Trad Shoes for EXTREMELY narrow women's feet

Hi all:

I'm looking for information on potential climbing shoes for women with VERY narrow feet that are also low volume.  Previously I wore the Boreal Luna as my trad shoe, and it was a great fit.  However, it's no longer made and their most similar model (the joker) doesn't work for me.  I'm looking for recommendations for something that would perform well both smearing and on thin cracks.  The La Sportiva Katana lace women's is unfortunately too wide for my foot.  I've also tried the Evolv Kira which is closer (but still a bit wide), and it doesn't really climb thin cracks as well as the Boreal Luna did.  The Scarpa vapor is also too wide for me.  Does anyone know of other shoes that are very narrow and would do well in think cracks and smears?

Edit:  the muira is also too wide.  It's an even worse fit than the katana lace or scarpa vapor for me.

Thanks

Something from Tenaya perhaps? The Masai or Inti are reportedly quite narrow. Alternatively, Unparallel's LV models?

Take a look at the Miura lace....

James L wrote:

Something from Tenaya perhaps? The Masai or Inti are reportedly quite narrow. Alternatively, Unparallel's LV models?

Second Tenaya. I have long, low-volume, and very narrow feet and it's the only brand that fits me well.

The NIAD lace from 5.10 could be a candidate. The break in can be brutal but it's narrow and quite versatile. Sadly, it's not the Pinks of yesteryear but a good shoe non the less. 

Scarpa Technos were narrower than the Vapor (Techno and Techno X are no longer in production). Scarpa Force V are also narrower than the Vapors and have become my normal shoes for sport cragging and easy trad (Velcro is so much easier to don/doff the shoes at belays!). The Force V is inexpensive (relatively) and climbs better than I expected. 

Sportiva Mythos are narrow and comfy for trad. 

Tenaya Tarifa are very narrow, I think they're great for 5.11-12 edging on granite but haven't done any truly thin cracks in mine. 

If you find the exact shoe you really love and fits, consider making an Ebay saved search for the shoe and size - you'll get an email when someone posts a set on Ebay. 

Thanks for the recomendations.  I have not tried any Tenaya shoes, so I'll take a look at them!  My lunas have been resoled about 3-4 times already so are on their way out.  

I was able to wear the scarpa Techno when it was out, but had issues with a lot of pain in the heel cup (I never figured out why).  The muira lace unfortunately is an even worse fit on me than the scarpa  vapor or katana laces.  I've not tried unparallel, but always assumed they wouldn't work since most 5.10 models never worked for me.  I should probably actually take a look at their shoes.

Thanks

I think we checked Butora/Mantra/Narrow and Butora/Libra when looking for shoes that would fit my wife's narrow foot. Width was OK, perhaps something worth looking at

Another woman here with long and narrow feet! I climb lots of trad and my favorite all around high tops are the Five Ten Grandstones. They're not the best for thin cracks, but they can manage. Also, the Mythos are decent for thin cracks and fit narrow feet very well. But I would agree with everyone else here: TENAYA. They're my favorite brand hands down for shoes. Try the Masai for a trad shoe. Very comfortable and the "stiffest" in their range (still not allll that stiff, but good enough for long trad days). I love the Oasi LV as my sport climbing/bouldering shoe. I've also worn the Tarifa, but it didn't fit my foot as well as other models.

How did you guys size your Masai's for all day trad? I have two pair of Masais, one at 1/2 size below street size and one at street size, and they both kill me if I have to jam anything larger than .75 (toes are still knuckled). I struggle to see how this would change even if I size up further, as the toe is so pointy it basically forces your toes to curl...

Tenaya shoes are so good for narrow feet tho, should definitely give them a try! 

To the Tenaya wearers our here, how do you typically size Tenaya?  I've been trying them on 0.5 - 1 down from my street shoe, and they are incredibly loose.  I'm not sure whether I'm just not sizing the shoe right, or if the last is narrow but high volume (vertical height).  I'm both narrow and low volume, which adds to the struggle.

Christina kalb wrote:

To the Tenaya wearers our here, how do you typically size Tenaya?  I've been trying them on 0.5 - 1 down from my street shoe, and they are incredibly loose.  I'm not sure whether I'm just not sizing the shoe right, or if the last is narrow but high volume (vertical height).  I'm both narrow and low volume, which adds to the struggle.

I size down quite a bit. My street shoe size is womens 10.5, but I wear a 9 (women's size) in the Oasi LV and a 9.5 (women's size) in the Masai

I wear 48 in mountain boots and 48 in Tenaya Tarifa. They are comfortably snug for single pitch climbing, if I used them multi pitch they would be removed at every belay. 

