By Dave West
From Roanoke, VA
Nov 3, 2008
| Boreal Ballets, ca. 1990. Those were good shoes. | 
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By Shawn Mitchell
From Broomfield
Nov 3, 2008
| Adidas wrestling shoes. 1977. Then EB's purchased from the old Holubar in Costa Mesa, California. |
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By Erin Cook
From Tucson AZ
Nov 3, 2008
| I started with Scarpa Thunders (a whole 5 months ago :)) Then I got a pair of painfully small Magos. |
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By Jim Gloeckler
From Denver, Colo.
Nov 3, 2008
| Royal Robbins Boots, about 1970. They didn't perform too well IMHO. Those are them right there on scott mossman's post!! I think. |
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By Sunny-D
From SLC, Utah
Nov 4, 2008
| What a fun forum...I climbed on La Sportiva Mariachers (purple with a yellow crescent. Second pair of shoes were the black aces with neon graphics. Loved them both. Does anyone even make a shoe like the ace anymore? |
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By YDPL8S
From Santa Monica, Ca.
Nov 5, 2008
| Yes Jim, those are the infamous "edging" RR's (only thing they were good for). As you can see, they had just been resoled (by the famous Steve Komito), circa 1976. The main thing I liked about them was that they were so stiff around the front of the foot that you could climb killer jam cracks all day and your feet never hurt or got cramps in them. But, jump on a friction slab route and you were burnin' rubber. |
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By trundlebum
From Henderson NV
Nov 17, 2008
| Although these were the first I owned:
I didn't use them much until after a few years when I started doing aid.
I wore burned out/well broken in Adidas 'town and country' (or the like) sneakers until I got to where I was climbing regularly. My first friction sole shoes were the original RR Friction. The ones with red canvas uppers:
After that I filled at least one milk crate with fried EB's |
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By Leo Hski
Nov 20, 2008
| EBs. 1978 or so
Then Fires, then Asolos (the best shoe ever), then Sportivas, then .... |
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By Richard Fernandez
From Flagstaff, AZ
Nov 24, 2008
| Patty wrote: These were my first pair of climbing shoes (boreal Diablo). I still have them too, but now they are a little dusty since I got my mythos. : > )
I had the Diablos, lost 'em, but wish I had them now, I think they'd be great for some cracks. I remember them being pretty comfy. |
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By Jay Knower
Administrator
From Plymouth, NH
Nov 24, 2008
| La Sportiva Enduros-- big enough to wear with wool socks.
My second pair were the Boreal Vectors--black w/purple laces. I had a few pairs. I loved those shoes. |
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By Tevis Blom
Nov 24, 2008
| La Sportiva Enduros... horrible board lasted high tops in red with yellow laces. Probably a great offwidth shoe. |
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By Jay Knower
Administrator
From Plymouth, NH
Nov 24, 2008
| Tevis Blom wrote: La Sportiva Enduros... horrible board lasted high tops in red with yellow laces. Probably a great offwidth shoe.
You thought they were horrible? Sure they couldn't smear at all, but they lasted forever and jammed really well. Maybe I just have a soft spot in my heart for those clunkers. |
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By csproul
Dec 26, 2012
| Thought I'd bump this old thread...I'm trying to figure out what my first pair of climbing shoes were. I got them on a trip to Eldorado with my brother and cousin sometime in the mid? 80's. They were black and yellow (or gold maybe) and had two set of laces, a black lace and a yellow lace. One of the laces went around the heel and they were high tops. I think they had some climber's name as the model...maybe Kauk or somebody like that? Probably one of the first models soon after Fires?
Anyone have any idea what these were? |
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By Eastvillage
From New York, NY
Dec 26, 2012
| RR's 1971. Used them at the Gunks, did lots of great climbing in them. |
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By Jon Marek
Dec 26, 2012
| +1 for Boreal Diablos...I still wear mine for gym climbing and they are holding strong. |
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By Tim McCabe
Dec 26, 2012
| AJS wrote: .ahem...more experienced climbers who are posting here what have been the biggest, best changes to shoes over time. -Adam
Adam, 4 years latter I didn't see a reply to your question. Not that I am super experienced but I started climbing around the time, mid 80's, when shoes became anatomically correct.
I rented and borrowed a couple of pairs of the older asymmetrically toed shoes, the first pair I bought were anatomically correct Fire Cats.
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By Mike Lane
From Centennial, CO
Dec 26, 2012
| csproul wrote: Thought I'd bump this old thread...I'm trying to figure out what my first pair of climbing shoes were. I got them on a trip to Eldorado with my brother and cousin sometime in the mid? 80's. They were black and yellow (or gold maybe) and had two set of laces, a black lace and a yellow lace. One of the laces went around the heel and they were high tops. I think they had some climber's name as the model...maybe Kauk or somebody like that? Probably one of the first models soon after Fires? Anyone have any idea what these were?
I think you have some models confused with each other. The only 2 lace shoe I can remember was the Merrell flashdance's, go look at page one. |
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By csproul
Dec 26, 2012
| Mike Lane wrote: I think you have some models confused with each other. The only 2 lace shoe I can remember was the Merrell flashdance's, go look at page one.
Indeed, they looked a lot like the Merrels but they were black and yellow.
BTW, in your post with the 4 pairs of shoes, I also ended up with a pair of the 2nd pair (L->R) of the pink and blue high-tops. What were those? |
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By James Crump
Dec 26, 2012
| Hanweg Friction boots circa 1971. Then PAs, EBs, Brand X EBs...then finally Fires... |
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