shoes that stretch

I've yet to find a pair of shoes that fit my wide, misshapen, awful feet - so I've always leaned towards a shoe that stretches to fit them. So far the only shoes that have worked (after a very painful break-in period) are La Sportiva Muira lace-up and Mythos.

I've tried plenty. The one that came closest was the Scarpa Force X, but I keep reaching for the mythos. I'd stick with my mythos but they aren't very durable and I go though a pair a year, 25% of that time being awful break-in. Five-Ten is not an option (garbage) and TC pro's are too stiff.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for a halfway decent pair of shoes that have some grow room in the toebox, especially around the metatarsal/phalangeal joints? Tenya?

Have some thick and stiff rubber put on the Mythos after they break in, it changes them completely for the better

not sure what you mean

most of their shoes don't stretch but i also have wide feet and evolves tend to fit my foot much better than other brands, especially La Sportiva. The evolve addicts will mold perfectly to your feet because they are leather, but they aren't great at edging because their designed to be a crack shoe. Their break in period is only a couple of days for me

MFL wrote:I've yet to find a pair of shoes that fit my wide, misshapen, awful feet - so I've always leaned towards a shoe that stretches to fit them. So far the only shoes that have worked (after a very painful break-in period) are La Sportiva Muira lace-up and Mythos. I've tried plenty. The one that came closest was the Scarpa Force X, but I keep reaching for the mythos. I'd stick with my mythos but they aren't very durable and I go though a pair a year, 25% of that time being awful break-in. Five-Ten is not an option (garbage) and TC pro's are too stiff. Does anyone have any other suggestions for a halfway decent pair of shoes that have some grow room in the toebox, especially around the metatarsal/phalangeal joints? Tenya?

If you are looking for wide look at evolv, five ten, and scarpa

I'll check out the addicts thanks!

I have found that my favorite shoes are FiveTen Stonelands. Wider toebox and lined leather which has quite a bit of stretch. My favorite are the slippers, which they discontinued unfortunately, but the velcros are great too, just not quite as stiff. The lace ups are the softest.

5.10 moccs all the way. Also try on solutions. The toe box is super wide in comparison to other aggressive shoes.

The secret to stretching shoes to fit weirdly shaped feet is hot water. I do this for all my shoes. Buy them a tad smaller than you would otherwise, since you'll be forcing a fair bit of stretch out of them. Run some hot water out of the bathtub faucet (hot-shower hot, not scalding hot), and get the shoes good and soaked in hot water inside and out, then pull the shoe onto your foot. Wear it for as long as you feel like (~15 minutes), then take it off. Let it dry for an hour or two, then pull it back on. Eventually they will dry out. You can repeat to process, or just do it once. Now the shoe is nicely stretched to fit your foot--custom molded shoes. It isn't completely broken in, but probably 60% there; it really shortens the break in process. A few days out climbing in them will get the shoe all the way broken in. It works only with leather shoes, and unlined shoes will stretch more than lined; this should inform how tight you initially get them. Synthetic (Evolv) shoes won't stretch. The hot water stretch does not damage the shoe.

Big ditto to what JCM said about the hot water trick. A couple steps to add are put newspaper in the shoes to dry them a bit faster and to climb a little in them while they are still moist. Worked really well for my girlfriend who bought a pair of shoes way too small, now they fit perfectly.
And yeah that is true, you don't want them TOO wide or it would make things weird with the sole.

Thanks. I've done the water trick it helps. I've never been a slipper fan, but i haven't tried a lot of brands. I was hoping to find a pair people with similar foot issues have had success with from the (almost) get go.

I'm totally happy with my Muira laces for sport or non-crack/slabby trad climbs in the >11 and up range.

When I saw the stoneland lace up I got excited, but have heard them trash talked by my industry friends. Still, one person's garbage is another's treasure. Every shoe I've tried of theirs (beside the guide tennies) have hurt like a motherfucker. Maybe these are different.

What about Tenya lace-ups? Or Scarpa Techno X?

What I love about my Mythos (besides that you can make em fit) are how sensitive they are. They aren't great edging passively, but get the job done if you apply some extra pressure.

I was so sad that the Katanas didn't work. They were gonna be "the one".

Thanks for all the info.

I have a pair of the Tenaya masai, great shoes but they stretched very little so they might not be what you are looking for. my feet are fairly wide and weird to and they worked for me but the tongue of the shoe would not cover the top of my foot which is a bit annoying.

So I just ordered a ton of shoes from backcountry.com

I wound up going with the Tenya Masai as my new slighly more tech mythos replacement for long less than mid 5.11 routes, but FYI the new Evolve Spark was insanely comfy outta the box. The stoneland lace ups were comfy but didn't seem very durable.

I have the same problem, never have owned comfy shoes. 5.10 moccs were the closest, but if you're trying to simul climb our get in 1000+ feet they get uncomfortable as well.

What does your heel look like? Mine sticks out farther than the average person and between there and my big toe I'm often uncomfortable. I tried the scarpa techno x, but they haven't stretched enough

Try Scarpa Instinct Lace Up. They are completely made out of leather and fit wide feet well.

I like the Scarpa Force X. I also bought them in a comfortable size.

My son has had the same problem. Scarpa Boostic and Booster seemed best for a performance shoe. One of the Boreals (forget which) for a softer shoe.

5.10 mocs start wide and stretch wider. And they're much more quality than other five ten shoes

Have you tried any women's shoes?

I believe LaSportiva makes their women's shoes a bit wider in the toebox, but the heel doesn't rise a much. Not sure if other brands do the same..

I know a few guys who wear women's Miuras (lace ups) and Mythos and I think its for the same reason as yours.

sportiva.com/about/aboutus/…
"La Sportiva utilizes a range of fits specifically developed for the unique shape of a woman foot in order to offer maximum comfort. Our women’s models have a wider forefoot to heel ratio compared to our men’s shoes and are narrower, straighter and lower cut heel and have less volume overall."

Worth a try.

Well I'll be!