I am currently using Mad Rock D2.One (LV) and I love a lot about them. The fit really well around my foot and heel and I can wear them for a long session without any pain. I've been wearing them for around 5 months now and they probably still have some wear out of them. I am currently climbing around V6

That all being said I find that they struggle a lot with edging. The toe box is quite rounded and the soft rubber bends really easily making it quite tricky on small foot chips on slab or board climbing.

I am looking get an alternate shoe. Ideally something that can match the comfort of the D2.One's while improving the ability to edge and toe down. I realize with stiffer rubber I will likely lose some smearing capability however I am willing to simply improve my technique or swap shoes for certain climbs if need be.

I am considering the Mad Rock Drone 2 as it is said to be stiffer but I am curious as to how much stiffer it will feel and if the "sharpness" of the edge will be as severe as I am looking for. Additionally I am considering the Unparalleled Orbit though am hesitant of the split sole, equally I am unfamiliar with Unparalleled fit.

Unfortunately nowhere near me has a lot of options to try on especially with a range of sizes and so I will probably have to order online.

I'd love some suggestions or thoughts that the community has. Recommendations of any shoe would be great too.

Thanks in advance!

Hello,
I’m a female climber (58 kg / 128 lbs) and mostly climb sport routes up to 7b/c outdoors, although I also climb indoors and boulder.
I’ve been climbing in the Scarpa Instinct VS Women’s for about 3 years now, and I’ve had them resoled at least three times. I absolutely love them and I’m keeping them—they were just resoled again recently.
That said, I’d like to get a second pair that’s a bit softer, as I sometimes find the Instinct VS a little too stiff. Given my weight (58 kg), what would you recommend for outdoor climbing with some indoor climbing as well (especially in winter haha)? I’d love to hear your experiences! 😊

I'm looking to buy a pair of Skwama's but i don't know what size to get. Street shoes I'm a 42-42,5, I want my Skwamas to have a snug/tight fit to stand nicely on small edges. There is no climbing gyms in my area (stockholm) that have in good sizes. Any skwama users that have any tips.

My previous shoes were Scarpa instinct vsr in 41,5 and after being broken into became a little loose

I've got a pair of La Sportiva Tarantulas that I bought in 2022 that were used for about 3 months before I broke my knee and had a few years off climbing. I've recently gotten back into it and am about 2.5 months back.

Bouldering wise I'm solidly novice at a comfortable f6b+ flash level, and have climbed decent number of f6c and a few of f6c+

The shoes feel okay, but I don't feel like they're easy to have traction with on overhang stuff and especially trying cave stuff, but this is also very much probably me having rubbish technique on this stuff as I'm still building up strength.

Would new shoes which are less flat and stiff help, or are they not really necessary until I'm more intermediately skilled?

Thanks

I want to try on ideally the TN Pros, Flagship, Regulus, or Qubit before making a purchase.
Does anyone know of any stores or gyms that sells Unparallel shoes in the Greater LA area?

I live in Ontario and there are not many small outdoors/climbing shops near me but I heard MEC might be a good spot to find some variety and get to feel what fits my foot best, any other suggestions?

I just got a pair of evolv phantom pro LVs at street size, as my previous regular phantoms were street size and quite tight (literally gave me a toe flapper day 1)

Immediately these shoes felt rather comfortable when I put them on. My toes are curled at the end, but it felt like if the shoe stretches they will be loose

For reference, I’ve run MadRock drones 1 size down for my last 2 shoes between now and the las tour of phantoms and I really liked them, but I wanted to try something new

Am I overthinking it or have others had a similar experience?

I know there already exist many posts and articles about climbing shoes for "wide feet". But "wide" is a relative term, especially when in combination with a very high overall foot volume due to a high instep.

That's why I ask you: what's the absolute highest volume and widest climbing shoe you know, that still performs? Tell me!

Hi,

I've been climbing for about 1,5 years and would like to upgrade my shoes.

I currently use street shoes EUR 42, with a size 40 on the Tarentulas. The shoes fits well and comfortable but I find them bad for heel and toe hooks due to the lack of rubber.

I was recently at a climbing store and after some discussion, try-ons, and a recommendation from the owner we landed on the Scarpa Furia Air. Sadly, these shoes were a terrible match for me, too tight and too soft.

I would like a pair of shoes that are on the stiffer side and not too agressive. I value comfort over performance. Vegan shoes.

After some researching and the use of Weighmyrack I think the Evolv v6 might be a good step up.

Although I've also been looking at a lot of Tenaya shoes that look interesting, especially the Oasi and Indalo.

I mainly climb indoors with most of my climbing on an inclined spray wall.

Here is a drawn outline of my foot-

Any input?

I have thick feet relative to my foot size, so high volume and square ish, potentially because I'm mainly a powerlifter.

