Have you ever went up a size in climbing shoes?

I’m still fairly new to climbing and I’ve been looking for a new pair of climbing shoes and ive found a pair that I like but instead of staying the same size or going down a size than my street size I’m going up a size. Is that normal? I feel like I shouldn’t be going up a size

Some shoes just don't correlate to street shoe size. Base it on the fit and feel of your prospective climbing shoe, not on your street shoe size.

I didn’t know that thank you

Going by sizes is pointless. Tightness is a better metric.

But yes, I used to use a lot of second rate shoes. Typically Evolv but some others. In order to get the same edging precision, they had to be tight. So tight that I've damaged some of the cartilage in my toes. 

I use things like Anasazi Pink and VCS now, used to use Miura's. All gave me better performance than the cheap shoes and they did it in a more comfortable size. 

Save your toes, get nice shoes and size them snug, not tight.

I've only ever seen people go up in size with evlov and that's just down to how they fit their street shoes.

If the shoes are Evolvs that's totally normal. I wear a size 10 or 10.5 in street shoes. Size 11 in Evolv climbing shoes. 

From what I've seen working in a climbing gear shop most Evolv and Black Diamond shoes fit so small that almost everyone I know goes bigger than their "typical" street shoe size.  Contrast that with LaSportiva's climbing shoes, where almost all of the fit so big that virtually everyone sizes down with them.  

I second the sizing of Evolv.  I never upsized with them, but I have kept my street shoe size.  While with scarpa, I always downsize.  High quality climbing shoes are usually hand made, so converting your street shoe size to them is tough from company to company.  

Tyler Sims wrote:

I’m still fairly new to climbing and I’ve been looking for a new pair of climbing shoes and ive found a pair that I like but instead of staying the same size or going down a size than my street size I’m going up a size. Is that normal? I feel like I shouldn’t be going up a size

As has been said, there is no standard sizing in climbing shoes.  Lots of people are jumping on evolv for needing to upsize, but even that isn't true.  Within any particular brand there is variation in sizing based on the shoe model.  In evolv shoes I've worn everything from a full size down to a half a size up (defy is 1 size down, luchador is 1/2 size down, shaman is street shoe sizing, and nexxo is 1/2 size up).  There are similar issues in other brands too.  Just find a shoe that fits both your foot and the style of climbing you are looking for and the labled size doesn't matter at all.  To get a better idea on shoe sizing you can check out sizesquiril.com which has comparrisons on different climbing shoes.

I usually use size 11 Five Tens but in the Blancos I use 11.5 and 12 depending on the route.  I just get what feels good now.  

I try on a ton of shoes ( always looking for the next pair, lol ) and for me a tight but not painful fit I have found below to be true, or at least a good starting point. 

Evolv - Street Shoe size 

Black Diamond - Street Shoe size

Scarpa - Full size down from street shoe

La Sportiva - 2 full sizes down from street shoe

Five Ten - 1/2 down from street shoe

Tenaya - 1.5 sizes down from street shoe 

Totally normal, and actually an issue for me. Went to buy some Evolv Kira's, in the largest size that they had for women- and it was still too small. 

Ken Noyce wrote:

As has been said, there is no standard sizing in climbing shoes.  Lots of people are jumping on evolv for needing to upsize, but even that isn't true.  Within any particular brand there is variation in sizing based on the shoe model.  In evolv shoes I've worn everything from a full size down to a half a size up (defy is 1 size down, luchador is 1/2 size down, shaman is street shoe sizing, and nexxo is 1/2 size up).  There are similar issues in other brands too.  Just find a shoe that fits both your foot and the style of climbing you are looking for and the labled size doesn't matter at all.  To get a better idea on shoe sizing you can check out sizesquiril.com which has comparrisons on different climbing shoes.

I think a lot has to do with your foot shape, too, because I have a pair of Luchadors and they're 1/2 size UP from my street size and fit perfectly. 

AndrewArroz wrote:

I think a lot has to do with your foot shape, too, because I have a pair of Luchadors and they're 1/2 size UP from my street size and fit perfectly. 

Very true, foot shape plays a big role in how a shoe fits, and when you are trying to get shoes to fit like a second skin as we do in climbing, the sizing really just goes out the window.