Anasazi Pinks - Help w/ Sizing

I've got the Pinks in sizes 10 (43) and 10.5 (44). Which do I keep? (I'm stepping up from La Sportiva Finale in size 43)

10(43): They are very snug. Not painful, but tight. I can't wiggle my little toes, and my big toe has a bit of pressure against it--not 'knuckling' though.  My big toe is a bit more resistant to bending than the larger size.

10.5(44): Also snug, but more comfortable. The pressure against all my toes is even. I can wiggle my little toes a tiny bit. 

Not a huge difference between them. Both sizes seem doable. What say you?

Thanks,

Andrew

The "codura" stuff really stays the same size. go with the 10.5 for sure. I've gone through a bunch of dragons, and have a pair of blue quantums and green teams. The sizing is stays consistent until they are un-resolable

I ordered the same two sizes as you, and sent the 10s back. I think that this was the only time I sized a climbing shoe up from my normal shoe size, but it seems to have been the right thing to do. I wear my Pinks a lot, and they don't seem to have gotten loose. Except the heel, of course, which is a bit loose to begin with. But if heel hooking were to be your whole life, you'd probably be buying a different shoe in the first place.

Well, this is weird. I tried one of each on my feet and when I took them off I had gotten the sizes switched--thought the 10.5 was the smaller one and the 10 was the larger. I suspect I'm a 10.25.   

FWIW, the Pinks (both) feel narrower than the Finales. Plus, they look nicer, which is everything.

ps. Morison and Morrison??

Mostly gym, but Gunks when it warms up.

I could wear both for 20 minutes w/o pain. I'm thinking that it's probably better to err on the side of no pain (larger) than go for ultimate tightness. I'm a 5.8 Gunks climber who is just starting to learn lead, so I don't have to worry about dime edges just yet, I think.

Yes?

They don’t stretch.  Also, the heel is probably one of the best heels and great for heel hooking, so I dunno what happened with you, Morrison.  Maybe because you sized up from street?  Mine are a full size (12) down from my street size (13) and they are the bee’s knees...probably my favorite overall shoe, and after their first resole, my go-to for slab.  I even wore them on an 8 pitcher in Squamish, but they did destroy my Achilles...was worth it for the extra security on friction slab.  They start off feeling super stiff and bricky, but let them break in and they will be very kind to you.

caughtinside wrote:

I really like the pinks for vert edging and steep stuff. I can't wear them for slab because they are too narrow and become uncomfortable very quickly.  

Odd. Pinks are by far my favorite slab shoe, since they are thin, soft, and flexible, which enhances sensitivity to tiny convexities and concavities. But, chacun a son gout, nawmean?

Paul Morrison wrote:

Odd. Pinks are by far my favorite slab shoe, since they are thin, soft, and flexible, which enhances sensitivity to tiny convexities and concavities. But, chacun a son gout, nawmean?

Try maverinks. They destroy everything in the pure friction slab category. Made my pinks feel like mountaineering boots. 

OP if they don't cause you pain stick to the tighter size. You should not be able to curl your toe back in a climbing shoe, there should not be slop in the toes. If there is you will trust your feet less, even on larger holds, and will over grip. No need to go into foot binding torture, but if you can wear them for 20 minutes that's plenty comfy. 

Pinks have a high volume heel. If you size too big, there will be dead space. When you get onto a slab your foot will settle backwards, filling out the heel but leaving your toes looser than you thought they'd be. So I would recommend paying close attention to how the heel fits so you aren't surprised when your foot slips back. After having a couple pairs of pinks, I've decided they are meant to bit fit pretty tight to reach their potential.

Update: I went w/ the 10.5. After about 4-5 sessions in the gym, they now fit like a glove. Super nice. I don't think they stretched, but just softened up. At the end of yesterday's session, my toes felt a bit too loose, but they are still hard to put on. I may go for the 10s next time, but since I'm not doing the Dawn Wall, I don't expect the difference to matter much--unless the 10s will give me better technique and finger strength.   

