Ok, so my shoes, five-ten anasazi, have developed their own personality by way of STINK! I bet you hardmen out there have some saying like "at least it scares away the griz," but luckily I don't have to battle large predators at my average local crag. And I'm sick of all the crap I get from my buds about the smell. Any hints, tips, remedies?

Thanks,
Phil

There is none. New shoes, wash your feet often and wear socks on the approach.

Throw them in the wash. Either hand wash - scrub those badboys. Or delicate cycle...air dry. And don't keep them stuffed in a closet...let them air out while not in use.

But yeah at some point they are done. The washing will extend a smell free life for only so long.

Use a thin sock liner and liberally sprinkle shoe powder (such as Dr Scholls Shoe Shot-active ingredients zinc and chlorine compounds) inside your shoes. Shake them so that the powder is evenly distributed.

Also, eating aged cheeses makes your feet really stink.

One last thing that works really well-liberally apply a natural deoderant (such as Tom's Of Maine brand) to your feet before leaving the house.

I read somewhere on the Internet that freezing your shoes will kill the bacteria that cause the stench. Of course, I have never actually tried this myself.

Perhaps you could try it and let us know how it goes?

hey Phil ~ more ideas here on a similar thread
good luck with that

Wear socks with your climbing shoes. It seriously works, gives you added padding, plus all the cool climbers are doing it.

I can't handle socks because my toes have to feel the rubber. I feel way to isolated from the rock with socks on. Has anyone ever tried cutting a hole for the big toe in their socks for use in climbing or something to that effect? I've thought of that, but then forget about it until the next time my feet are sweating on a multi-pitch climb and my foot is sliding a bit inside the shoe and I'm thinking, "hey, socks would be nice right now."

Hey thanks for all the great ideas. I'm putting them in the freezer now and planning on trying out the sock approach tomorrow. I'll let ya know tomorrow how it goes! Too bad you can't get the computer to emit scents so you could see(smell) for yourself....

If the freezer thing works with your shoes I've got a progressive idea to keep your freezer from smellin like old shoes. Just prop your up next to the fridge and sleep with your feet in the ice box. This way NONE of your shoes will stink. Think of all the benefits! With board stiff feet you'll be able to edge like never before. You won't have to worry about shoe fit cause you won't be able to feel anything. Hell, if you keep with it, you'll be able to climb shoe free! or maybe even foot free. Then every time you do a route it'd be an FFA (foot free ascent)! Let's see anyone out there match you on FFA's with that advantage.
Let me know how it goes.
ps. I'm not a medical professional by any means and cannot predict the possible negative side effects of this process.

Jake O

I find that cleaning with baking soda seems to get rid of the odor for awhile effectively.

So I froze my shoes last night and climbed with them this morning(given sufficient time to thaw!), and found that there is not as much odor! I couldn't bring myself to climb with socks.... It felt just WRONG! thanks for all the great advice!