ISO: A comfortable beater shoe for the gym

I'm looking for something super comfortable, soft, and cheap. By comfortable, I mean a wide/blunt toe box, no down turn, preferably unlined leather, soft midsole. They don't have to be precise. Think FiveTen spires/coyotes, which are unfortunately no longer made. Know any that fit that criteria today?

Up Mocc

The Blackdiamond Momentums are what I use in the gym for all the reasons you listed. Cheap, comfortable, and soft.

Everyone has different shaped feet so the same shoe is not comfortable for everyone. I would suggest trying a bunch on to see what fits you. Also, there is no reason to wear a super tight shoe in the gym. I don't understand why people wear expensive and uncomfortable shoes to the gym. 

Scarpa helix in my street shoe size. Perfect comfort fit with socks.

La Sportiva Cobra.

Pino Pepino wrote:

La Sportiva Cobra.

In the vein of the Cobra, LS releases the Mantra next month, which is the no edge platform on a slipper-style shoe. I love my Genius for gym climbing because they can find purchase on anything with texture and seem to have good lifespan, however they're not the comfiest. The Mantra stands to be my go-to gym shoe once I can get my hands on a pair.

I used to love my Cobras and Muiras for the gym until I started getting chronic toe pain from the pointy shape of the toe box. Definitely looking for something with a wider toe and forefoot area now. Also don't want to spend more than $100, as they're just going to be low-performing mileage shoes in the gym. I'll take a look at those BD, Scarp, and UP models mentioned. Anyone tried the FiveTen Kirigami shoes?

Momentum for most routes.  Sharmans for any close to limit stuff. 

I bought Tarantulaces for this purpose a few weeks ago. Works great in the gym up to the 12s or warmups outside. Cheap and lots of rubber too.

Butora Endeavour, green. Similar fit as Tarantulaces, but seem to last longer.

Tarantulace are awful in my opinion - I went through two pairs and gladly then never bought them again.  I liked the Endeavour much more, but the mythos is still my go-to comfy gym shoe.

I think keeping in mind cheap - The Mad Rock Remora fits this description fairly well.

Scarpa Origins are the shoe I generally recommend to newer climbers and my current beater gym shoes

I've been wearing the LS Kubo for the last month and have been very happy with them. I had been wearing Skwamas for the last few years as my go to gym shoe, but while the were getting resoled this time I wanted to try a more comfortable shoe. I sized them for comfort, but the performance of the shoe has been surprising even with XS Edge which normally I don't like in gyms. The inside of the shoe feels so much better then all of my past shoes. 

Between being more comfortable, more durable rubber, and cheaper, these are my new go to gym shoes.

Brandon R wrote:

I used to love my Cobras and Muiras for the gym until I started getting chronic toe pain from the pointy shape of the toe box. Definitely looking for something with a wider toe and forefoot area now. Also don't want to spend more than $100, as they're just going to be low-performing mileage shoes in the gym. I'll take a look at those BD, Scarp, and UP models mentioned. Anyone tried the FiveTen Kirigami shoes?

Scarpa instinct slippers maybe? Not leather though. There used to be a great leather slipper version of the Scarpa Vapor (Vapor S) that was unfortunately discontinued a while ago. Finding proper leather shoes is becoming increasingly difficult unfortunately.

I also get toe pain from the cobra. Skwamas are a little bit outside your budget but have a wide toe and a near perfect balance of comfort and performance. 

Just a post so I can find this thread easily, I'm currently looking for something similar.

At least at the level I climb at gyms, my feet are mostly on substantial holds, no edging required. Comfy is what I go for. 

Wide and narrow seem to be a problem. You'd think someone could make money with widths and do it.   

My feet are so narrow it's hard to lace them tight enough.  

I've got a pair of Boreals that have only touched plastic.  Outdoors I use the 5.10 for the sticky.

Went into REI to try on some shoes but unfortunately they didn't have much in my size. I specifically wanted to try the Momentum and Endeavor, but no luck. I did try the LS Kubo in my usual sportiva size... quite a low volume shoe compared to every other sportiva shoe I've owned (TC, mythos, cobra, skwama, muira, otaki, kataki, katana vc). 

Dunno about availability in the US, but in Europe what you're looking for is the Ocun Crest. Comfy, climbs okayish, cheap as hell.