 and they are way too small for my size UK 9 feet. It hurts to even walk in them. I have only used them 3-4 times and they haven’t even been broken in yet. It is a shame as I spent £120 on them.  

I am desperately looking to sell them as I need the money to buy a pair that fits me. Thank you in advance for any help. If you need to see pictures please reply to this or dm me and I can provide them. 
 

Again sorry if this is the wrong thread but I don’t know where else I can go to sell them. I’ve tried gumtree but there are no climbers on there! 

In reply to dylanfraser98:

Have you tried FB marketplace? 

In reply to dylanfraser98:

Put them up for sale here https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/for_sale+wanted/ and do yourself a favour and go to an actual climbing shop for your next pair where you can try them on and get advice from the staff on what's best for you.

In reply to dylanfraser98:

Hi

im a EU 43 (uk 9) in street shoe and can wear solutions in a EU 40 straight out the box.  Do you have wide feet as solutions are quite narrow?

In reply to dylanfraser98:

Just wear them for short periods till they break in, solutions stretch a fair bit

I'm a uk 10 and wear them in a 42 , I don't walk around in them tho

In reply to Mr Lopez:

I’ve tried to. That’s was my first option. But unfortunately I cannot post in the for sale thread until I have been a registered member for over 2 months.  

In reply to Herdwickmatt:

Actually I haven’t, I will try! Thank you.

In reply to Anoetic:

I don’t know how because these are only 1 size smaller and I can’t even walk in them they hurt that much. My big doe is in an extremely aggressive crimp and when I put pressure on it using a small foot hold it physically hurts to much to stay on the hold. I know climbing shoes have to be tight, and I know there is a process of “breaking them in” but these are definitely not right for my feet. I’m in agony as soon as I put them on and do anything. 

In reply to dylanfraser98:

Firstly, get yourself to somewhere that sells cheap rock shoes and get a pair of well fitting shoes regardless of what they're specialized for. Then worry about selling the solutions (they will go, don't worry, but don't scuff them up any more than you already have).

Being new to climbing you just need to get time in doing it and high end shoes like Solutions you won't see much benefit in right now. So long as your shoes are comfortable to climb as much as you want you're on the right path. Right now Solutions may make you look like a serious boulder, but without being insulting, you actually look like the guy suffering with gear you can't milk the benefit from.

Cheap shoes like Mad Rocks, Simmonds etc aimed at general climbing will do all that you need until you can decide what the next pair is by yourself.

Two lessons here, 1) congratulations you've passed the age old initiation we all have of buying the wrong shoes, be grateful it's in a day when they are relatively cheap and easy to find because they once cost a few days wage, took a trip to a big city and were still shite compared to what's on the shelf in Decathlon today, and 2) don't listen anyone's directions on shoes again, including this post.

An ad on the community board at the wall will probably move your boots as quick as anywhere else.

In reply to misterb:

That's roughly the same kind of sizing I use - I'm UK11 / EU46 in street shoes, and am currently wearing Solutions in EU42.5 (perfect now but initially felt too small - I wear EU43 for most other Sportivas - go down to EU42.5 only for slippers).

In reply to thebigfriendlymoose:

Have you tried them on with thin plastic bags on your feet around the house.

In reply to robert-hutton:

Is this a joke?😂

In reply to dylanfraser98:

No, plastic bags is a great trick for breaking in shoes. They reduce friction meaning your feet slide in the shoes more comfortably and can move more easily. If you use it for a session or two the shoes will break in massively and feel much better. 

Your feet will get used to the shoes as well which will make the fit feel much better as well. 

Good video here from Ondra about shoe fit and dealing with the intial tightness: 

youtube.com/watch?v=a5CT8B6eI0A& 

I used to think tight shoes were mental but now have low volume solutions 3.5 sizes down from street - at some point it's just necessary. 

In reply to MischaHY:

Thank you very much for the info! 

In reply to dylanfraser98:

But if you have been climbing for only a few months as you say then you don’t need to size shoes so small you need to use plastic bags...you need to go to a shop, get good advice, and try them on....they shouldnt be painful, pain is very different to tight..

In reply to robert-hutton:

I assume that comment is aimed at the OP not me - as I wrote, my Solutions now fit my EU46 feet perfectly so no need for bags now (although, I suspect that I would buy EU43 next time - probably a very similar fit in far less time). 

I've never resorted to plastic bags for new shoes - just walking around the house in them.  Although I find that talc on the feet helps with easing on new shoes - mitigates any sticking.

In reply to Anoetic:

So here’s my problem: I’m a size EU 42-43 in most normal shoes, so I bought La Sportiva solutions in size EU 42. When I first put them on they feel tight, but not uncomfortable or painful. The problem I have is when I apply pressure on my big toe (standing on a foot hole) or walking in them. The pain arrives only to the top of my big toe. It pushes my big toe to the top of the shoe and the pain is intense that I cannot walk or stand on holds. I am wondering if I persist and deal with the pain for a while that the rubber will stretch above my toe and stop it from hurting too much? As people are saying here they have solutions that are 2-3 sizes smaller and they fit fine which seems crazy to me considering how much mine hurt my big toe.

