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Slab climbing shoes for thin 10+

BigNobody · · all over, mostly Utah · Joined Nov 2013 · Points: 10
Jeff McLeod wrote:sportiva speedsters sized ridiculously tight. might hurt your toes a bit but you'll feel microscopic footholds. picture for reference ;P
Worst advice on here for a slab climbing shoe

JCM wrote: Basically you want something stiff and flat-ish.
I totally disagree with this statement. And most of the blog-ish post that superseded it.

JCM wrote: Most important, though, is to get what fits your foot. Go to a good shop and try on every shoe mentioned above.
But do agree with this one. Just do your local shop a favor. If you try on shoes there, BUY your shoes there. (granted they have what you want)
JCM · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2008 · Points: 115
BigNobody wrote: I totally disagree with this statement.
If a stiff, flat lasted shoe (like an Anasazi) isn't the right choice for edging-slab (which is what the OP is referring to...true smearing slab is a different animal), what do you propose as a better choice? I'm also intrigued by your disagreement to my other points. Care to elaborate?
doligo · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2008 · Points: 264

I agree with JCM, something flat-lasted but stiff enough works the best, IMO (TC Pros, Katana Velcro, Anasazzi VCS). Stiff down-turned shoes like Miura VS are nice on micro edges when climbing vertical faces, but I don't like the lack of sensitivity and the pain they cause when trying to "smedge" on slabby faces. Sounds like the Five Ten fit works well for the OP - I'd say Anasazzi Velcros, if they fit my foot well I'd get them in a heart beat (work well for thin cracks too, basically are awesome shoes for granite).

mattm · · TX · Joined Jun 2006 · Points: 1,885

I've climbed a fair amount of slab in my time. Not "master of slab" quantity but enough in Tuolumne, The Valley, Squamish Apron etc to say I've got a pretty good handle on it. BY FAR, BY FAR the best slab shoes are broken in "stiff" shoes. For me TC Pros are the best slab shoe I've ever owned followed by Sportiva Megas. bearbreader is spot on. You want a shoe that lets' you stand on micro crystals etc but that you can also drop the heel to smear as needed.

IMO TC Pros with Edge are THE slab shoe to own. Perhaps on the slick as snot valley apron I might modify that to C4 on cold days...

bearbreeder · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 3,065

from dave macleod

onlineclimbingcoach.blogspo…

A case in point - Recently I climbed the famous death defying slab route Indian Face. My ascent was just before the Vapour Velcros came out, and I wore a pair of Scarpa Stix. Some climbers asked me why I would wear an apparently turned down boot on a smeary slab climb? The implication is that turned down boots wouldn’t smear well because they don’t bend back enough to make full contact with the smear. But they do! You just have to let them. This is a limitation of climbing technique, not the versatility of the boot.

as to rubber

i recently just had a pair of miura VS come back from the 2nd resole ... the first time i had them resoled with vibram and it worked great on 11- slab the stiffness and the bit of down turn was great esepcially since the shoes were broken in

this time i had it resoled with C4 and the the shoe was more sensitive, but the rubber was squeaking in the polished crystals on smears, and you could feel it start to deform ... unlike vibram where you could stand/smear on these micro features forever, with C4 i felt there was a ticking clock before it came off

personally i prefer vibram, but then plenty of every good climbers use C4 ... its a preference

note that if you walk around squamish in the winter youll see the top slab climbers sending 12+/13- slab with downturned shoes like miuras or super stiff ones like anasazi blancos ...

as to shoes making a difference ... yes and no

yes they do make a difference while youre at your limit ... but i suspect much of the limitations people perceive with their shoes is because of a different technique needed between stiff/soft or flat/downturned shoes ...

for moderates you dont need fancy shoes, nor should beginners go buy em ... even the cheaper shoes these days are quite good ... you should be able to focus on precise footwork even with a pair of 100$ shoes, if you cant the shoes arent the problem especially in the gym or on moderates ... get what fits

at a certain point though, when everything else starts clicking, the shoes will make a difference ... especially on technical face/slab cimbs at your limit ...

of course the fact that many of these slab/face routes that we obsess with finding the "best" shoes were climbed decades ago by hardmen in shiet rubbah and shoes ... makes yuppie wuzzes of us all

;)

K R · · CA · Joined Jan 2014 · Points: 50

To those who prefer VCS over other shoes, are you talking about the Onyxx VCS or C4 VCS? I have Onyxx VCS and seemed to prefer my C4 Mocs for moderate friction (at JTree).

S. Neoh · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2009 · Points: 35

mattm, bearbreeder and CJC all made great points.
Yeah, the Mega's were amazing on thin face. They do hurt like a bastard tho.
I have experienced the C4 deformation bb mentioned on hot days standing on thin edges and crystals. Yes, you can feel the rubber deform as you stand here. Best to move fast. I tend to prefer XS Edge in the summer and C4 during cooler months and winter gym season. Under 70F, I believe C4 is king on slick / very marginal holds, even a little better than XS Grip 2 but not by much. I found Oynxx too stiff and clunky for my taste (maybe because it was 5/5.5 mm thick as a resole).
And, yes, confidence, practice, practice, and more practice is key for being to climb thin face and slabs comfortably. And all too easy to "lose" it without.

Austin Eddy · · Chattanooga, TN · Joined Apr 2013 · Points: 11

I'm not an expert by any means, but my 5.10 anasazi VCS with Onyxx to pretty good on slab!

mattm · · TX · Joined Jun 2006 · Points: 1,885
bearbreeder wrote: as to rubber i recently just had a pair of miura VS come back from the 2nd resole ... the first time i had them resoled with vibram and it worked great on 11- slab the stiffness and the bit of down turn was great esepcially since the shoes were broken in this time i had it resoled with C4 and the the shoe was more sensitive, but the rubber was squeaking in the polished crystals on smears, and you could feel it start to deform ... unlike vibram where you could stand/smear on these micro features forever, with C4 i felt there was a ticking clock before it came off personally i prefer vibram, but then plenty of every good climbers use C4 ... its a preference
100% with you on this bear. All my hard slab onsight work on the Apron was done in old XSV Megas. I took some C4 Miuras up Cruel Shoes and they just never felt as secure. They wanted to melt off edges and deformed on the sharp crystals.

My now-local Texas Granite Slabs are a coarser version of the Apron. Down here, especially as it gets warm, the TC Pro and Edge absolutely rules. Edging and smearing with the crystals "biting" is the TC Pro happy place. I haven't had a chance to test the XS Edge on fine grain granite ala Index where the C4 smeared very well. These variances are why I often owned two pairs of the same shoe while climbing in the PNW - once with Vibram and one with C4.
Ryan Arnold · · SLC · Joined Jun 2012 · Points: 751

Followup from OP.

I toproped some 11+ slab yesterday in my tight Blancos. Wow! They really ate up the tiny crystal nubs and microflakes, and did fine on the smears too.

I've always heard the term "edge on a dime" but never appreciated it until now.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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