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CDN
May 26, 2009, 8:56 PM
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This may belong more in the gear area, but this question is specific to trad climbing, not any climbing.
When I bought climbing shoes originally, I sized them so they were fairly tight, tight enough that it sometimes warranted wearing sandals between climbs (single pitch). My other shoes are sized too small and hurt my feet...
Now I am getting into trad climbing and shorter multi pitch climbs also. I need a new shoe because my original shoe stretched too much over the last year and a half. There is a reasonable gap between toes and the insides of the shoe. I have hardly any sensitivity on small edges, etc.
What kind of fit do I want for a shoe that will be used only for trad climbs and multi pitch climbs (maybe the occasional sport route)? I have other shoes for the gym and for bouldering. My main concern is sizing it too tight now and having it too tight after it's fully broken in. Or not tight enough that it doesn't fit snug enough after I have broken them in (Current case with my shoes).
The shoes I am looking at are:
5.10 gambit
La Sportiva Muira
La Sportiva Mythos
And I still have a few suggestions to try on.
Anyone have any pointers? I would like to get a good fit this time...
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hafilax
May 26, 2009, 9:27 PM
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You need to describe the style of climbing. Is trad climbing supposed to mean cracks? You'll have a hard time finding a shoe that edges like a down turned shoe but jams without causing excruciating pain from curled toes.
I climb in Squamish which typically requires a mix of jamming and slab smearing. I have found the Scarpa Techno to be a good compromise. It's like a modernized version of the mythos. It's not great at anything but is good at everything IMO.
Getting the size right will be a mixture of luck and trial and error. People can give you a guideline but in the end the fit will depend on your specific foot shape. I bought my shoes with my toes pushing into the toe box and they've stretched enough so that there is a gap at my toes. This suites the style of climbing I do. The advantage of the Technos is that you can tie the laces tighter and the heel sling will push your toes into the toe box a little more improving the edging.
Hope that helps.
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CDN
May 26, 2009, 9:35 PM
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I live on Vancouver Island, and climb everywhere south-central island, as well as Squamish and Skaha Bluffs occasionally. So there isn't one main style of climbing I suppose.... so I would need more of an all around shoe. Such as you suggest with the technos.
I was looking at the Technos but have not been able to try them on yet. I will do that asap. I like the style of the mythos.
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cchas
May 26, 2009, 10:46 PM
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Too bad the La Sportiva Barracuda's are discontinued. For thin cracks, cracks, technical edging.... just about anything, I thought they were amazing. For desert (sandstone) and granite cracks, I really like the 5.10 moccasyms, which I have done everything from finger cracks to offwidrth, but they quickly loose any edging ability. For me, the jury is still out on the 5.10 copperheads.
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petsfed
May 26, 2009, 10:58 PM
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cchas wrote: Too bad the La Sportiva Barracuda's are discontinued. For thin cracks, cracks, technical edging.... just about anything, I thought they were amazing. For desert (sandstone) and granite cracks, I really like the 5.10 moccasyms, which I have done everything from finger cracks to offwidrth, but they quickly loose any edging ability. For me, the jury is still out on the 5.10 copperheads.
You do realize that the Katana is essentially the same shoe without the rubber on top, right?
Moccs are also very good.
If you want a good blend of crack performance and reasonable edging, look for a stiffer shoe (like the Katanas or Barracudas) that fits your foot with little (if any) slop. The reason everybody liked the Barracudas was that, if they fit your foot, you had really good edging performance with flat toes.
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jguy
May 26, 2009, 11:10 PM
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I would estimate that the mythos will be a little bit more comfortable than the miura, considering that it's unlined leather. the miura, on the other hand, performs a little bit better (asymmetrical last, tighter heel rand). I think the mythos is uncomfortable unless your toes are completely flat (thanks to the metal eye for the laces). the miura fits well with toes curled enough for performance and flat enough for most cracks.
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sspssp
May 27, 2009, 6:08 PM
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The mythos are a good all around performer for jams, smears, and decent at edging. At least for a soft, non down-turned shoe. It is a bit tough to find an all around shoe that edges well unless you get a shoe that is stiff (and give up on being able to smear).
They have no support, so your foot muscles need some endurance to wear them all day.
They stretch a lot, so it is a little tricky to figure out how to size them the first time around. I would recommend trying them on in the store. Find the size where your toes are flat but the shoe is comfortably snug (how you want the shoe to feel after it stretches out). For an all day shoe go down one full size (from 40 to 39, or whatever). If you only plan on wearing them for short multi-pitch and want a little higher performance, you might want to go down 1 and half sizes. As the shoe loosens up, you need to keep tightening the laces around the back of the heel (I wasn't very tuned into this when I first started wearing mythos).