Street shoe size. 

Did you try the Ra? And if yes, the the men's Ra? I have very narrow feet, tried the Ra women's model, and they seemed - to me - to be wider than the men's.

Heresy, I know: Have you tried wearing some thin or even medium socks in your shoes?  Socks will widen your foot far more than they will lengthen your foot, hence you can wear a wider shoe. My personal opinion is that unless you’re really, really pushing the limits, socks may not compromise your performance at all, and your feet will be dryer, more comfortable and the shoes won’t stink. They give a bit of extra comfort in cracks. You won’t know if it works until you try it.
 I routinely wear VERY thin wool/nylon socks in my TC Pros. I highly recommend trying this, if you haven’t already done so.

Heresy, I know: Have you tried wearing some thin or even medium socks in your shoes?

I’d describe my feet the same way as the OP. The Masai are magic for me. I have 4 pair as a hedge against the model being discontinued, though that’s probably unwarranted. The fit and sizing among the various Tenaya models does vary quite a bit, at least for my feet. For multi-pitch, I wear street shoe size. For harder single pitch, I use 1/2 size down. The only other shoe that I’ve been happy with for fit (that’s still available) is the Sportiva Mythos.

In general, I suggest you focus on lace up shoes with lacing that goes all the way to your toes. I have a pair of pre-Adidas 5.10 Anasazi Guides, which are super stiff. They fit well because of the full length laces. Same is true for the Mythos. In addition, there are lacing tricks that I use to keep the forefoot adjustments from changing. That helps as well. Lastly, I second the socks recommendation. It‘s great if you’re going to be in your shoes all day.

I’d describe my feet the same way as the OP. The Masai are magic for me. I have 4 pair as a hedge against the model being discontinued, though that’s probably unwarranted. The fit and sizing among the various Tenaya models does vary quite a bit.

Yes, that's true. The Masai are much too wide for me, and I'm a AAA width. People offer well-meaning advice, but fitting rock shoes is an individual trial-and-error process.

Peter Lenz wrote:

Heresy, I know: Have you tried wearing some thin or even medium socks in your shoes?  Socks will widen your foot far more than they will lengthen your foot, hence you can wear a wider shoe. My personal opinion is that unless you’re really, really pushing the limits, socks may not compromise your performance at all, and your feet will be dryer, more comfortable and the shoes won’t stink. They give a bit of extra comfort in cracks. You won’t know if it works until you try it.
 I routinely wear VERY thin wool/nylon socks in my TC Pros. I highly recommend trying this, if you haven’t already done so.

I have not tried to wear socks, but I actually hate socks even in regular shoes, as they always seem to bunch up/move around (in the common case where most street shoes have too much width/volume).  My lunas had a mesh lining that was magic in cracks (at least for me).  If it comes to this, I'll try it, but would prefer to exhaust other options first.  

WF WF51 wrote:

I’d describe my feet the same way as the OP. The Masai are magic for me. I have 4 pair as a hedge against the model being discontinued, though that’s probably unwarranted. The fit and sizing among the various Tenaya models does vary quite a bit.

Yes, that's true. The Masai are much too wide for me, and I'm a AAA width. People offer well-meaning advice, but fitting rock shoes is an individual trial-and-error process.

I've not had good luck with the Tenaya models that I've tried on so far.  I'm guessing that although they are narrow, they must have a higher volume (vertical height) than the models that typically work for me.  My feet are both narrow and low volume so perhaps that's the issue.  I've tried on everything from my street shoe to a full size down (taking into account the conversion from women's to men's sizing) and they are baggy even with toe curl.

Linnaeus wrote:

Scarpa Technos were narrower than the Vapor (Techno and Techno X are no longer in production). Scarpa Force V are also narrower than the Vapors and have become my normal shoes for sport cragging and easy trad (Velcro is so much easier to don/doff the shoes at belays!). The Force V is inexpensive (relatively) and climbs better than I expected. 

Sportiva Mythos are narrow and comfy for trad. 

Tenaya Tarifa are very narrow, I think they're great for 5.11-12 edging on granite but haven't done any truly thin cracks in mine. 

If you find the exact shoe you really love and fits, consider making an Ebay saved search for the shoe and size - you'll get an email when someone posts a set on Ebay. 

The Scarpa Force V seems like the most promising option for fit so far, even though it's velcro.  But, at the end of the day, I'd prefer well fitting velcro to poorly fitting shoes with laces.  Linnaeus, how much did your Forces stretch?  It looks like the front of the shoe is unlined.  I'm trying to decide which size to go with.