Best climbing shoes?

I'm looking at replacing my shoes.   What's the best shoe for trad, sport and gym.   I don't care about price.  I'm not opposed to multiple pair.  I'm climbing at a 5.10 level.  But I want to get better.  Thank! 

Now, that being said, my preferences: I prefer 5.10 shoes as a whole, they just fit my feet better. I recommend the Anasazi for almost anything, but it isn't super agressive for over hanging stuff, and I think the Quantum is a really good option for an all around shoe. I also have a pair of LS Katana laces and they are just about the perfect all around shoe.  

Five Ten Anasazi if you want just one shoe, as long as it fits your foot.  It should be noted, however, that the real answer is "none," as there is no "best" shoe, it really comes down to personal preference/style and also what fits your foot.  Certain shoes will give you advantages in certain areas/terrains, but aren't really necessary at the 5.10 grade.  I'd recommend trying a bunch of shoes on (and test their performance as well) to see what works for you.  You'll feel like a god in Miuras because they edge very well, but I prefer a softer shoe that lets me use my feet more in a natural position and feel the rock.

Definitely the answer is the one that fits your feet. I have been in search of the perfect all day trad shoe for awhile now and think I have finally arrived after going through four pairs that didn't quite work out. It has been an expensive journey. The trad shoe I have settled on (Butora Altura) even took some time to figure out. I initially bought a half size too small. Going a half size larger seems to be working well--finally! So, for all-day trad I have my Butoras for crack-heavy climbing and Techno-Xs (with 5.10 rubber) if I want a bit more sensitivity and for most sport climbs. I use both models in the gym, too, but I don't climb high numbers in the gym (or outside, for that matter!) Anyway, just my experience...be prepared to try shoes that may not work out. 

+1 to ones that fit your feet. Everybody's feet and body mechanics are different. Every shoe has a different shape, fit, and intended function. You need to try on (and ideally climb in) a bunch of shoes to make YOUR choice. 

If you have an idea of your foot shape and volume, some manufacturers like La Sportiva and Scarpa have nice guides which separate their shoes into categories based on this and how aggressive a shoe you want. This could give you a good starting point. Likewise https://sizesquirrel.com/ might be able to get you started as well

TC Pros, no question...you'll be climbing the dawn wall in no time. 

"The best climbing shoes are the ones having the most fun." 

You need to find the shoes that fit your feet the best. Personally I like laces, because my feet are oddly shaped. I also like a softer more downturned shoe for the gym and a stiffer flatter shoe for outside, so two pair would be my suggestion if price is no matter. Heck you could even get more specialized for outdoor stuff if you wanted depending on the type of rock you are climbing on and if its mostly cracks or not, end up with even more than 2 pair. 

Testarossas for trad

Boreal Ballet Gold for hard steep sport

Spantiks for gym climbing

Have you tried climbing barefoot?

Nick Drake wrote:

Testarossas for trad

Boreal Ballet Gold for hard steep sport

Spantiks for gym climbing

Be advised this guy is (obviously) pulling your chain. The "fit your feet" advice says nothing at all. Yes they gotta fit but there are some known good/bad shoes.

My go-to are Five Ten Anasazi (trad) & La Sportiva muira (sport). I have dozens of shoes and keep reaching for them.

sherb wrote:

Be advised this guy is (obviously) pulling your chain. The "fit your feet" advice says nothing at all. Yes they gotta fit but there are some known good/bad shoes.

So riddle me this. Buy a "bad shoe" that fits your foot perfectly or buy a "good shoe" that fits poorly? 

Tapawingo Markey wrote:

So riddle me this. Buy a "bad shoe" that fits your foot perfectly or buy a "good shoe" that fits poorly? 

There is a reason La Sportiva sells many more shoes than Red Chilli. A good starting point is get a listing of some good shoes, and then pick from that batch the shoe which fits the best. More helpful than repeating sheep advice saying "shoe that fits"without naming any. Would a great fitting roller skate work for climbing? No. Riddle solved.

The best climbing shoes meet the following criteria:

1. Adequate fit to your feet.

2. Adequate stiffness and shape to the rock you're on.

3. Still have some rubber and holes in them are still not that big so you have to take 'em off to cut your toes nails.

4. You own 'em.

Personally I buy the cheapest 5.10 or Scarpa slightly downturned shoes (my feet are shaped by 5.10 Anasazy and Scarpa Instinct VS) on the best sale available. The last pair I trashed were 5.10 Jet7 (long ago discontinued model) bought from store liquidation sale. They were sooooo nice (especially for the price).

