climbing shoe wear
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hey ya'll, so i have a question about climbing shoe wear. i've had this pair of shoes for about three weeks now, and they're wearing at about where the joint of my big toe meets the ball of my foot. i bought these to replace my old ones because they wore in the same place. |
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My guess is footwork. Most beginners tend to edge there instead of the toe. I wouldnt worry about the shoes. It appears there is plenty of rubber on the toe for when your technique improves. |
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The quick answer is because that's where you stand on the holds. |
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powhound84 wrote: You can boulder V4 but only top rope 5.9? That's very strange since V4 is like a crux move on a 5.12-.Thats the gym for ya. I wouldn't worry about the wear. Your footwork will improve and your shoes will start lasting longer. In the mean time just wear the shit out of those things, and I mean really just wear them out. There is no sense in continually buying shoes when you are just starting out. |
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Yeah that's pretty common place for shoe wear. Not really even "edging" at all just putting the ball of the big toe on a hold while your toes get stronger, which takes a while. So doubt there's much wear at all on the actual edge. |
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My operating theory is that its nobody's business but hers what she climbs and how she climbs it. |
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Completely normal, climbing shoes wear out pretty quickly.... I go through 3 pairs per year. |
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Hey, Anna. What shoes are those? The reason I'm asking is that LS puts softer stickier xsGrip rubber on women's specific shoes and bouldering shoes for sensitivity. I love that rubber but it doesn't last very long. Next time you buy shoes, pay attention what rubber they have on. Usually men's versions of the same shoes have xsEdge rubber which is more durable. When you send your shoes for resole make sure to ask for xsEdge and not C4 (which is another popular resoling rubber that is sticky but is not very durable especially if it's warm). |
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You can just keep those shoes for the gym and wear them til there's nothing left, but buy another pair for outdoors where holds are smaller and footwork is more critical. I gave up on wearing anything but my worst pair in the gym because the holds are so big. It's more challenging using floppy, saggy, worn out shoes in the gym, but it just means you have to pay more attention to your footwork when you're there. Which I consider good training. My first pair of shoes had similar wear from gym climbing. I've found it's common in the gym to see people pivoting on footholds with a lot of weight on the hold. I used to do it too, which seemed to cause more wear. I also noticed that I don't pivot like that outside, so I try not to do it inside any more, but I see it all the time. |
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Jake, you're right about the rubber. Perhaps putting weight on that area is causing the sole to dimple in but isn't visible from the angle the photo was take, and the OP just thinks it wear. |
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Use your big toe, not the ball of your foot. |
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Rob Gordon wrote:Use your big toe, not the ball of your foot.unless yr doing friction slab ... ;) |
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OR SMEDGING ON SHARP KNOBS! |
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Yes. Technique is more complicated than a one sentence tag line. But in her situation it is likely what she needs to focus on. |
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Hey everyone! Thanks so much for the advice! I'll work on more precise footwork (because I need to anyway), then when i need to resole these shoes i'll get a harder rubber resole. I know im not hitting holds how i should be because the joint of my big toe and foot is pretty painful haha. As for the v4, 5.9 debate, i've only been climbing since December and i'm only now getting into consistant top-roping. |
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Yeah, that's not wear, you're shoes are good. Now go outside and crank on some cracks and then look at the difference in the rubber. You should have around 4mm of rubber to work through, and your shoes still show the manufacturing lines. It'll be a while before they need a resole. |