Sizing shoes - La Sportiva Katana Lace

Looking for a little help on shoe sizing or tips on breaking them in...

When I started climbing a year and a half ago I bought a pair of Climb X Rockmasters and decided to get something more aggressive recently. I picked up a pair of La Sportiva Katana Lace-ups and have been wearing them at home the last couple days, on and off for 20 minutes at a time to try and break them in a little. I haven't done any climbing in them yet but am going in a couple days. Compared to my old pair these are a completely different fit, in a good way, but I am a little worried that I may need to go up a half size. I tried on a pair of 43.5's(tight and uncomfortable) and 44.5's(flat out too big). From what I've read I shouldn't expect these to stretch much so I'm wondering if it would be best to get 44's? The shoe fits great except that it is somewhat painful in the big toe area. I'm worried that once I start actually climbing it will be worse. I wear a 10.5 usually in street shoes, sometimes an 11. Any advice?

Also, when I played hockey we would break in our skates by putting our socks on then putting our feet in hot/warm water and then wearing our skates around. Any good tricks to help break in rock shoes?

If your foot can fit into them, keep em. With time the shoes will soften up a bit, they will stretch slightly and your toe will adapt the the 'pain.' I wear a 10 street shoe and I go down to 41-42 in sportiva climbing shoes so you should be fine. Also, returning them is a hassle and annoying.

Thanks for the advice and comparison. I think I'll tough it out and hope for the best. Either way...lesson learned.

Sounds like you're still newish to climbing and your feet aren't accustomed to more aggressive shoes w/ da performance fit.
I wear a size 11 street shoe and my comfy, all day lace katanas are a 42.
You could go w/ the straight 44 and that may be your comfy size but I would bet that in another six months you'll probably end up buying a smaller sized pair... unless of course you find another shoe you prefer more.
All that being said, the Katana lace is pretty much good to go right out of the box. None of mine have really stretched, at least not in length size, just broken in/molded to my foot. So if it's really too tight to start, it probably isn't going to get any better.

Sportiva's definitely tend to stretch out more than they seem to admit to. I normally take a 42 street shoe and my Miura VS are a 38.5, I could even have gone down a full size more if I really wanted to.

From the sounds of things you're on the right track. Be patient and put a bit of work in to stretching them out, it really will be worth it, the shoes will mould to your feet over time and you'll get much more performance out of them in the long run. If you size up too much you'll just end up with baggy useless shoes in the end.

Sounds like a good fit. Overall, my Katanas haven't stretched as much as some of my other Sportivas, but you can count on some stretch for your toes after climbing in them for a while.

If you go up a size you could run into a sloppy fit after they break in, which is no bueno, my friend

For street shoes, my size if 7/7.5, depending on make.
For the Katana Lace, I went with size 39.5. I had a lot of trouble getting into them when they were new. Now that they are just barely broken in, I am almost wishing that I had gone with size 39 so that they will not be too loose on cool days of October and November.
Note that the KL are narrow shoes. Mine has stretched sideways as well as length wise.

I've had three pairs of Katana Laces and mine would not stretch by much. The toe box definitely gets a bit more roomy as time goes on.

I wear a 9 street shoe and sized them to 40.5 and they were perfect.

get them slightly tight as I find they tend to stretch about a half size

Thanks everyone for all the advice!

I wear a 10.5 street shoe. 42.5 Sportivas are the perfect fit for me. My 41.5 Mythos stretched to be a comfortable but not too loose size and my 42.5 Solutions and Miuras are a tight but not quite painful fit.

With regards to breaking them in, start by wearing them around the house as you're doing now, but as soon as they start to feel painful take them off, let your feet recover and then put them back on for a while again. Once they're bearable for 30 mins or so start climbing in them, this is when you'll start to feel a big difference, the more you climb the more they'll soften up, stretch and mould to your feet.

Breaking in a pair of new shoes is a gradual process, don't rush it, there's no need to endure unnecessary pain!