Complete Beginner Tries Aggressive Tight Pro Climbing Shoes 

So, I'm a route setter and work as a climbing instructor. Generally i would recommend newer climbers to not use aggressive and really tight shoes. They should be snug and not painful. One of the reasons is the more comfortable your shoes the more your climb and as a beginner that is very important. Secondly your feet aren't used to climbing yet and an over reliance on tight shoes for foot support and strength will hamper development as you won't get strong feet Thirdly where's flat shoes for example you have to exaggerate your footwork on overhanging stuff. Pointing toes for example into the holds Generally once you get into the v4-v5 range, getting a better shoe will be noticeable

I am currently a coach in a climbing wall and regularly fit/sell climbing shoes that we stock. Something I have noted over several years of this is the importance of ‘building up’ to advanced shoes. Your foot is not in a natural position when wearing aggressive shoes and it takes time for the foot to adapt. Each time I have sold aggressive shoes to a beginner, I have found that within a few sessions, there is a large amount of space in the shoe as the customer has been unable to tolerate the discomfort when sized correctly. This allows your foot to move around in the shoe which leads to poor trust in your feet and, consequently, habitual overuse of the upper body. This is happening at the very time when a climber should be focussing on getting as much weight in their feet as possible to reinforce good technique. My advice would be to look at shoes such as the Scarpa Veloce Lace, La Sportiva Katana or something similar as these have a more natural shape which you will more likely be able to size them correctly and you can start to build up from there. Keep in mind as well that the shape of the shoe is just as important as the size, if something is the wrong shape for your feet, downsizing won’t solve this.

Would not recommend these shoes for total beginners while they're all great in their own right. In order to get the best out of climbing shoes proper (climbing) technique is required. Personally I'm a big fan of slipper type shoes which provide a bit of comfort, but are also great for smearing and some are also pretty good for edging.

Used to work in a gear shop. It was impossible to convince some beginners that aggressive shoes would make them climb worse. One or two insisted then tried to return them a week or two later.