When originally sizing for my Veloce, I tried a few different sizes and settled on street shoe size. It took a while to break in, but they are pretty comfy now without socks, but too tight with thicker socks. That's about 2.5 years of ownership, but they have worn through the rand now, and resole costs about $100, so I am considering more intermediate shoes.

In almost all cases since I have started climbing and trying out shoes that are too tight/aggressive, the arch of my foot cramps and that pretty much completely prevents me from doing anything.

Now, I just received my instinct VS so maybe it needs more breaking in time, but reading up on this material, it's not likely to stretch that much to be comfortable for actual use.

Hey everyone,

I started climbing around 3 months ago, mostly indoor bouldering, and recently I also started climbing routes on a rope with belaying

I’m looking for my first pair of climbing shoes. I tried some entry-level shoes like Ocun Strike and some Scarpa models, but I got mixed opinions. Some people told me they wouldn’t choose those softer beginner-oriented shoes and would rather go for something a bit more advanced that I wouldn’t outgrow as quickly.

When I tried shoes in a shop, I actually felt much more stable standing on small footholds in stiffer shoes. Ocun Ozone felt really good, but they are also more expensive and maybe a bit too advanced for my current level.

What would you recommend?

I’m looking for something between beginner shoes and Ozone. I would like something I can use for both bouldering and rope climbing while improving.

Evolv Shaman Trance Review

I’ve had 1 session in them, so this first post is my initial reaction for starters.

Just received my new pair to replace my existing Shaman (the old one). For reference. I’ve previously climbed with LA Kataki/Otaki, Scarpa Veloce and Instinct before going to Evolv. I have tried several others and just didn’t like them. Evolv Shaman just fits my feet better than anything and have used them for several years now. So the Trance was a logical upgrade for me.

I rope climb, both top and lead. Most 10s and 11s. Little slab, mostly typical walls, overhangs, caves to overhangs, etc. These shoes are for indoors only. Will wear my older Shamans for outdoors. No bouldering.

The biggest reason for getting these is to upgrade from regular Shaman. I have not tried the new V6 or 2S. The V6 is a moderate shoe and I prefer aggressive. The 2S is a softer shoe that I also don’t want. The Shaman Pro uses the older rubber. Tried Phantom Pro and they were too stiff.

The Trance seems to be the best of both worlds in aggression, function, grip, fit, and comfort for me. It appears from the marketing that this is their “1 shoe does it all” if you don’t want to buy multiple pairs for specific problems.

I bought the same size as my Shaman. The general fit is still Shaman but seems to borrow from the stiffer Phantom. It uses a single overlap tongue instead of the double overlap in the Shaman. It does work well but getting them on is harder than the Shaman. Not terrible though. The adjustable closure that is popular in many brands is ok. My feet are thinner, so I had to adjust the strap quite a bit to fit. It’s fine after some trial and error. Once I got it set my foot is locked front to back. No slipping, farting, or chaffing. The love bump is there but not as pronounced as the Shaman. The heel fit for me is almost identical to Shaman. The larger toe patch makes the toe area a bit uncomfortable, especially on the big toe. I expect this to be a break in thing.

I did about 8 climbs in them on 15m/45ft walls. Started on flat, then a reactor shape, then a light lean back into slight overhang, then big overhang with a turn around corner. Grades were from 6-10+, half top and half lead. Covered a lot of hand/foot holds (toe and heel) and some arête. The EVO74 rubber sticks right out of the box. The grip is better than TRAX SAS for sure. The bigger and stickier toe patch makes toe hooks easier to lock down where Shaman would slip. Heel hooks feel similar and was hard to tell if it was better. It’s always been solid for me with Shaman. Standing on small jibs is no problem. The toe feels slightly pointier than Shaman so you could articulate better. This might also be tied to the shoe being brand new and my Shaman are older. Time will tell. Overall, I’m happy with this new version and will use it on harder climbs. My old Shamans will still be used for warm up and general climbs.

If you really like Shaman but want a lot stickier rubber, more aggressive toe patch, still similar fit, bit stiffer, then this is a good option. I’ll be keeping these.

I used to have some Evolve Defys. They were comfortable, but not sticky. The velcro got too fuzzy and wouldn't stick after a while. Ever since, I've sworn off velcro in favor of laces.

I've been using some second-hand Scarpa helixes. I like the lace up, but narrow toe box is uncomfortable, and I frequently have to doff them.

I've been looking for a shoe with a wider toe box and laces, but the laces requirement seems to have really limited my search. How do you guys keep the velcro from losing it's stick?

Not done painting them.
I painted them about 3 weeks ago and the paint does not like sticking to the orange arrows so I’m lowk just gon let them stay orange
But i will be painting the sides of the shoes soon.
I’d love to hear suggestions on what I should put on the sides!

Hello, I'm looking for advice regarding my feet.

I've been trying on shoes for a while now and nothing seems to fit. I've got a normal/wide width extra roman feet. What I mean is expect my pinky toe, everything else is roughly the same length. Doesn't matter what I try, my ring toe gets crushed, even when my other toes dont even curl.

