Should I start with a beginner shoe or go with something more advanced?

i have been climbing for a couple months now. (All indoorclimbing mostly bouldering. I am looking to purchase my first pair of shoes. I was leaning towards the la sportiva tarantula. They seem to have great reviews(mainly having to do with comfort) but are a less aggressive shoe. I only climb in the gym 3-4 times a week. My concern is that I'm going to buy these shoes only to want a more aggressive pair in the near future. Would anyone recommend skipping the beginner shoes and going for something more advanced right from the get go.
Any input would be greatly appreciated. And any recommendations for a more advanced climbing shoe would be awesome.
Thanks.

Tarantulas are a great shoe for you if you're climbing in the gym. They edge well but the rubber not as sticky as others. I know plenty of strong climbers who wear the Tarantula at the gym.

Remember get what shoe fits your foot. I would go a shop that has someone who climbs working there who can help you try on shoes.

I would go with the tarantulace instead of the tarantulas. I liked being able to tighten them down to fit better on my foot and the lace really helped getting the right fit. The tarantulace and tarantulas are both very comfortable but you will get a tighter fit with the lace version. They do stretch so get a smaller size to start with.

Your jus going to tear your first shoes up anyway, get what fits and what is cheap(no climb x). Shoes make a difference, but not as much as the shoe companies would like you to think.

I bought tarantulas as my first shoes and regretted it. The evolv defy is just a better all around shoe, when I got into multipitch and trad later, I still use my defys, as opposed to the tarantulas which just sort of fell apart. Just my two cents, plenty of people have great experience with tarantulas.

I bought a pair of Tarantulace for use in the gym so I don't wear out my Mythos that I use outside. The Tarantualce work surprisingly well for an inexpensive shoe. You can sometimes catch them on a REI/EMS 20% off sale for $64. I second the recommendation of getting the lace version over the velcro. Oh yeah...I climb 5.11 with them. If you are climbing above that you may want to consider advanced, hurt your toes, shoes.

If they fit your foot you're better off with a pair of Anasazis or Pontas or whatever the La Sportiva equivalent is. That type of shoe not overly aggressive but still advanced enough to climb pretty much anything.

The tarantula my gf got didn't seem to have the normal la sportive build quality. It started falling apart on her pretty quickly. I wore moccasyms as a beginner and they aren't bad for vertical or slabby gym climbing and as a bonus they work outdoors on slab and thin cracks.

If you can find a screaming deal on Katanas or Miuras those are nicer shoes.

for your first shoe, get whatever fits and is cheap because you're going to destroy them in probably less than 6months. i would suggest getting something that is more comfortable and getting something aggressive later because it's not going to make big difference yet. and yes you are going to want multiple pairs of shoes so you can keep climbing while your other pair is getting resoled. i have 3 pairs of shoes and it works like this: 1 pair more aggressive and technical, 1 pair good for cracks and very comfy, 1 pair of very cheap shoes that i use as beaters for gym or very easy stuff. the first two i get resoled, the 3rd i just beat up.

I'd look at the Nagos from La Sportiva. Comparing the Tarantula vs Nago I much prefer the fit and feel of the Nagos and I don't think they'll let you down even as you progress. I haven't tried the Tarantulace so can't comment there.

If you mostly boulder, especially indoors, get a pair of unlined leather slippers. I'm going against the consensus, but you'll be way more happier with more sensitive shoes for heel and toe hooking. Before anyone says anything, I know he's a beginner, but it's a gym, I'm pretty sure there is a V0 that has a mandatory heel hook. Plus having a sensitive shoe will help condition your arches and teach you better footwork from the start. Too many beginners slop around in entry level shoes for too long and end up with bad footwork.

You can go less aggressive way with Five Ten Moccasyms or slightly downturned ones like LS Cobras, or you can go with super performance oriented ones as Scarpa Instincts. The nice thing about Scarpas is that they are designed to fit comfortably but still perform. Cobras and Moccs, make sure to size them tight as they would definitely stretch. I don't think climbing indoors wears out rubber on the shoes that much.

As someone who fits shoes daily, for mostly new climbers. I can highly recommend the trantula for a first shoe. New to climbing, your likly going to trash them faster than a usual pair. You need something comfortable that going to allow you to focus on your feet and devlop as a climber. Starting out, your going to be held back by forearm strength, technique, callouses, finger pain, etc. Etc, performance shoes at this early stage aren't limiting and aren't needed. Stick to the trantulas for now.

