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shoes: comfort = poor heel fit?:
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sidepull
Apr 7, 2010, 12:54 AM
Views: 10955
Registered: Sep 11, 2001
Posts: 2335
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Mandatory apology for any shoe thread: Sorry for another shoe thread.
Mandatory search due diligence: I searched for "comfortable shoe" - pages of stuff on aid and trad. Not what I'm looking for.
Now that that business is out of the way, here's the question: Is it possible to have a comfortable fitting shoe that has a securely fitting heel?
Background: Years ago, I bought into the standard industry logic that "uncomfortable is perfect" (see http://www.madrockclimbing.com/support/ - I'm not saying MR represents the industry, it's just a data point). I had a pair of Boreal Stingers I loved - my feet were just locked in and after a few months of pain, they felt solid. I had a pair of zlippers that I really liked, but they weren't super secure with the heel hooks. I've had pairs of Tenaya's, five.ten's, climbingshoes.com (yep, that used to be a brand) and sportivas. When I size down to uncomfortable, sometimes the shoe stretches to a perfect fit, but often they're just uncomfortable. If I don't size down, the toe box usually fits great, but the heel is sloppy.
Lately, I've bought into the common wisdom on this site that a good shoe is the one that fits. I haven't found a shoe that fits in years. Part of the problem is that the REI's and EMS's of the world don't have any selection, so it's impossible to even try things on. The other part is that I'm just not sure there are shoes that are made to be fairly comfortable and to be able to perform (edge and heel hook). For example, right now I'm wearing the Evolv Defy - good all around shoe, I even climbed Deliverance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCiLINKxrgA - not me) in my Defy's - a problem that requires some pretty nifty footwork (but no heel hooks). I have the same problem with my Evolve talons - a more aggressive shoe I bought specifically for problems where heel hooking would be necessary. I just tried on pairs of 5.10's 5x's and Moccasyms - both felt great in the toe box and baggy in the heel. If I size down anymore then my big toe is bulging past the rand (bad news).
I don't really want to be squishing my feet and growing bunions, but I don't want to feel insecure when heel hooking either. So, is it possible to find a reasonably comfortable shoe that has a secure heel? What shoes work for you that meet this criteria?
(This post was edited by sidepull on Apr 7, 2010, 1:12 AM)
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Post edited by sidepull
() on Apr 7, 2010, 1:12 AM
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