Guide to Climbing Shoes | Louis Parkinson 

Metallica reference??

@@goliath9962 sadly not. Which song? I may adopt it as my anthem 🤣

@@richardbradley1532 sad but true such a good song

@@goliath9962 will check it out

Most definitely!!

bro just say what model it is no need to beat around the bush

​@@jacobrohr5903no, he does not necessarily mean a definit shoe. Just to bring some examples: Scarpa Instinct, La Sportiva Solution, Skwama, Moura, Red Chili Sensor, 5.10 Hiangle and Hiangle Pro, Lots of So Ill Modells...

Exactly!! Everyone is different so you've gotta find whats good for you

respect on progressing to V7 faster than you could wear out a single pair of shoes. thats some pretty fast progress!

@@benja_minthe also could’ve just worn them down terribly but didn’t replace them. Which is also commendable and impressive

Yeah, I thought that was surprising. In my experience, Skwamas are great for smearing.

@@trackstarwang Only shoes I've used that are better for smearing are the zenists. They make even a roof a potential foothold they smear so well.

I was so happy to hear that! Marketed as soft I find the Skwama everything but not soft. Try and Scarpa Veloce, Drago oder Evolv Zenist and tell me afterwards the Skwama is a soft shoe. ;)

@@dirkh2122 bro what ? skwamas are vv soft & the fact that a handful of softer high-end shoes exist doesnt change that lol

@@rasmusblomberg7373 It's all subjective.One can easily turn your argument upside down: just because there is a handful of stiffer shoes are out there doesn't make them soft. To note, the Scarpa Veloce is marketed as beginner, not high end. I love them because they are soft and comfortable. This vid calls the Skwama stiff and that's how they feel to me. If you find them soft, that's just perfect.

Thaaank you!

Every day is a day to learn!

@@CatalystClimbing this is very true.. I don't know a day where I haven't been climbing and not learnt anything!!

Been there done that, for about a year actually. It was a mystery to me as to why my shoes were wearing out so fast, turns out it was because I sized them like climbing shoes. Bumped up a size and now I've had the same pair of converse for a over a year rather than burning through a pair every 10 weeks.

@@jacechristian8725 bunions through the roof

Ya and get crazy blisters, especially with vans for me.

Yeh but Louis gets his shoes from LaSpo so I don't think he's gonna be emphasising the need to shop around brands too much. You are absolutely right though. I've had the most success when I've just said 'screw it I'm going to to try on shoes from every brand that I possibly can'. What I would say is that you just know when you out on a show that's right for you, it will just feel right.

Resole before those wear to nothing. After a couple months in the shoe, start checking the top of the toe cap and front point of the shoe for less resistance, where the rubber has worn thin. When there is little resistance, stop and get them resoled by a certified resoler, not a cobbler, and you can have shoes last many many years at a high performance level. If you wait until the rubber is through and you can see the upper, then a repair has to be done to the rand which will decrease the lifespan of the shoe to maybe a couple good years. If you are through the upper, few people will bother trying to fix. Far more friendly on the wallet, but far more ecologically friendly as well, especially if the resoler is local. Chucking shoes into a landfill because you tried to eek another session out is bad.

Did you get them fitted in a shop?

Both.

@@benschuster9792 I got advice from people at REI. But not fitted per say.

Try them on in a shop! Skwamas are a great shoe, but they don't fit me well at all (and most sportivas fit me quite well). The only way to find the correct shoe it to try on as many as possible

If the skwamas fit you well and feel good, get them. They'll be great on both overhang and slab - they're supposed to be really sensitive, which is ideal on slabs. No personal experience with them, but looking at their shape and description, there's no reason why they would be better for one or the other.

It’s super hard to recommend a specific shoe to someone on the internet. But I had the skwamas for years and was pretty happy. When my local shop didn’t have them when I needed a new pair, I tried black diamond shadow and they are just perfect for me. Especially the heel box fits me way better and the rubber ist super soft - so great feeback. If you get the chance, just try them in a shop.

