UKH

Hi all. I'm thinking of buying a dedicated indoor/training shoe to save my current outdoor shoes from the extra indoor climbs I'll be doing as the weather worsens. I've read soft/sensitive shoes are good indoors because they can help develop foot strength and precision.

Are there any rubbers/shoes that you could recommend for this purpose?

In reply to Madajo:

Five

Ten

Moccs

In reply to bouldery bits:

I've read they are the best for this but these will only be my second pair of shoes so I'm worried that I'll size them wrong with the stretch.

In reply to bouldery bits:

Don't 

Fit 

Me.

Furias are super and better. What do you normally wear?

In reply to wbo:

Currently on a pair of tarantulaces. With more experience I'm not sure if I got the right fit so I'm thinking of building up a list, finding a well stocked shop and trying on a load to get a proper fit now I've got a bit more of a feel.

In reply to Madajo:

Second pair of shoes?

Don't worry about the details. You want cheap, OK shoes but importantly ones that fit you.

2 pairs in, you'll wear them out quickly anyway. Climbing lots is probably the most important thing for strength, technique, stamina and fun. 

 

In reply to wbo:

Do you have weird feet? I have flipper feet...

Furias are quite a specialised high end bouldering shoe are they not? Not sure they're ideal for a general indoor shoe. I think of them as a 'send' shoe in the category of dragons.

Also. Moccs are sick. Ask Ned.

In reply to Madajo:

Scarpa booster s are totally amazing if they fit you. Same for instinct vsr.

In reply to purkle:

They're the dudes second pair of shoes........ 

 

In reply to Kevster:

The thing is I'm looking to exclusively climb indoors with these shoes, and keep my current ones for any outdoor climbing I do as the weather gets colder, so surely that's enough of a reason to go more specialised?

In reply to Madajo:

I'm not suggesting staying at symmetric 10mm thick soles forever, or suggesting tempering your ambition.

All I'm suggesting is that finding a well fitting pair at a cost effective price is probably better than aspiring to something egotistical or overly technical and maybe uncomfortable. As a newbie, which I'm not being nasty about - just stating a fact, you will wear out shoes quickly. Poor technique wears out shoes. Shoes do not give good technique. They may aid, but they are not the golden goose. You can only learn that technique by time on climbs, and watching others etc. You cannot buy it in a shop. It costs rubber.

If it helps. 

Sportiva methos

Sportiva solutions.

Scapa vs (old)

Most comfortable pairs of shoes I've ever had. One for all day, one for sport, one for trad. Bouldering doesn't matter so much unless your doing volume. Then you need comfy. Big frequent falls need a comfy shoe!

But, they won't be for everyone, and almost certainally one out of those 3 won't be for a VD climber. And that same pair also won't come cheaply (probably) but for a sport climber in the 7s, they worked well for me. Another 2 of those 3 would be stellar for a beginner and have seen many excellent climbers up hard routes and problems. However, one of the two are slightly down turned and are probably less comfortable for those who don't already have climbers feet. 

Choice is yours.

In reply to Madajo:

I love the Tenaya Tarifa shoes for indoor climbing. Very sensitive and fit like gloves.

In reply to bouldery bits:my feet are Scarpa shaped. Mocs may well be sick but .....

Furia are obviously very soft.  I didn't think they were the most radical shape out there but you do need strong enough feet to use them, and not everyone has.  They are very different to using tarantulaces.

vapor v?   It always comes back to what fits.  

 

In reply to wbo:

+ 1!

In reply to Madajo:

Boreal Lasers, they were my indoors shoes of choice.

Stuart

In reply to Madajo:

I had a pair of Tenaya Intis which were super soft and flexible, so if you're looking for something like that these would fit the bill.

Too soft for me, moved on to stiffer soled La Sportivas now...

In reply to wbo:

I've been looking at the Vapour V's, and as per the comments above I've been thinking of getting these so I don't overdo the shoes compared to my ability level. How much are they likely to stretch? I've been looking and apparently they don't give lengthways but there's no clear answer I can see.

In reply to Madajo:

I bought some cheap Scarpa Stix / Instinct slippers off ebay in various states of use. Do me great. Don't really need anything mega indoors, there's more friction than you could ever néed. 

In reply to Madajo:

Er, nope. One of the top contenders for least sensitive shoe I've ever worn.

Pythons

In reply to Madajo:

Vapour V's are a stiff edging shoe with a hard rubber compound. 

If you want a soft performance shoe check out the La Sportiva Skwama or Scarpa Furia S. 

At the cheaper end of the spectrum Pythons are also good. 

It's worth bearing in mind that these days a good performance shoe will take 3 resoles easily so can be a worthy investment. 

