ISO: A comfortable beater shoe for the gym

I’ve been using the 5.10 rogue as a beater gym shoe. Hated them at first but they are unlined leather and broke in very nicely. 

Over the past 3-4 years I got a deal on cheap shoes, the BD momentum, Tarantulace, and Evolve Defy: Ranked below

1. BD momentum: Its super comfy, I can session a gym for hours and its like a sock. Works well enough and I've even worn them outside on trad days with lighter grades with a lot of ease and comfort. Great shoe for more than just a gym session. used up 3 pairs, just bought 2 more.

2. Evolve Defy, Super comfy and for anything under 5.12 and V7, it felt great - On 2nd pair currently, great gym shoe, found they lacked a little when I had to use them outside.

3. Tarantulace, Wanted to like them more, style and fit ruined it for me. found the rubber and feel to be pretty ok, but ultimately only went though one round and then gifted the 2nd pair I bought cause I didnt like them as much as the BD shoes I began to cycle into my sessions. 

I started on Five Ten moccasyms, loved them but found the price and deals were worth it compared to lower cost options above. 

biggest advice, its just a gym beater shoe, just find the cheapest thing you like and climb with it.

Tradgic Yogurt wrote:

Butora Endeavour, green. Similar fit as Tarantulaces, but seem to last longer.

Love mine. Just sent them for a resole and slight modification actually.

+1 for tarantulace. I push them hard in the gym when top rope or lead climbing. I prefer a comfy laced shoe for longer sessions

I use old TCs that have been resoled with toe caps and don't climb thin cracks very well anymore. Might not be soft enough for you, though.

If you like the La Sportiva fit, and are ok with the bad (but maybe durable?) factory rubber, Tarantulaces are pretty good.

I gym climb in old TC Pros and Katana Laces that have been resoled many times.  I wasted money on Tarantulaces trying save money: the sole delaminated and then after getting a resole the lace eyelets ripped through.

Elijah Benson wrote:

In the vein of the Cobra, LS releases the Mantra next month, which is the no edge platform on a slipper-style shoe. I love my Genius for gym climbing because they can find purchase on anything with texture and seem to have good lifespan, however they're not the comfiest. The Mantra stands to be my go-to gym shoe once I can get my hands on a pair.

I've been wearing the Mantra exclusively as my gym shoe since my pair arrived in early June. Because of the No-Edge sole, what wear has occurred is pretty evenly distributed around the toe. That said, after three to four 3-hour sessions a week, the rubber is pretty minimally eaten away at. The only damage is some gouging from sport climbing outdoors—this is not an outdoor shoe. Between the sensitivity and the P3 tensioning system, these are great shoes at every angle, with the only distinct weaknesses being climbing on steep terrain with marginally incut feet and insecure heelhooks that, for whatever reason, you can't cam down onto. For $140, and knowing that I'll get many resoles out of them because of the way that the No-Edge protects the rand, I feel like I've found a new gym shoe for life.

went to REI and got lucky and found a pair in the "garage sale" bin. They are the Evolv Kira and they tick all of those boxes. When these eventually blow out, ill find something similar (flat, comfy, cheap) as a new gym burner... rather blow out a pair of $60 shoes than $200. but if i deem the route to warrant my "try hard" shoes then so be it. i bought the nice ones so might as well use them every once in a while

Evolv rave

Ian Ludden wrote:

Evolv rave

+1, This is has been my go-to for easy climbing, or enduro ARC sessions.

I thought the Tenaya Tanta was pretty impressive for $120

LS finale, got them 20% off, I think it was $60 total? Love them. The laces broke but that's from my doodoo footwork in the cracks. 

+1 on the Finales as a very logical (and likely cheaper in the long term) alternative to the tarantulaces. I had good experiences with the tarantulatce until my most recent pair started delaminating at the toe after only a few months of gym climbing. You get what you pay for.