Climbing shoes for a very straight big toe.

Hi guys, gals and other gurus,

I've had the misfortune of having a foot on which nothing i've tried so far fits. I have an Egyptian style foot with a wide forefoot and a very straight and rather large big toe. What happens is that every shoe that has a toe box that tappers inwards exerts pressure on the outer side of the big toe. It's so bad that the toe is numb the next day or two and basically limits my climbing time to about 30 mins.

I currently climb with the Tenaya Oasi and is the best shoe i've tried so far, but it's still not close to being ok. I would love to try on more shoes, but locally I don't have that many available. I've takken a long look at shoes on the web examining their soles as much as one can through a screen and have found a few that might actually fit my foot. The plan is to order 2 or 3 over the post and return the ones that don't fit. The shoes that i've been looking at are the Tenaya Mastia, Butora Gomi (wide version), Scarpa Veloce and the very aggressively curved Scarpas such as the Furia S/Air, Drago and Chimera.

If any of you can give any input on how the above listed shoes would fit on my very straight big toe or have a suggestion for a different shoe, it will be highly appreciated. I mainly climb boulders indoors and out.

lets see the toe

Evan Gerry wrote:

lets see the toe

Didn't know this was that kind of forum :D.

Behold a picture of my ugly foot, there is also some damage visible on the nail, where the shoe is pressing on the toe the most, that part of the toe is mostly numb.

I too have an Egyptian foot. I have found that shoes with narrower toe boxes work well for me, and I have learned to not size down too aggressively. Sportivas and scarpas have all treated me well. I do have a pretty big callus on the knuckle of my big toe because of how it gets constricted, as well as on the outer edge, but I luckily haven’t had to deal with numbness there.

I currently have a pair of solutions, a pair of scarpa Force Vs, and a pair of tc pros. 

Same issue for me. Scarpa and La Sportiva are the only shoes that have ever worked for me. Hard to recommend a model since it really depends on what kind of climbing you are doing

Pretty much anything from the big two(la sportiva, scarpa) will probably fit your toes fine, it's your forefoot and heel that will be the real determining factor for if it fits you. 

For big toed and wide feet the la sportiva skwarma could be a great option. 

Tanaya are narrow shoes and the is not a narrow foot. They probably feel better because the the uppers on tanaya are very soft. 

I would look at wide shoes with soft uppers and no toe patches. 

You might be a one of the people that need custom shoes. 

Peter Novak wrote:

Didn't know this was that kind of forum :D.

Behold a picture of my ugly foot, there is also some damage visible on the nail, where the shoe is pressing on the toe the most, that part of the toe is mostly numb.

Rough...I have the straight big toe but my middle toes are nearly the same length as the big toe.  My configuration fills space in the toe box.  

I have the same problem with lateral pressure really hurting my big toe.  

My podiatrist suggested shaving down/pumice stoning any calluses on the side of the big toe as well as wrapping the painful joints with paper tape.  Both worked to alleviate pain. Removing athletic tape hurt too much to be worthwhile.

Don’t where climbing shoes a minute longer than necessary.

Shoes that work for me:

Butora Altura orange: the narrower shoe has a straight big toe and very very stiff last.  I have it in two sizes very comfortable and super duper comfortable.  The last is so stiff I can edge with barely any toe bend. (Rock and Resole fcuked me and moved the toe point to center on one shoe - not both).

Scarpa Vapor Lace: very soft shoe. These bend my toes in the right direction.  I had the all yellow ones. They may have changed.

Scarpa Instinct lace: very very soft with stiffer last under toe.  For bouldering and overhanging situations, less pressure on feet, these just squish around my feet.

Sportiva Kataki Lace: wear these with socks.  Stiff last and low volume toe box don’t bend my toe too much.

Sportiva Muira lace: wear these in the gym with my toes flat. It’s the gym, who cares how well I climb there.

Buy shoes on sale and resell them if they don’t work.  MP and Rock and Snow Annex can source 70%-80% of sale value so the risk is manageable.

Velcro is awesomely convenient, but being able to really open a shoe and squeeze my foot in just right makes laces the way for me. 

Live Perched wrote:

My podiatrist suggested shaving down/pumice stoning any calluses on the side of the big toe as well as wrapping the painful joints with paper tape.  Both worked to alleviate pain. Removing athletic tape hurt too much to be worthwhile.

Key beta for taping toes in your climbing shoes: use kinesiotape rather than athletic tape. The k-tape still pads your skin nicely in the shoes, but is much stretchier than cloth athletic tape and thus allows your toes to bend more easily. Much more comfortable. Sticks to skin well, but comes off without too much drama when you need to remove it.  

Shoes with high asymetry will likely work. 

For sportiva that would be a high number PD{x}, so PD 75 or up. I would encourage you to try the miura VS and testartossa. 

For scarpa, the old booster, stix and Mago. Dont know how the new (black) mago fits.

I came to recommend the Oasi, and then saw you had it. If the Oasi is too narrow the the Mastia might be the ticket. I love the Oasi and when I ordered the same size in mastia they felt very wide relatively.

Have you tried the new Geshido Lace? The asymmetry on the big toe edge looks rather straight compared to most other shoes. I generally don't like a shoe that pushes my big toe to a "middle point" either. Alternatively, Acopa might have some good options? Or La Sportiva's wider last in the Skwama or Otaki.

Scarpa Booster looks pretty close to straight on the inside edge.

A little late to the party, but maybe this will help someone else with Egyptian feet who finds this thread like I did.

I have similar feet that cause similar problems.  Egyptian feet.  Straight big toe.  Narrow heel.  Problems where my big toe hurts all day the day after climbing from being jammed towards the center of the foot.  Sometimes even jammed on top of the "index toe."  I would prefer not to develop bunions due to climbing.  Constantly taking off most shoes between burns.  The most comfortable shoe I have ever worn are NIAD Moccasyms.  Asymmetric toe box and a narrow heel.  Flat though.

I have to wrestle a bit to put these on when sized correctly.  When my foot seats into the shoe, it makes a sucking sound leaving no dead space anywhere.  Zero risk of popping off during heel hooks.  Can wear for hours straight.

There seems to be a lot of complaining on the internet about NIAD moccasyms.  A lot of people say the old ones were better or up moccs are better.  I even bought a pair of up moccs based on that gossip.  My big toe is too long/straight and there is dead space around the heel.  After really trying to give the up moccs a chance to break in over the last couple months, I have come to the conclusion they do not fit properly.  I may start hoarding NIAD moccs in case they get discontinued as they seem a bit hard to find in my size (7.5US).

I would like to find a well-fitting downturned shoe to complement these.  I have found flagships fit OK but not fantastic.

Things that have not fit so well: Upmoccs, Instincts, dragos, solutions

FYI all of the NIAD line have the same foot shape. I have worn all the variations except the LV, and I do think they are great shoes....just not as good as old Anasazis.

I broke a big toe many years ago and now it can't fully bend, so I do have to find shoes that accommodate a straighter big toe and doesn't push the big toe laterally inward.  For me, LS Miura VS's have been perfect for route climbing.  Also, I don't downsize like crazy like some people do, which I think helps prevent my toe pain.  Street shoe around 43, Miura VS size 42.