Basically, I think I've found my shoes!! I can frontpoint (is that the term?) with them instead of using the side of my big toe, which is what I had to do with the Finales. I'm thrilled with how sticky they are. A tricky V4 that I could do about half the time before has now become one of my warm ups. 

Thanks, all. For your input.  

Oh, one thing: what's with the looong shoe laces? Are they for double-tying? Should I go ahead and cut them? Are they so you have tat to rappel off of?   

I have no idea what the deal is with those laces...my one complaint.  I’ve actually stepped on them a few times and had to rety my shoes on lead once...not fun, lol.  Make sure you double knot!  I ended up shredding mine from cracks fairly quickly and replaced them.

Update on update: after several weeks of climbing, I started noticing more of the front-toe-space at the end of a gym session, as Z Winters wrote about. Whether they stretch a tiny bit, or just loosen up, dunno. I took advantage of Backcountry's 30-day policy and got the 10s. They are glorious. While the 10.5s required some broomhandling and time to remove hotspots, these are like butter from day one. Makes me think that there is some variation on the shape/construction of different sizes, or even of different pairs of shoes. These have no front-toe-space, even after climbing. 

Anyway, I feel like a bit of a douche perseverating on this, but I'm thrilled to find my shoes and I thank you all for your input.

Andrew Hess wrote:

Update on update: after several weeks of climbing, I started noticing more of the front-toe-space at the end of a gym session, as Z Winters wrote about. Whether they stretch a tiny bit, or just loosen up, dunno. I took advantage of Backcountry's 30-day policy and got the 10s. They are glorious. While the 10.5s required some broomhandling and time to remove hotspots, these are like butter from day one. Makes me think that there is some variation on the shape/construction of different sizes, or even of different pairs of shoes. These have no front-toe-space, even after climbing. 

Anyway, I feel like a bit of a douche perseverating on this, but I'm thrilled to find my shoes and I thank you all for your input.

Yeah no worries. I've replaced my Pinks with Tenaya Masais which don't have the baggy heel issue, but they just aren't the same. Might have to get pair of tight pinks sometime down the road. Glad you got it dialed in!

Sorry for the bump.  I just ordered an 11.  I can wear them without pain per say but they are definitely uncomfortable, my toes do get knuckled a little bit.  Unfortunately I used my discount from the American Alpine club directly from five ten so it's not like I can take em for a spin and then resize later.  Should I bump up to the 11.5?  I climb mainly indoor and at devils lake.

Truthfully this is my first pair of real shoes so I'm not too sure how they're supposed to feel.

That sounds like a good performance fit.  They do break in a bit (even if they don’t stretch) and will be good for standing on quartzite edges and trying to squeeze every bit of friction you can out of the glassy rock.  DL is mostly single pitch, so as long as you can tolerate them for that amount of time your best bet is to go as tight as you can.

Z Winters wrote:

Pinks have a high volume heel. If you size too big, there will be dead space. When you get onto a slab your foot will settle backwards, filling out the heel but leaving your toes looser than you thought they'd be. So I would recommend paying close attention to how the heel fits so you aren't surprised when your foot slips back. After having a couple pairs of pinks, I've decided they are meant to bit fit pretty tight to reach their potential.

I'll second this comment, my toes will be scrunched up when just standing around or belaying, but if you are stemming in a dihedral, all of a sudden you have a ton of space in your toe box. I wear a 10.5 street shoe, and wear a 10 or 9.5 Pink. I have an older pair that is 9.5, but has stretched a bit, and my new ones are 10.

I would keep the 11. I feel that they actually break in really nicely and stretched a little bit to my foot after a couple of sessions. I wear a size 10 in the pinks and a size 10.5 street shoe for reference also.

A sort of trick I use when I want a looser fit is that I'll bend my ankle up and try to get it down into the heel. Then I'll bend the toebox down, which creates a bit of room for my toes. Then when I lace them up I feel as if the lacing is keeping my feet back in the shoe, giving me more toe room. Or it's all psychosomatic.