Create hole in shoe? Modify toe?

My left big toe is long and weird. The bump that forms on the joint when it's curled downward rubs painfully on the top of the shoe. I can't put all my weight on that toe when climbing due to the pain. A larger shoe would create too much dead air in the rest of my toes. Every climbing shoe I've tried shares the problem.

I'd like to cut or melt a dime-sized hole in the shoe to relieve the pressure on my toe top. I understand some foot jams will be more painful or difficult, but it's a fair tradeoff to be able to edge and support weight. Is this stupid/impossible?

Has anyone DIY modified their toe length without the use of 18th century Chinese methods?

Do flat shoes like Sportiva mythos hurt as well?

I also had this problem with sport climbing shoes but it went away when I switched to evolve shamans which are designed with extra room in that part of the shoe.

It can be done depending on whether that spot is covered by rubber or not. Non-covered can literally be stretched (Rock & Snow in New Paltz did this for me). If there is rubber and if it can't be stretched this way then I know someone who has cut away gently at some of the rubber rand. Like surgery.

Alex

Have you tried La Sportiva Solutions? It sounds odd because they're down-turned and aggressive. I have oddly long toes and Solutions work well for me on account of the rubber-covered toe space on top of the toe box. 

Cutting a hole in the top of the shoe would make foot jams not only more painful but you're likely to get road rash on the skin of your toe where it pokes through (I've experienced this when the shoe's upper wore through in that spot where my toe knuckles push up.) 

More drastically, I had surgery a decade or so ago to shorten my second toe on my right foot. It was a worthy endeavor and I'm glad I did it. 

I've done exactly this procedure...I used a knife.

Since we don't know what kind of shoe it is, it's hard to give some good suggestions. If it is a leather shoe, without rubber over than part of the shoe you could do the speedy break in process, that might do the trick for you. Put your shoes on, get them wet in the bathtub then just wear them around for an hour or so until they get dry. You'll probably need to repeat the process, since your problem sounds extreme. I have very successfully formed shoes to my toe knuckles in a very short time doing this. 

I know a guy who has been having a bad ingrown toenail problem for a month or so. He got an old pair of shoes and cut a hole straight through where the big toe sits so his big toe ends up hanging outside the shoe completely. He tapes the toe to protect it and can climb mid 12's or harder like this so no excuses! You know your feet best so try it out and experiment but be prepared to end up with a useless and worthless shoe if it doesn't work out.

Thanks for the responses. Initially the best fit in a demo bag was a 46.0 Scarpa Force V but after noticing the issue I went to a climbing store (closest one is 2h!) and tried various pairs on such as 5.10, Butora, and La Sportiva but they all seemed to have the same issue. The best fit I got was another Force V but a half-size up, which eased the pain a bit but also reduced fit quality in the rest of the shoe.

The 46.0s don’t owe me anything so I’m happy to potentially ruin them for a chance at comfort. Any tips on cutting the hole so it doesn’t enlarge or tear? Would melting work better? Should I cover the hole with a softer material, like maybe a leather patch?

The thread title is deceiving..........cut hole in shoe? or modify toe? Hmmm......Modify your toe....... ;)

Pain is weakness leaving the body......... ;)

Ideally I would modify my toe and have all the weakness leave my body at once, rather than bit by bit as I climb ;)

@Jason Halladay, how involved/costly was your surgery?

I would just take a very sharp utility knife and start cutting away. Leather and rubber are pretty durable. Maybe coat the around the edge of the hole with shoe goo when you're down to keep the fabric from unraveling.

Disclaimer: I'm definitely not an expert and this could all go horribly wrong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUPDp9KiGd8

Here you go. Hope it helps. I wouldn't advise cutting if you can help it, the shoe could fail and rip apart with the forces we put on them.

Forrest Carver wrote:

Ideally I would modify my toe and have all the weakness leave my body at once, rather than bit by bit as I climb ;)

@Jason Halladay, how involved/costly was your surgery?

If you modify your toe, you will be out of climbing for at least 6 months...(I modified my toes...)

I had to do my heel for awhile on a pair of evolvs as I had a really bad burn that was taking months to heal....and I needed to climb.

I used a razor knife heated up and it worked really well...then took gorilla tapr and put a piece over the spot to protect it from dirt

I have a friend who lost toes due to frostbite; he modified his own climbing shoes to work with his weird feet, so I'm sure you could, too.

I also recall seeing some company that makes completely custom climbing shoes for weird feet, but I don't remember what they're called.

I saw the title of this thread and at the same time This image showed up on the MP home page:

Did miuras shoes? They designed to have have extra room for the small toes. On my left foot my middle toe is  apermanently bend,  it doesn’t hurt wearing a shoe but it does sometimes in crack. I have a pair of Tenays with a hole where my toe nuckle rubbed the rock. 

As for modifying your shoes go for it. Buy a cheap pair and experiment with it.  If the shoe had rubber in the area just grind it thinner or peel it off. Also, you can cut the leather over the toe and patch it or splice it with another small piece. You can cut a hole and then glue a piece of rubber while your foot is in the shoe. That way you know how much more space you need. You can also stretch shoes by heating or wearing the shoes and wearing therm with a couple pairs of socks. 

I purchased a pair of evol shoes that fit me in the store but I could barely put them on at the crag. After modifying them I was able to wear them for a while but I giv up one the they were bad shoe before I started modifying 

maybe this will work for you

https://www.climbing.com/gear/mammut-2005-rock-shoe-review/

A friend of mine got rid of a heel hotspot in a pair of mythos with a Dremel. Just go a little at a time to make sure you get the right spot. 

Daniel Batson wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUPDp9KiGd8

Here you go. Hope it helps. I wouldn't advise cutting if you can help it, the shoe could fail and rip apart with the forces we put on them.

This.   Instead of paper or marbles, I use the handle of pliers because my toes arched and it wasn’t exactly one spot that was affected but the length of the toe.

Also the shoe trees in this video are garbage.  Get the ones that don’t have a flimsy spring.  Mine are a multi piece design that has a tension mechanism but will firmly press causing the stretch you need. If anyone wants a picture I would be happy to illustrate. 

Found some pictures of the plier method