Buying shoes in Chicago?

What do people do when they're looking for a new pair of climbing shoes in the Midwest?

My latest 5.10s finally gave up the ghost now I'm at a loss for where to buy shoes around here. Our local REI, Moosejaw, and Erehwon stock about 6 different shoes combined. Does REI frown upon ordering 25 different pairs and then returning them all? I have an idea of 6-8 pairs that I'd like and I should try a couple different sizes of each.

P.S. This sucks.

They move. Haha at least you have a big city with multiple shops.

well, if you want to make the drive to Madison this friday night there will be a Scarpa & 5.10 shoe demo at Boulders Climbing Gym. From 5pm untill close.

I am not sure what is coming from 5.10, but Scarpa will have at least 7 modles to try out.

M's & W's Techno, Rockette, Booster, Feroce, Instinct,
and the old Thunder.

Good Luck!

come down to climb and see shoe selection at Xtremeplex gym in Monee. Think there are sizes up to 9.5 still going for under 60 bucks there.

I must be really lucky because the 5.10 outlet is only 30 minutes drive from my place. Shoes for 60-70 dollars :), sometimes you can find a pair for $20 :)

Moosejaw is chicago based? No?

Moosejaw is based out of Michigan, but they do have a shop in Chicago.

jon jugenheimer wrote:well, if you want to make the drive to Madison this friday night there will be a Scarpa & 5.10 shoe demo at Boulders Climbing Gym. From 5pm untill close. I am not sure what is coming from 5.10, but Scarpa will have at least 7 modles to try out. M's & W's Techno, Rockette, Booster, Feroce, Instinct, and the old Thunder. Good Luck!

Shoot! Coming up to DL this weekend but might not make it Friday. I'll have to pull some strings. Might be walking in the door 10 minutes to close...

Definitely want to try the new Instinct. It seems like I should own a pair of Technos just because. Thanks for the heads up.

I've had good luck calling REI Seattle, asking for their shoe person, mentioning my needs (high arch, hammer toes, Morton's toe, narrow heel, etc.) and asking what among the shoes I find attractive they recommend. That way it's easy to eliminate some that are very unlikely to fit well. And questions of size, expected stretch, and the like can be managed as well.
Good luck.

If you are traveling to Devils Lake for the weekend the Wildside store in Baraboo sells several options from 5/10 and LaSportiva. The store maintains a large inventory of gear. 608-356-9218

When you say "gave up the ghost" do you mean they're past saving with a resole? I sent mine in to Rock and Resole from Chicago and they returned them promptly and in great shape. Just a thought.

The shoes are toast. I've had them resoled a couple times with pretty good luck but stitching is pealing back now. Maybe a cobbler could fix it but not worth it.

I'll check out Wildside in Baraboo. Driven past a bunch but never bothered to stop. Thanks for the tip.

I finally bought some shoes!

It was a long arduous process. First I order 6 pair from Endless.com different brands/models/sizes. Free shipping both ways, same deal as Zappos. Yes, I spent $1000 on this order. This really helped to narrow down which brand fit me better.

La Sportiva actually has brochure that describes the different shoe "lasts" used to make there shoes so this was very helpful in determining which models I could wear with similar fit.

After returning all 6 pair to Endless I finally settled on the La Sportiva Katana lace. Size 41.5. I'll be crushing routes in the shoes. Watch out.

Funny... I needed a new pair of shoes and the katana lace's came highly recommended. I gave moosejaw a call and they had one pair available in 41.5 which fits me perfectly. They're killer shoes for sure! Sucks you had a big ordeal to find them, but I guess I got really lucky. Moosejaw also price matches online retailers so I got them for $98 as seen on backcountry.com