Testarosa's are known for being a sport climbing shoe. They would excel at technical vert to overhung sport routes. The lack of the beak makes them more comfortable for being on the wall for long periods of time.

I think you can use these for crack climbing too?

@@generalkdi definitely, like Louis mentions in the video, you can use any shoe for anything...It's just a matter of what works best or personal preference.

@@generalkdi Testarossas are probably the worst shoe out there for crack climbing. They have a very high big toe angle and are constucted in a way to maximize the power that can be applied to small holds. While other shoes do this also very well like Katana laces f.e., the testarossas are soft enough to be sensitiv and allow you to grab holds in steep terrain. The downside of this design is that they are not very comfortable when sized correctly. They are indeed a very spezialized shoe that exels at vertical to steep terrain with techy small footholds. For cracks you need stiff shoes with a flat toe profile like TC Pros or Five Ten Niads or something similar.

If you’re sure you want to pursue climbing, it’s cheaper in most gyms to get your own pair asap!

@@nicoledommaschk737 I got my own shoes and very glad I did. La Sportiva tarantula boulder.

A very good eye indeed!

got me a pair 2 months ago. love love love

I have wide feet too and have found most Scarpa are OK but can't find a heel that fits perfectly. I've got several different pairs but always put the Scapra Helix on as a good all rounder. It's stiff and flat but haven't noticed a problem smearing or on volumes.

For aggressive or moderate shoes? Also you can look up some sizing charts I think from La Sportiva and Scarpa

@@jamesclark6257 Thanks, but I've had little joy with Scarpa's in the past.

@@takuyamatsuda7214 Aggressive. Unfortunately those brands have never been good for me in the past.

@@greydef not too sure then. I’m not too familiar with aggressive shoes of other brands. At least ones that’d fit wider feet. Tenaya is known for comfortable yet aggressive shoes so maybe look there? I think Oasis and Tarifas are aggressive tenaya shoes? From other brands though I’ve heard good things from Phantoms, Drones, Shamans, and Regulus

Testarossa I would not consider soft, but a quite nuanced shoe which is aggressive, flexible, with a structured toe box and uses a stickier rubber, an attempt to blend stiff and soft shoes (the Mago from Scarpa I find superior, made by the same designer). Geniuses are built on the same last and are less structured, but even those are not as soft as say a Chimera. Definitely almost only in the sport climber bag.

im exactly the same with narrow heels & for me two shoes that work pretty well are scarpa drago lv’s & evolv phantom’s. the phantoms would probably not be an ideal fit for me if not because of the closure system on the shoe, which for me rlly helps with strapping in around the ankle. all this being said i still feel like i havent found the perfect shoe

I also have very small heels. Maybe try the la sportiva python. I had good experience with them. But be aware, does will stretch a lot, so go atleast 2 sizes smaller. The theory women are also a good choice but maybe a bit expensive.

I have the same problem and have been wearing La Sportiva Pythons for a while now. Their sizing is weird though, I have them in size 40 even though my normal shoes are size 43/44. They fit reasonable well on my heels, I only had issues sometimes when putting a high heel sideways (i.e. when the outside of my heel is on the hold). I recently wore them out though, and have switched to Mad Rock Remora Tokyos in size 42 (shoe sizes are weird). They seem to fit very nice, but I've only climbed in them once so far, so it's too soon to tell if they're actually better.

I have the same problem and have found that the Scarpa line overall has both more shallow and more narrow heels than most other companies. The Boostic is a very comperable replacement to the Katanas for you, I personally love them. Their "LV (low volume)" variants are also mostly lower volume just in the heel, so if you find a shoe that you like and want an even smaller heel, that may be something to look out for. On top of that, scarpa has free return shipping so you can try anything on from home.

Check out Evolv, they have a narrow heel.

I'd guess you bought them online?

@@benschuster9792 you sir areee correct

Facts.

I think the solution just doesn't like your feet