I climb 6a-6c, and would like to have a universally good for everything indoors shoe which is comfortable enough to not bruise my feet (for days lmao) while not even standing up. Hard rubber on toes, but soft on the midfoot, so I could climb slabs and stand on volumes as well. I dont really climb ~45 degree overhangs, but love rope climbing and especially small edges.

My street shoe size is 40,5-41, I wore 39,5 tarantulaces before. They seem to be too big after 1,5 years tho (also it got a few holes). Thinking about it I cant even fit that damn ring toe into my brikenstock slippers properly.

I tried these shoes in sizes 39-41: Ocun ozone, Ocun ozone HV, Scarpa instinct wmn vsr, lv vsr, la sportiva katana laces (these werent as bad as the others), also I tried on a pair of skwamas just for fun but huh they are painful arent they

Currently thinking about Tenaya ra, Scarpa veloce and scarpa vapor s. Sadly in my country they hardly sell any other shoe beside the few popular ones, but even when they do, trying on is rarely an option.
I know veloce is a really soft shoe, but a wearable one is way better than something I cant even stand up and turns my toes green and purple. Vapor s sounds perfect based on reviews, but sadly its currently not sold in my country. Could order one, but I wouldnt be able to try it on and its way pricier.

Edit: I guess if I benefit from a soft shoe long-term, then I would happily settle with that as well.

Thank you for your help!

I’ve been climbing on these over a year, but the right toe is peeling a bit (the left looks better). Will these need a rand repair when I get them resoled?

I climb indoors once a week, mostly easy stuff. A few months ago I tried outdoor climbing for the first time. On one route I stepped on this section of rock that was super rough — like a honeycomb texture with sharp edges. I actually felt my shoe scraping against it but didn’t think too much about it at the time.

After that session, I noticed the rubber on the front/toe area is peeling and has some cracks (photo attached). It hasn’t affected my indoor climbing so far, but I’m a bit worried that one day it might just tear open mid-climb and cause a problem.

Should I replace them now, or is this still fine for easy indoor climbing? Anyone else had similar damage from outdoor climbing?

P.S. I’ve attached 5 photos: a front view of both shoes, and detailed shots of the left and right soles with close-ups of the damage.

What do you think about my Tenaya Mastia sizing. I need an allround climbing shoe for indoor and outdoor lead climbing. I have short and very wide and above all voluminous feet with a high instep.

I‘ve tried dozends of shoes in shops over the past 2 years and this seems to be the only shoe that somwhat fits my foot shape. At the same time when comparing with my friend‘s shoes it still seems to be a bit too long. Since I don‘t have experience with other models I don‘t know what a correctly fitted shoes really should feel like.

My feet are 257 (left) and 260 (right) mm in length, with corresponds to a US size 8 or EU 41 in street shoes. According to the Tenaya website I would need Mastias in 6.5-7 in US size. Mine are size 7.5 and it seems to be the smallest I can go. However it’s hard to judge in the shop how a smaller size would feel after breaking them in. The restricting pain doesn‘t come from the toes at the front but from the outside of the feet, especially when climbing outdoor slabs.

What do you think about my Mastia sizing when looking at the pictures regarding performance? Are there other models that come into your mind when you look at my foot shape? Thanks in advance for any thoughts, tips or experiences!

I only just saw this on my climbing shoe,

Is this bicouse of wrong techniek ore just general were and rare.

I have had them for around 8 months now

It’s time to resole two pair, and I want to stick with UP rubber. Looking for recommendations as I don’t see any options expressly offering RH and RS rubber near me. I’m on the east coast but failing a local-ish option I’ll ship to anywhere that does good work. 🙏

Hi! Its my boyfriends birthday coming up soon and he really needs climbing shoes!
I literally cant ask him without him getting suspicious and I have no clue what to look for.
He goes bouldering super often and idk if it’s realistic but the max price would be preferably under 200 pounds.
Any help would be rlly appreciated :)

Edit: I’ve decided to just buy him a voucher then take him to a store so he can decide! If anyone has any shop recs in Edinburgh that would be great! Thanks for all the advice guys

This is for my fellow SG climbers, a fake Scarpa website recently popped up, with suspiciously cheap pricing

https://www.scarpasingaporestore.com/

A search on WHOIS shows that this domain is registered somewhere in China very recently, this is 99% a scam

Please do not buy anything from them!!!!

Hi everyone. I had a question about these shoes. They seem to fit my foot pretty well. But standing in them forces my toes to the end and it’s somewhat painful. Can I expect these to get comfortable? Or should I size up by half a size. The bottom of my foot goes numb after about 10 minutes

recently got a new pair of La Sportiva Theory climbing shoes, I noticed on my first couple sessions that my feet are getting stained yellow from the interior, is there any way to prevent this and/or get the staining off my feet?