(This post was edited by sspssp on May 27, 2009, 6:16 PM)
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CDN
May 29, 2009, 5:37 AM
Post #8 of 15
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Thanks for the suggestions everyone.
I will try on the Mythos and the Technos this weekend and see how those are. The other suggestions (copperhead, etc) aren't carried locally.
Thanks!
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ptrendler
May 30, 2009, 4:09 PM
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i would recommend the Vmile from fiveten. although when i got it i thought it was too tight, actually very uncomfotable, after about ten pitches is softened up to be my favorite all day shoe i've worn! i climb mostly with that shoe at smith and other surrounding oregon climbing areas, and it feels great to me on ash tuft and basalt cracks. i've even hiked off the top of a few routes in them!
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lextalion
Jun 7, 2009, 6:47 AM
Post #10 of 15
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I love my La Spotiva Katanas.
I have to admit that they took me a little while to get broke in to where I was comfortable to wear them for extended lengths of time.
Performance wise, they are my favorite shoe, even over my Murias, which I really like but have not performed as well for me.
I love the way I'm able to edge and also place my big toe on top of a dimes edge and stick it. They have definitely make me trust my feet climbing more so than my mythos ever did.
By the way they don't stretch like the mythos either.
As far as sizing goes, I was told to drop about 1/2 size to 1 full size. For me, I wear a street shoe of 11-1/2 and I climb in a size 45. I can't imagine climbing in a 44.5 then again Sportiva run on the smaller side any way.
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chilli
Jun 9, 2009, 3:59 PM
Post #11 of 15
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hafilax wrote: ... I have found the Scarpa Techno to be a good compromise. It's like a modernized version of the mythos. It's not great at anything but is good at everything IMO...
please excuse the threadjack...
hafilax, i'm looking at some technos. did you downsize much? have you owned mythos? if so, how does the scarpa unlined leather (techno) stretch compare to la sportiva unlined leather (mythos)? i got some mythos a few yrs back and the stretch was impressive to say the least. scarpas look like a slightly upgraded version of the same shoe. should i expect similar fitting adjustments?
thnx
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chanceboarder
Jun 9, 2009, 4:07 PM
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Check out Acopa. Great shoes.
JB came up with a shoe called the Legend geared specifically for trad climbing. I've also found my Aztec's to be a very good all day long multi pitch shoes that does a little bit of everything.
Jason
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chilli
Jun 9, 2009, 6:30 PM
Post #13 of 15
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chanceboarder wrote: Check out Acopa. Great shoes...
theoretically, i love acopas... theoretically. i got the merlin's, then they started to delam, they were nice enough to switch them out for spectres. loved 'em, then they stretched a bit more (especially in width) than i needed. those are now relegated to winter/moderate (i.e. sock-wearing) trad shoes. i've come to the conclusion that the last design is not well suited for my narrow foot with morton's toe. with the fairly stiff sole, and great edging capability (at least while they fit me nicely) i would highly suggest spectre to somebody with a more normal/wider foot. regardless of all that, i would definitely recommend acopa for their customer service alone. great guys, nice shoe, unfortunately, just not for my foot.
i guess the italian-made shoes just fit this foot better. *sigh*
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CDN
Jun 13, 2009, 4:53 AM
Post #14 of 15
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Tried the Mythos yesterday, and ordered too large (forgot LS sizing difference) and also tried the Techno.
Ended up buying the techno in 38.5...too tight...trying a 39 now. I have room in front of my big toe in the toe box in both feet, but the width is a bit on the tight side. I imagine this is beneficial for crack climbing (narrow profile). Will these shoes stretch much width wise? Right now length wise they are great, but a bit tight width wise up front...
Just bought them yesterday and only tried them on the indoor wall in the store. Trying them in Squamish this weekend.
Comments?
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hafilax
Jun 13, 2009, 5:51 AM
Post #15 of 15
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chilli wrote: hafilax wrote: ... I have found the Scarpa Techno to be a good compromise. It's like a modernized version of the mythos. It's not great at anything but is good at everything IMO... please excuse the threadjack... hafilax, i'm looking at some technos. did you downsize much? have you owned mythos? if so, how does the scarpa unlined leather (techno) stretch compare to la sportiva unlined leather (mythos)? i got some mythos a few yrs back and the stretch was impressive to say the least. scarpas look like a slightly upgraded version of the same shoe. should i expect similar fitting adjustments? thnx
This was what I was aiming for. I was finding that foot pain was stopping me before shoe performance became a problem. Squamish climbing is a lot of slab, smearing and jamming. The nice thing about the Technos is that tieing the laces tighter gives me a little boost in edging but I can still slack them off and climb with flat toes. If they stretch any more they will be too big. They're in the sweet spot right now.
They don't stretch in the foot glove kind of way like the Mythos. The rand limits what will happen at the toe a little more.
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