On a serious side climbing shoes choice is very personal. There is no such a thing as "the best climbing shoes", there are aduquate to the task climbing shoes. For all (but maybe elite athletes climbing on the edge of theirs abilities) there are always multiple choice of climbing shoes adequate to the given conditions.

I tried spantiks.

sherb wrote:

Be advised this guy is (obviously) pulling your chain. The "fit your feet" advice says nothing at all. Yes they gotta fit but there are some known good/bad shoes.

My go-to are Five Ten Anasazi (trad) & La Sportiva muira (sport). I have dozens of shoes and keep reaching for them.

What makes a shoe "good" or "bad?"  Everyone has different shaped feet, so a shoe that fits one person perfectly might fit another terribly.  It doesn't matter how inherently high performance a shoe is if your only choices for fit are toe-crushing pain or loose heels.  Conversely, a shoe that fits well will allow you to size it aggressively enough (without causing pain) to maximize performance.

Ted Pinson wrote:

What makes a shoe "good" or "bad?"  Everyone has different shaped feet, so a shoe that fits one person perfectly might fit another terribly.  It doesn't matter how inherently high performance a shoe is if your only choices for fit are toe-crushing pain or loose heels.  Conversely, a shoe that fits well will allow you to size it aggressively enough (without causing pain) to maximize performance.

It makes more sense to give the guy a starting point of shoes which are known good performers. Telling someone get a "shoe that fits" is not only obvious (even non-climbers try on shoes to see which one fits and seek to avoid toe-crushing pain) but also does not help OP narrow down the wide array of climbing shoes to see which one to try on for fit best. Lastly if several fit, It would be nice to know which perform best. Even a guideline of what to look for as a "best fit" is somewhat more useful than a trite repitition of "get the best fit."

Yeah, but "perform best" is just as subjective as "fits."  Some prefer a softer shoe, some prefer a stiffer shoe.  Some prefer a downturn, some prefer a flatter shoe...and that's not even taking into consideration the type of climbing (a high performance bouldering shoe is not going to be the same as a high performance trad shoe).  The TS did not state (or possibly even know) his preferences there, so the only objectively "good" quality he can look for is fit.

sherb wrote:

It makes more sense to give the guy a starting point of shoes which are known good performers. Telling someone get a "shoe that fits" is not only obvious (even non-climbers try on shoes to see which one fits and seek to avoid toe-crushing pain) but also does not help OP narrow down the wide array of climbing shoes to see which one to try on for fit best. Lastly if several fit, It would be nice to know which perform best. Even a guideline of what to look for as a "best fit" is somewhat more useful than a trite repitition of "get the best fit."

Which climbing shoes are the known bad performers?

I can speak to sport, gym, and bouldering, but not trad as I don't trad climb often. 

Fit on your foot is number 1. You don't want dead space in the heels or toes and you don't want painful shoes. When I climb in 5.10's higher performance shoes (teams, dragons) I end up with dead space at my big toe because the shoe is so asymmetric and my second toe is longer than the first. This isn't particularly good as that's where a lot of your foot power should come from. While they are great shoes I'm sure they don't work for me. Sportiva generally works well for me. I like Solutions for most hooking and power edging. I like Testarossas if I don't have to hook and feel like using laces. I like Speedsters in the gym and for most outdoor bouldering. They are fairly soft and have no edges so you need strong feet to stand on edges for any length of time, but they work great for me for most climbing situations.

A lot of it is really just personal preference. Some people like soft shoes because they have strong feet and it works for the types of climbing they're doing as well as their personal style. Some people like stiff shoes, hard rubber, etc.

I also like shoes that have some natural leather in them. All synthetic shoes will end up smelling like death at some point. 

Khoi wrote:

Which climbing shoes are the known bad performers?

The listing of known bad performers is infinite so it's easier to offer what you like and reasons why and he can pick from that list. It makes less sense to be armed with a list of shoes you don't want (I don't want roller skates, sneakers, EBs, tarantulaces, Red chilis etc.- more sensical to ask / search for what you may want).

But I suppose garbage-in, garbage-out. OP could have easily done a search and find tons of climbing shoe reviews such as on outdoorgearlab. Since he is not opposed to buying multiple pairs of shoes he can go ahead and do that. 

I bought all popular shoes available in my size that is also on sale and they often conformed to my feet after a while. From there I developed my preferences.