In reply to MischaHY:

It might be that they just fit me really well, but Pythons are very sensitive and IMO highly underrated shoes. 

In reply to MischaHY:compared to the tarantulace vapor v are rather more sensitive and they soon soften up. One thing I'd comment in hindsight is that if you go to something like furias you'll need pretty strong feet to get the best from them.  

 

In reply to wbo:

Not on plastic though. Softer is alway better! Outside I use the Miura as it's shit hot on edges etc but indoors with big smears it's soft shoes all the way. He's after an indoor specific shoe and tbh it's only going to get his feet strong faster. 

Outside Vapours are phenomenal. 

In reply to Zgemba:

Great shoes - only reason I mention them second is because they're the cheaper option. Skwamas are better though, way more technically thought out and generally an all round more modern shoe. The heel especially is incredible. 

In reply to MischaHY:

+1 for the skwamas - tbh I use them for sport, bouldering, slab, vert, overhangs, everything really. They really are that good, if they fit you of course.

In reply to yoshi.h:

Skwamas I like but not for edging from vert to 35 degreeish overhang - they're just that bit too soft and feet get knackered. But then, that's what Miuras are for... 

In reply to MischaHY:

This is true in fact. For long sport routes on vert/slabby terrain my feet do suffer. I just haven't really found stiff soled shoes the fit well enough to tolerate which might explain my choice. Be good to hear of any experience of stiff shoes with a wide toe box similar to the skwamas.

In reply to yoshi.h:

Katana Laces perhaps?

In reply to yoshi.h:

Personally I'd check out Miura VS, fits well for me with a similar forefoot to what you describe. 

In reply to MischaHY:

As a guide how much do you guys size up on the miuras compared to skwamas?

In reply to Madajo:

My current go to shoe for indoor training is the Simond Vertika Slipper technical slipper with Vibram XS Grip rubber that Decathlon sell for £49.99. Considering this is approx £50 less than most other similar shoes with decent rubber it seems like a bargain especially as my last two pairs have worn really well. 

I size them slightly larger than my outdoor shoes for comfort however if you downsized i am sure they would offer more performance. Not great for heel hooks however i always have a second pair of lace ups in my bag should they be required. 

In reply to yoshi.h:

I don't - I take them both in 41.5 which is 3 sizes down from street size (44.5). This makes a for a good performance fit. 

In reply to MischaHY:

Interesting, because by performance fit you mean excruciating pain and ego death that's what I experienced last time I tried that.

In reply to yoshi.h:

No, they're comfy. Depends on foot shape - if it hurts then you've likely got the wrong one. 

In reply to MischaHY:

I'm fairly similar in terms of down-sizing; 46EUR (11UK) in street shoes; 43EUR for almost all Sportivas (Miura VS, Miuras, Katanas, Genius - except the slippers - I wore 42.5EUR for Futuras and Pythons).   For me, that degree of downsizing entails a fair amount of discomfort for a few weeks but gives the longest period of peak-snugness.  Larger would be much nicer initially but I suspect would be a baggy far too quickly (Sportivas tend to stretch).

In reply to thebigfriendlymoose:

Similar for me. 45 street shoe -> 42 Miura / Testarossa, 41.5 Pythons.

Have tried 42.5 Miuras, which were quite good but not a total success - never stretched to the point of unusability for sport, but were also never quite comfortable enough for all day alpine multipitch

In reply to MischaHY:

Honestly, I was not _that_ impressed with Skwamas. Maybe it is jut a matter of fit, they somehow dig into my ankle. They are better on small edges and make Pythons look old-school though.

As for my sizing (street size 44, running shoes 44,5 or 45):

Python 40.5 (super tight for a couple of weeks, stretches out nicely, relatively comfy after resole)

Skwama 41(initially very tight, 40.5 was unbearable, does not stretch as much as Python)

Miura VS 41.5 (initially very tight, but has nice wide toebox, I could probably go to 42 without much performance loss)

Katana laces 42, 42.5 (narrower toebox, takes time to stretch, sizing was somewhat inconsistent, about as sensitive as a crampon)

 

 

In reply to Zgemba:

If they're digging into your ankles (I'm reading achilles) and you need to downsize that much then it sounds like you need the LV/womens variant - it's got a lower ankle and generally a bit less space which should allow you to get a decent fit without the pain associated. On rock I generally only use Skwama for bouldering or really steep routes, but on plastic they get used for everything. 

That said last year I did a 10 pitch alpine 7c in a pair and they were really surprisingly good. Haven't done much from that angle though so need to test more. I've seen Dave Mac also uses them for multipitching which says something.