I joined a gym with a climbing wall and ordered a pair of shoes online. They just came today and they're pretty tight and uncomfortable. Not unbearable or anything but the toes are scrunched a bit when wearing them. Do they break in after a while or should I go a size up than what I'd usually wear?
Rock climbing // Lead, Boulder, Alpine
- Thread starter Kasper
- Start date
Climbing shoes are supposed to feel a bit uncomfortable and squeeze your toes, but not unreasonably so. What you definitely don't want is free space around your toes inside the shoe, as that will make it impossible to put adequate pressure on your toes on small footholds. It's better that they feel slightly too small rather than slightly too large.
They will definitely get more comfortable the more you wear them. Natural fabrics (leather) stretch out a lot. Man made fabrics less so.
If it’s not unbearable I would definitely grin and bear it. Climbing shoes don’t fit like normal shoes at all. Your toes are supposed to be slightly scrunched, as that makes them stronger. Loose shoes suck.
V3 is pretty damn impressive for someone who’s only just started. Nice work.
Thanks for the advice. I'll stick with them then.
No worries. Forgot to mention, when you talk about the size you “usually wear”, is that street shoes? Because you will always size down for climbing shoes. Never up. I wear UK 10.5 football boots but climb in a size 9!
I've been bouldering for six years now, love it. Only minus is that I've plateau'd so hard so many times in this period, partly due to Covid lockdowns, some niggling injuries and now due to having a daughter and not being able to climb more than twice a week. Still I'm making some progress at the moment. Might break through my top V4 barrier and into the lower V5's one of these weeks
Yeah, I just ordered the size I would usually wear in street shoes. I realised I'm a prat and didn't check if they were synthetic as I don't wear leather, it only dawned on me that they weren't synthetic when you mentioned fabrics in your post. I'll return them and I'm looking at these instead - https://www.bananafingers.co.uk/cli...hEQ51omeBJQ31xtLPAf1ItCdvRbaw5dBoCtBcQAvD_BwE
Do you think for the synthetic climbing shoes I should go more true to size as my regular street shoes?
From my own experience and those around me, the common plateau always seem to be around 6b/6b+ (so I guess V4 in your grades). I only ever managed to get above that by increasing the frequency from 1-2 per sessions to a consistent 2-3 sessions per week, but it's just too difficult to maintain with life getting in the way. I'm nowhere near that peak at the moment.
Since restarting after COVID I've been trying really hard to avoid chasing grades and just enjoy the activity itself. Grade chasing can so easily lead to frustration. On the other hand, finally sending a problem of a higher grade can be so fulfilling. It's a tricky balance.
The sizing is hugely individual and brand dependent. It’s worth trying on a few different brands if you can, as some brands suit specific foot shapes better than others. Banana fingers have quite a clever “sizing tool” where you plug in your street shoe size and it tells you what size to get for the specific brand you’re interested in. It’s fairly accurate.
Ah, that's very handy. I'll check that out. Cheers!
V4/V5 seems to be the most common plateau for everyone. Although that’s in terms of gym grades. In my experience the grading outdoors is a lot stiffer and I had to train my arse off to climb anything that difficult outdoors (6c boulders in Font)
At the risk of sounding a bit eating disordered, losing a few kg can make a big difference. If you’re carrying any excess weight at all it’s easier to lose 2 or 3kg bodyweight than it is to add 2 or 3kg to your max hangs. That is kind of frowned upon now though. Most coaches would say that getting a bit heavier is worth it if you’re adding muscle. Especially for bouldering, which is all about power.
A 6C in Font sounds seriously impressive, based on my extremely limited outdoor experience. I've definitely always felt like indoor grades are super soft, probably to make climbers feel like they're progressing quickly so they keep coming back. But even between different climbing gyms I've felt a lot of differences. Some setter styles just seem to fit me better than others.
Yeah, big variance from gym to gym. I travel a fair bit with work and try to find time to check out a gym in each city I visit and the grading is all over the place.
As you say, though, the type of problem/boulder that suits your style makes a massive difference. On the same trip I sent that 6c I was getting completely shut down by 5+ boulders! I love big powerful moves on good holds but suck at anything too crimpy and shit my pants on all but the very easiest slabs.
Basically, you earlier advice is spot on. Try not to get hung up on grades. You can have loads of fun on stuff way below your best grade, if you’re willing to park your ego and enjoy them for what they are.
