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Your 1st pair of shoes - success or failure?

Original Post
amarius · · Nowhere, OK · Joined Feb 2012 · Points: 20

This is inspired by the "help with my first pair of shoes" questions - how many would say that their first pair of climbing shoes was a good choice?
My 1st pair was not good ;)

Eric D · · Gnarnia · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 235

It generally doesn't matter. My first pair was probably a full number size too big. But that is certainly not what was holding back my climbing. That concept applies to 99% of beginners.

Ken Noyce · · Layton, UT · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 2,648
amarius wrote:This is inspired by the "help with my first pair of shoes" questions - how many would say that their first pair of climbing shoes was a good choice? My 1st pair was not good ;)
I'd say mine was good, I got a pair of 5.10 spires 1/2 size down from my street shoe size. They were never uncomfortable, they stretched to conform to my feet perfectly, and at the level I was climbing at I didn't need anything that was higher performance (how hard is it to stand on a jug anyway).
WoodyW · · Alaska · Joined Sep 2014 · Points: 70

Clearly, my first pair of shoes failed. They made me slip and fall every once in a while. And, they turned my feet BRIGHT red and wouldn't come clean for a day....Darn things. (end sarcasm)

Shane Noble · · Portland, Maine · Joined May 2013 · Points: 25

Fail! They were evolv defys, sized so big you never needed to take them off. If I still had them I would wear them as house slippers.

trice Rice · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2014 · Points: 0

down sized way way too much with a pair of anasazi vcs. by down sized i mean that i bought my street shoe size and my toes were curled. horrible choice when you are also trying to crack climb, but i didn't know any better and always heard, "they should be tight enough to hurt"

ended up selling them for close to what i paid for them and bought a pair of half size up spires. those ended up being great shoes for me. good enough for all the climbs I was capable of.

Rick Blair · · Denver · Joined Oct 2007 · Points: 266

Late 90s EBs that were so tight I can't believe I still climb, hurt like hell. Everyone back then told me you had to get them really tight. I still have them.

David House · · Boulder, CO · Joined Nov 2001 · Points: 453

Ha ha! My first pair of shoes were a total waste - 1982 Galibier RR (for Royal Robbins). Barely better than the Nikes I used before I got real shoes. In about '86 I got Fires which were a total revelation!

SM Ryan · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2008 · Points: 1,090

Not good
I started climbing when all shoes were male/uni-sex models.
When they started manufacturing climbing shoes with a better last for female feet, I was ecstatic to have a shoe that fit like a glove without pain.

But I have to agree with Eric D, I still climbed a couple of 5.12a TRs at Devils Lake in them and managed to climb 5.11c sport.

matt c. · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 155

Success.
My first pair were old run down shoes from a local gym. I am not sure of the brand but they cost my $10. They were big, floppy and comfy. It was a great beginner shoe because my feet didn't hurt and they forced me to be really careful with my feet.

Jeffrey L · · Hillsdale, NJ · Joined Mar 2015 · Points: 5

Great success! I got a pair of La Sportiva Tarantulace. I've actually owned two different pairs of them as the first one was a bit too big, I still managed pretty well. I got my second pair about 1.5 months after my first buy and ended up with ones 1.5 sizes down(to 41). With my current tarantulaces I have been able to climb v4 and 5.12. To add, I can wear them all day with very little discomfort even if it's a long day at the gunks.

Paul Ross · · Keswick, Cumbria · Joined Apr 2001 · Points: 22,236

My first pair of rock shoes (black sneakers) were purchased in 1953 at Woolworths store ..price 35 cents..Climbed then up to 5.10

Mathias · · Loveland, CO · Joined Jun 2014 · Points: 306

I got lucky. The store had one pair of 5.10 moccs and it was a size 12. They were tight but I bought them. They stretched to fit and were good enough to buy a second pair while the first were getting resoled. I've got other shoes too, but the moccs are still a shoe I wear often. Comfortable but not very technical.

mountainhick · · Black Hawk, CO · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 120

1st pair Galibier Royal Robbins RRs... fail.

2nd pair EBs, state of the art at the time

Matt..C · · South Lake Tahoe, CA · Joined Apr 2011 · Points: 20

First pair were 5.10 coyotes. They stretched out way too much and I didn't size them down. Bad decision. Picked up Anasazi Verdes after that, huge improvement.

Steven Groetken · · Durango, CO · Joined Sep 2012 · Points: 390

^ 5.10 coyote, exact same shoe and same thing happened to me. I could pull the Velcro as tight as it would go and still slip them off with ease.

Ryan Canny · · Illinois · Joined Jun 2012 · Points: 20

First shoes were a pair of black and gold boreal diablos I was about 11 and though they helped me climb better at least at eleven I thought they did.

Anonymous · · Unknown Hometown · Joined unknown · Points: 0

My first pair fit fine but the rubber on them sucked and i remember slipping off things all the time. My next pair was Anasazi (new pair / resole once a year) and I have used them for years and only rarely swap for some agressive ones for special routes.

M Clark · · San Antonio, TX · Joined Jan 2015 · Points: 45

Happened upon a sale on Amazon, got a pair of 5.10 Anasazi's for something l like $50. Love them (only a few months into climbing) and plan to have a pair around until I find something better.

Eliot Augusto · · Lafayette, CO · Joined Dec 2013 · Points: 60

May this be a cautionary tale. I purchased a pair of mythos that stretched to be about a size to "big". I could wear socks in the winter time. Then the gule between the sole and the rubber came off in an area and I had them replaced. It wasn't until I replaced them that I realized the Mythos were fine and I could have had them resoled. My replacement shoes were a different brand and way to small, and I never wear them anymore. I had to buy a second pair to climb multipitch, and they turned into my main shoe.

My first pair were a success, but I turned it into a failure.

Luc-514 · · Montreal, QC · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 12,506

Boreal Ballet, resoled them 5 times so I guess they worked out. Narrow toe, high top, crack and edging fiends.
Still have them somewhere with the original fluo yellow laces, too bad the rubber is all dried up.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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