Suggestions for HV foot

Where I live the shoe variety at shops is super limited so I am looking for suggestions for shoes I can order online and try out. My current shoe is a real old 5.10 which I can't find the name of :ppp, but it has quite a bit of dead space so its not a great fit for a starter.

The problem for my is that my feet are high volume in all senses and not particularly suited to "pointy" shoes. I have a high arch/instep, wide forefoot (2E), relatively slim heel, and roman toes. The high arch/instep makes putting on some shoes, e.g. instinct VSR, damn near impossible for me further compounding the problem. I have also tried evolv shamans, but I had to go way too big to be able to put my foot inside.

I have some nice sites, campz mainly, to order from with decent return policies but I am just not sure what to try next. I climb mostly indoors and mostly bouldering, ideally I think I am looking for something in the beginner-intermediate range but I have nothing against a more beginner shoe if it actually fits well. I am curious to hear if anyone else has had similar problems.

Have you considered a lace up shoe? 

Sine I mostly boulder the focus has definitely been on velcros, but my current shoes are lace-ups. It seems to me that the lace-ups are more are more forgiving but the overall shape, wide vs not, still plays a factor.

Do you have any lace-ups you could recommend? Then I could order and try them.

Morten Nissov wrote:

Sine I mostly boulder the focus has definitely been on velcros, but my current shoes are lace-ups. It seems to me that the lace-ups are more are more forgiving but the overall shape, wide vs not, still plays a factor.

Do you have any lace-ups you could recommend? Then I could order and try them.

Evolv fit wide feet (try the oracle) but I'm not a fan of the heel, scarpa fit a little wider (instinct lace) than la sportiva, katakis are fairly wide so an exception to the usual narrow la sportiva fit. 

What’s your price range and are you looking for a more aggressive shoes?

Scarpa v force was good to me, Velcro and padding, really comfortable for the price 

scarpa mago are amazing for my wide toes, expensive high end aggressive lace up, you can find them on sale 25% off sometimes 

 The scarpa veloce was comfortable for me too, (I didnt buy these but I tried them on at my gym) Definitly worth checking out if you want Velcro and inexpensive

The most comfortable shoes I have are my la sportiva TC pros, they fit a lot of different feet, and are the ones I wear the most. 

The Skwama is a great all-around shoe for wide feet, and you can usually find them on sale. I wear the “women’s” model, which, while still wide, has less volume in the heel. Plus, I prefer the colorway to the men’s.

Keep in mind that the same companies will often have shoes based on totally different lasts, but pretty much don’t advertise them as such. For instance, the Instinct and Skwama lines have distinctively wide forefeet, whereas the Drago/Chimera/Furia and Miura/Katana/TC are much narrower. I think it would be real helpful if brands advertised width, at least in relation to the other shoes in their lineup... It would save me a lot in return shipping...

Morten Nissov wrote:

The high arch/instep makes putting on some shoes, e.g. instinct VSR, damn near impossible for me further compounding the problem. I have also tried evolv shamans, but I had to go way too big to be able to put my foot inside.

I have the exact same problem with a high arch and instep. It makes it even worse when climbing shoe companies insist on sewing the tongue down on an otherwise great shoe, the Evolv Shaman for example.

I've found the Tenaya Ra's to be extremely comfortable for my high arches & instep as well as fairly wide forefoot.

Scarpa Veloce. 

@that guy named seb I have tried some evolvs already but never the oracles, in addition I hadn't imagined sportiva would make anything wide enough but I'll try both. I have high hopes for scarpa, I tried the veloche today which fit very nice except for a slightly baggy heel. Thanks for the recommendations.

@Heywood Little I haven't set an exact number, I think maybe I would say 150 usd as a soft upper limit. I am not necessarily looking for very aggressive shoes, I am used to very flat/straight shoes so I figure its not optimal jumping to something very aggressive. In addition I am not that good so its probably not necessary :).

I actually did just happen to try some scarpa veloce today and I thought they fit very well, except for that the heel was a little baggy. Otherwise great, ideally I would just find a shoe with the veloce last but a smaller heel lmao. I haven't tried either the v force, mago, nor the TC pros though; the TC pros look very out-doorsy but I'll add all three to the list :).

@Mark Paulsen Yeah I definitely agree, I understand companies wnat to keep their secrets but a little more information would make it much easier to compare shoes. Even if only within one companies models.

@MaxChandler I've heard the same about the Ra's, I will be sure to try them out. :)

Edit: Sorry for the delay, I have a limit on posts per day apparently.

after searching for a year trying different shoes i learned a few takeaways, Ignore "HV" "LV" "womens" "mens" lables for shoe brands. there are no industry standards and just try everything, some shoes could be the exact same size in womens and mens but different colors, some LV shoes could have narrow toes but high instep and big heel, my girlfriend has a low volume foot so she tried on almost all of the low volume shoes every company makes but couldnt find a shoe that fit her heel,  she gave up and started trying on mens versions of shoess and found that the mens la sportiva kataki fit perfect. 

if the valoce mens didnt fit right(and you have access to try them on), try the valoce womens in the same size and a size up/size down to see if the dead space in the heel goes away, if the dead space in the heel goes away but your toes are so cramped they hurt, then that shoe isnt for you. 

I have the exact same problem with a high arch and instep. It makes it even worse when climbing shoe companies insist on sewing the tongue down on an otherwise great shoe

i saw in a youtube video somewhere i think on magnus matbo's channel about scarpa climbing shoes the rep explained a different method of putting on climbing shoes vs regular shoes because of exactly this issue, he said to fold the heel down and insert your toes into the shoe as far as they go then once they are at the end of the shoe pull the heel over the back of your foot. it changed the way i put on my shoes instead of being on the struggle bus holding on to the tongue and the heel and jamming my foot in all at once. hope this helps! 

@Heywood Little Following that advice I actually ordered some different sizes of veloce in womens to try, unfortunately the stores around here have a limited stock but at least the online store has a decent return policy. So I'll be interested to see if the women's version fits better. I think I might've seen the youtube video, I've actually begun using the plastic bag as well to reduce friction so I make sure my foot goes all the way in :). With respect to the labels I've coming to realize this more than more, especially if you consider a foot can be high or low volume in many different ways, heel vs forefoot and thickness in width vs height, so I will keep this in mind.

@Dan A I am trying to not be over selective, I just find it's difficult to know when it's good enough, I think the goal in my head is visualizing something that fits somewhat like a sock, tight but not painful but also with toes curled against the front. From that perspective maybe I could argue having a slightly baggy heel is worth living with if it means no toe deadspace, my current shoes have a lot so exactly this has been quite a nuisance, but I think it's a little difficult sometimes to draw the line. But Thank you for the resources I'll take a look.