I hope this clarifies my point, any help or feedback on this would be much appreciated.

thanks! 

In reply to dylanfraser98:

Foot shape is the key element to a good fit - it may well be that the Solutions simply don't fit the shape of your foot - try something else.

In reply to dylanfraser98:

We have a few solutions to breaking in shoes in our house.  The most successful one is my daughter wears her new shoes in a hot bath a couple of times.  If its not too hot for her skin i cant imagine it being too bad for glue & rubber.  I used to do it in the old days with my football boots.  This seems to speed up wearing them in and has resolved some issues with hot spots in the past.  The down side is it has resulted in colour runs so wouldnt suggest it to anyone looking to sell their shoes on.

The other thing we will do is to warm the shoe up in front of a blower for 5mins before wearing them.  Seems to soften the rubber a bit and speed up the wearing in process.  Bearing in mind she is 40kg it takes quite a bit longer for her to do it normally without pain.

She only needs to do this with the stiffer shoes like Solutions/Comp/Futura.  The latest Lasportiva Theory and Skwama are so soft anyhow they just went on and were comfy from the start.

There are so many 'normal' shoes from all the manufacturers with a bit more comfort to chose from i think you should be looking at a different style show tbh as a relative beginner.  

In reply to johnt:

But they feel really good in every other aspect of my foot, the sides fit perfectly, the heel slips in very good and they feel great but my big toe seems to be bending at the front (which I think is normal) but I don’t know if they will stretch and get more comfortable at the toes or I should change shoe. It only seems to be my big toe that hurts in them, every other toe and the rest of my foot fits perfectly? 

In reply to dylanfraser98:

That measure is in place mainly for anti-SPAM. You can post in the For Sale Forum now.

In reply to Qwerty2019:

Thank you for this info, I will be sure to try some of these methods to see if i can help stretch them a little. 
 

I know I said I was a fairly new climber, but when I said that I meant I have only ever worn beginner shoes. I have been bouldering/rock climbing for a few months and currently I am climbing at 6c level. I have been climbing cranes and structures along with doing parkour since I was very young so I think I have a good head start. I wouldn’t say I am beginner but I am that kid in the gym climbing 6c with the beginner rental scarpa velocity’s the gym provide and I even wear socks with them to make them tighter lol. I am well overdue to buying a new and tight pair of shoe so that I can progress and reach 7A. 
 

Do you think my shoe will mould to fit my toe better or does it sound like they are just not the right fit for me? Like I mentioned above my whole foot fits perfectly snug in them and nice and tight but only my big toe digs up in to the top of the shoe when I stand on them which causes a lot of pain. I haven’t spent any time climbing in them trying to break them in yet so I don’t know if they will get better. That’s what I’m wondering. Sorry for sounding like such a newbie, I have no idea when it comes to climbing shoes lol. 

In reply to Paul Phillips - UKC and UKH:

Thanks Paul!

In reply to dylanfraser98: I wouldn't expect rubber to stretch too much , especially as the top of the toe box is being held by the rand.  It sounds like the toe box doesn't work for your feet rther than a size issue,, 

I've been there . I had a pair of Boldrini that should , and did fit most of my feet very well but the top of the toe box was crushing down, never going to stretch and made them unusable for me

In reply to wbo2:

This sounds exactly like the problem I have! Very upsetting  

I’ll put them in the for sale page and pray I can get rid of them. 
 

Thanks for the help!!

In reply to dylanfraser98:

Newbie, beginner etc dont get hung up on it pal.  You can climb harder stuff than me. 

The chances of making it stretch to be comfortable relies mainly on your ability to ignore the discomfort because it sounds like your hotspot is the rubber on top of the toe when pushing down.  I dont think that rubber stretches much tbh but it will eventually give a little and thats all it needs.  If its your only shoe then its going to be difficult.  My daughter has about 7 pairs of LaSportiva shoes on the go (Prizes etc).  Totally extreme but it means she can limit wearing new shoes to 5-10mins at a time (Only on the wall - slippers as soon as off the wall) to protect her toes.  At the start of last year she had only the Solutions and Futuras (Both brand new) and i sympathize your pain because it was torture breaking them in.  She stuck with the solutions and eventually they softened up but it took a while for her.

As i mentioned above, the Theory and Skwama (In EXACTLY the same size) were slip on and climb with zero discomfort from the 1st minute.   The Theory is a very specific soft shoe but the Skwama is quite a versatile shoe from what i can see.  She is desperate to try it on ropes.

Either stick with it and break them Solutions in using a few tips on this thread or move them on and get something a little less stiff like the Skwama.  In future keep an eye out for the demo days (when they are back).  They are invaluable for sizing and comfort information and usually they are already broken in so you know exactly how they will feel for you.

In reply to Qwerty2019: Have you ever seen this https://www.lasportiva.com/en/climbing-shoes-technical-information

Perhaps your daughter has wide feet, explaining what fits and what doesn't

In reply to wbo2:

Completely  opposite.  Long and thin

In reply to Qwerty2019:

then sportiva narrow must be very narrow

In reply to dylanfraser98:

TCA usually have a decent selection of shoes for sale. Get in and try them there first.