What is the best detergent for climbing shoes/ ropes/ tech wear?

Locker wrote:Zero here! I don't wash my shoes, ropes or harnesses (Or underware! I wear my shit stains with pride!). There is no need. As far as shoes go, there isn/t really much you can do about that fucking awful stink synthetic shoes get. No amount of foot powder, or Dr BS stuff, or Lysol, etc... is really going to do that much. LEATHER if you don't want the stink, and remove your shoes frequently and let them air out.

I think this largely depends on the shoe/synthetic material. Stinkiest shoes I've ever owned were leather (solutions), and I've owned a series of anasazis (several pairs of velcros and laces, arrowheads) all cowdura which have faired quite well in the stink department and clean up nicely when washed.

once a shoe gets the stink it never goes away except for the few days Locker has them

Jake Jones wrote: You know, I get tired of n00bish questions like this one, but since I like you Frank, I'll savvy you up real quick. Ideally, take two of those ultra awesome DMM pulley biners and you grind off the spine of the biner perpendicular to the pulley. Then you tack weld what is left of both biners (gate down, of course) to the business side of the iron ideall about 9mm apart (less obviously if you're ironing your twins or halves) and perfectly parallel to each other. Then, you take a healthy piece of 3/4 round bar stock and weld that to what's left of the biner baskets in a perpendicular fashion. This is what keeps the rope from falling through the underside of the two pulleys as it is being pulled through a STATIC iron. I hope this answers any questions on rope ironing that you may have had. Please do it this way, for it is the correct way and any other way, you may die.

I knew I could count on you, Jake, for a technically-correct answer. I'm breaking out my welder and grinder, as we speak. Sorry about the noob question, but this is how we learn, no? Extreme ironing...

Speaking of shoes and ironing, I heard that if you iron the soies of your climbing shoes, right before that redpoint attempt, the rubber is stickier. Could you comment on that?

Jake Jones wrote:Yes.

Thank you. That helps a lot. I will incorporate your recommendations immediately.

Edit: By "incorporate," I don't mean I will start a corporation, although I'm open to the idea.

Jake Jones wrote:As a side note, does anyone else automatically think "nostril" when they see Picken's Nose Route Info?

Yes, and the image of the character called "booger" from the Revenge of the Nerds movie.

I read the Utah and pot prosecution thread, so I know there is spot-on legal advice on this website. I'll recruit one of these Internet lawyers for my LLC legalities. "Save money, live better."

Locker wrote: You wear a pair of leather and a pair of synthetic for the exact same amount of time and conditions then get back with me. No way leather smells more than synthetic. Just not buying that one. After working on 1000's of pairs of shoes both leather and synthetic, I KNOW that simply is not the case. Also not buying the washing of the shoes ridding them of the stink. Leather, some! Synthetic? Well...If they don't stink right out of the washer, head out wear them once, and it will most likely be right back. Notorious for that VOMIT smell.

I get more of an old french fries and canned corn thing in the scent department.

I heard there is a vitamin you can take to combat stinky feet. Did anybody ever use it. Btw we went dumpster diving for the first time last night. It was amazing!!!!

Jake, don't be so hard on yourself. "Ideally" is a great word to overuse, if you must overuse a word. Why just today, I thought of several words, more than once. So, as you can plainly see, I am guilty of the same transgression. I do not feel the need to be flogged or purged, and I hope you have changed your attitude toward yourself.

And let's never forget The Department of Redundancy Department.

Tom-o Sapien wrote:^^^In theory fixed irons should work better than a free iron with less likelihood of scorching one's fingers. Should we debate the ethics of sporty teflon coated irons v.s. old school traditional iron-mongery?

I just use a shirt press. That way I can press 50' of rope at a time. Add in some starch for extra crispness.

I really like the idea of using starch on my ropes. Crisp, fresh and stiff ropes. Like dressing up to go to dinner, but different.

Do you judge your partner by their rope?

I haven't done much horseback riding, but I know there is "English" and "Western."

I took a week off from MP and now that I'm back it seems that I don't fit in any more. Maybe I never did.

Jake Jones wrote: Be careful when you're sport rappelling with ironed ropes though. The dangers are very real.

Which is why you rap aussie style so you can see the rope. Aussie style also enables you to see the end of the rope, therefore preventing you from rapping off the end.

VaGenius wrote:Jake, can you blame the guy? Dealing with hell (eanor) is like drinking doo doo flavored soda pop from an old sneaker. Greener pastures are where the ordure ain't...

please, tell us more of your experience Killis. did you hook up with any hotties that night?

MJMobes wrote: please, tell us more of your experience Killis. did you hook up with any hotties that night?

was that a bahmitzva party? if yes we all want details!

VaGenius wrote:The irony of waking up next to a beautiful woman, then reading this dreck over breakfast, makes me chuckle. Mike=nagging lady man, Hellenor= illiterati, and yeah, I did sleep in, get laid, and am enjoying some sunshine in climbing paradise today. Wisdom is knowing when you've got it good, and not-so-gentlewomen and ladyboys, it's gonna be pretty hard to take the wind out of my sails on a day like today. But feel free to squander the halcyon golden glory days of your youth doing so. I think I'll work on my tan for a while.

I take care of patients who are well into their 80s and still dirty old flirts. I hope you get your gig going into your golden years!

Duck Butter