Oct 11, 2007, 5:02 PM
Post #1 of 15
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Registered: Dec 22, 2006
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Institutional shoe decisions
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I am buying a fleet of 20 shoes for my university mountaineering club. The shoes will be used for a variety of types of climbing, about evenly mixed between gym and outdoor use. I have bulk deals in waiting with all of the above listed companies. The price difference between them isn't a deal breaker, and all range from ($40-$50) + shipping.
What I'm looking for: Durability (this is the big one) Customer service Replacement policy Ease of labeling (size and club name, sharpie maybe?) Comfort for beginners Smell (they're going to get used a ton) Performance (minor issue, as long as they aren't horrendous I don't really care)
Note: with the exception of the customer service part, I am interested in comments about the SHOES, not the companies that produce them. Please keep your personal company loyalties out of this, and stick to the shoes listed.
(This post was edited by shoo on Oct 11, 2007, 5:07 PM)
Oct 11, 2007, 5:08 PM
Post #2 of 15
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Re: [shoo] Which shoe would you rather have for institutional use?
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The Bufo Unbreakable Original is what we have at my gym. They have lasted for 4 years now, and we have just replaced some of them with the newer unbreakables.
I'll find out what they are labeled with, whatever it is, it lasts a long time. They are reasonably priced when you get them bulk.
Oct 14, 2007, 10:03 AM
Post #8 of 15
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Re: [anykineclimb] Which shoe would you rather have for institutional use?
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anykineclimb wrote:
I'm pretty sure La Sportiva and 5.10 have rental shoes with the size printed on the heel ala bowling shoes.
Indeed, La sportiva's model is imaginatively called teh "La Sportiva Rental", double thick rubber in all the wear areas, I'd expect 4 times the life out of them than say, cliff blues for comparison and the cliff blues last well.
i am the type of person who wears through shoes in about 6 months in the gym. Our gym walls are some type of concrete mix and that works just like sandstone on rubber.
the shoes i have seen last the longest in the gym are the evolve docons. They can be worn by a variety of foot shapes including morton's foot (2nd toe >= big toe). Also Evolv has very speedy shoe repair, because i know you are gonna wear some of those out.
The Evolvs are durable and comfortable for those not accustomed to the feel of proper rock shoes. We've had most of ours for three years and they look great. The only complaint, the god awful smell.
Oct 17, 2007, 3:34 PM
Post #11 of 15
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Re: [hotgemini] Which shoe would you rather have for institutional use?
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According to the sales rep at La Sportiva, their rental line is the Taka, Cliff, and Kumo. I saw nothing about a "rental" shoe. Also, for those who voted cliff, any info on how long they last? They don't look particularly burly, but I could be wrong.
Oct 17, 2007, 6:41 PM
Post #12 of 15
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Registered: Dec 27, 2006
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Re: [shoo] Which shoe would you rather have for institutional use?
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The small in rental shoes can be cured by regular sprying with schol shoe odour remover or Febreze fabric deodorizer (cheap). My local wall in the UK uses febreze and so do I here in the US and it works
How are the Evolv Docons marked? It's pretty important that we have the name of the club and the size clearly labeled on the outside. The dark leather seems difficult to see if anything is written on them.
BUFO Unbreakables, no question. Joe Rental won't know or use the difference in performance between BUFOs and shoes that don't suck, and your biggest problem with renters in the gym is noobie toe dragging. Those massive toe rands make all the difference.
You're running a business, period. Get the stuff that gets you the most money for the least trouble.
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