Interesting, I find that focussing on grades is a really big driver for me. The fact that your progress is so well mapped in terms of what grades you can climb, is what makes part of the appeal for me. That and the fact that bouldering is essentially the most fun sport I can think of: just climb difficult shit and see how far you come. So good.
Ah yeah. I’m stupidly competitive in every sport I do. So I’d be lying if I tried to pretend that grade progression isn’t a big motivator. Plus I enter a few competitions each year. Which is all about climbing the hardest possible stuff you can climb.
I do need to listen to my own advice more though. I know plenty of people who climb much harder than me that get loads of fun from climbing “soft” boulders. And I am trying to do the same more often than I used to. God knows I’m not getting any younger so that’s something that’s going to be inevitable in the future anyway!
Could be great. Could be cringey as feck. I’ll definitely watch it anyway.
Is that the kind of thing you climbers like to do? Watch people climbing shit?
Pretty much. It’s basically what you spend half your time doing when you actually go climbing.
Ah yeah fair enough
Has anybody seen The Alpinist docu about Marc-André Leclerc? I've been out of the climbing game for a long time, and this guy had slipped under the radar somewhat. Some outrageous climbing that somehow makes a lot of the other solo achievements seem a safe option. My mind was blown at the mixed condition stuff in particular.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11790780/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11790780/
Never been into climbing but I came across Magnus' channel recently and have been binging some of his content. His gym is just around the corner so might have a crack at it.
Yeah, the mixed stuff is so hard to watch. Proper sweaty feet and hands.
Jealous. His gym is amazing.
There are now 3 top quality climbing/bouldering walls in Stavanger, one of which "Air by Boulder" has a big lead wall with some huge overhangs. My 4yr old has shown some talent climbing so think I'll be getting more into it. Not sure how my operated shoulders will take the strain so not expecting much.
So Will Bosi has sent Burden of Dreams. He’s on an insane run. Good shout to be considered strongest in the world right now. Amazing achievement.
My new favourite climbing video.
Feck it. I knew this would die on its arse. Too funny to be killed by a slow thread, dammit. Off to the 500k thread I go!
Ha ha ha - I assumed it was a really good climb so was like yeah I'll watch that later til you wrote the second post. That's feckin gas!
How chill is the bloke helping him? Holy feck
I know, right? Hanging by a rope, 40 feet off the ground at risk of being covered in shite and vomit and he’s laughing his arse off. What a hero.Ha ha ha - I assumed it was a really good climb so was like yeah I'll watch that later til you wrote the second post. That's feckin gas!
How chill is the bloke helping him? Holy feck
The pant pooper is a gas man. His bit to camera at the end of the video is so good. Think that’s a Canadian accent. Probably a friend of @Dr. Dwayne
that video is a classic. Saw it on Tosh.0 a few years back. I think he even had the guy on for an interview.Tried bouldering for the first time a few days ago.
I was not surprised by how terribly weak my fingers are. I was only slightly surprised by how important technique is. But I did absolutely not expect the leg work to be so difficult! My wife, who is far shorter and has zero upper body strength (I'm not sure if she can do one proper push up), was actually better than me!
I was not surprised by how terribly weak my fingers are. I was only slightly surprised by how important technique is. But I did absolutely not expect the leg work to be so difficult! My wife, who is far shorter and has zero upper body strength (I'm not sure if she can do one proper push up), was actually better than me!
Last edited:
It's all in the legs mate. It's tempting but try not to use your upper body strength to pull yourself up.Tried bouldering for the first time a few days ago.
I was not surprised by how terribly weak my fingers are. I was only slightly surprised by how important technique is. But I did absolutely not expect the leg work to be so difficult! My wife, who is far shorter and has zero upper body strength (I'm not sure if she can do one proper push up), was actually better than me!
Pistol squats are your friend. Leg flexibility (especially hips) another big one that most people don’t think about.
That explains a lot. I have awful hip mobility and I've neglected training my legs (running doesn't really count) up until now.
Whole video is worth a watch (if you ignore the cheesy editing) but if you don’t want to watch whole thing skip straight to 12m 40s for the most insane mantle technique you will ever see…
Depends how you use the upper body, since my shoulders have been operated I’ve actually been climbing “properly“ the few occasions I’ve been. Rotating and driving from the hips, closer to the wall. Injury basically got rid of a lot of my bad habits from youth
No respect for his own ankle joint
If I tried that I would rip my foot off.
I took this tip with me today when I went climbing and it does make a big difference. I wasn't even trying to get up to the top as much as position my legs in a way that can get me there. It's pretty fun working it out - a bit like puzzle solving.