Sorry to go off topic a little but the OP may be interested. I've read some two things here that I think are wrong and am now wondering the answer.. Maybe I'm wrong! Haha..

I've heard that gym climbing is harder on shoes than the outdoors. Slippers such as Addicts or Mocs are crack and/ or slab shoes meant for outdoors. A gym climbing shoe needs to edge well and slippers do not.

Learning to climb is an even steeper curve when your gear sucks. I never understand the MP beta of buying a set of hexes, some solid gate ovals, an 11ml rope, some comfortable boxy shoes, and a motorcycle helmet. Why do people recommend stuff they themselves would never use? If you have the money, buy gear that you won't hate in 6 months.

I think the point is that for quite a while during the learning to climb process, shoes are not the limiting factor to progression. Given that fact, money spent on expensive shoes is wasted.

Eric Chabot wrote:I think the point is that for quite a while during the learning to climb process, shoes are not the limiting factor to progression. Given that fact, money spent on expensive shoes is wasted.

I get the point, I just don't think it's valid. Regardless of your experience, better shoes help you climb....better. Buying a shitty pair now and replacing them in a short amount of time saves you no money. I have personally never destroyed a pair of shoes face climbing, so unless the OP is in to inverted OW, I'm pretty sure a resole is an option.

I wouldn't listen to anybody on the net about shoe advice. Just go to a gear shop and try a bunch of shoes on in different sizes and go with your gut.
I'll throw this in there too; slightly curled toe, no dead space, try em on when feet are swelled up after climbing or running. But hey, don't listen to me, go try em on. Feet are like DNA, no two are alike.

Anasazis. Super durable since you'll beat the shit out of them. Great rubber, edging, smearing, pockets. I've used them in Indian creek, the gym, all over Arizona and southern colorado, they are about as all purpose as it gets and not too expensive. The only problem I've had with them is that they stretched. I can't heel hook for shit in them anymore since my foot comes right out. Definitely not a super aggressive bouldering shoe, which you won't need for a while, but amazing for everything else. I dig my evolv shamans for bouldering.

Bill Kirby wrote: A gym climbing shoe needs to edge well and slippers do not.

I'm not sure I would agree that an edging shoe is paramount indoors. Rarely are you doing any micro edging like you'll find outdoors, and with a modicum of technique almost any well fitting shoe is going to handle the plastic edges and doorknobs. I agree with Doligo in that you want a sensitive shoe to feel the smears and be able to grab like you get with a slipper. I prefer velcro or laces though so they roll less and don't pull off with heel hooks. Thin shoes will obviously wear out faster though, especially if you drag you toes, a common issue with noobs. Having to go broke to keep replacing your shoes will help you focus on being more precise! Feeling what your foot is doing is going to teach you better technique.

I don't know why, but I find gym climbing seems to wear my shoes out faster than on the rock unless I am on really sharp, rough rock. It may be that I tend to climb more bam bam bam indoors and sit around and hang in my approach shoes scrubbing or bolting outdoors. I also often go bare foot outdoors on warm-ups and have to wear shoes for everything indoors.

I'm new to climbing too and bought the Tarantulace. It was pretty obvious how important trying on multiple pairs of shoes was once you try a few on especially to get sizing right. The Tarantulace was tight around my big toe but the rest of the shoe was an excellent fit. A size 9 1/2 fit tight against my toes but ended up buying size 9 which were uncomfortably tight. After the shoes broke in my toes are pretty comfortable into the toebox but bairly tight enough to perform as I'm climbing harder grades that have smaller holds.

The sole shape has been good for slab and I haven't had much of an issue fitting the toe into small pockets. They have been excellent with edging. So far they're very durable and have held up to climbing 2 days a week for the past 3 months. Mostly gym and bouldering but just started sport climbing on real rock recently.

As for the negatives; I haven't had other shoes to compare it to but I feel like the soles could be more tacky. They were super tacky when new but it went away quick. I've been brushing the soles before each day of climbing with a brass wire brush which has gotten them to stick like new.

My wife got a pair of shoes with and aggressivly curved sole which she loves until she gets on a smooth slabby climb with few defined foot holds.

I just got a new pair of LS Katana's from Sierra Trading post with one of their 30% off online coupons. Came to $55. They had a good selection of sizes....mine is 43.5 which is pretty standard. That's a great shoe. I have the Tarantulas and they are slick until you break them in, even then I'm not a huge fan.