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kirkiboi
May 12, 2009, 8:04 PM
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Im hoping to get some experience trad climbing this summer and was wondering if anyone had any good recommendations for a get pair of lace-ups. Cheaper is better but not the only thing im looking at.
thanks to any responses
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duncanlennon
May 12, 2009, 8:14 PM
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For cheap, durable trad shoes, you can do much worse than Five Ten Spires or (not so cheap) Huecos. Both smear and jam very well; not so much on overhangs or hard edging.
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hafilax
May 12, 2009, 8:22 PM
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What kind of trad climbing? Pure jamming or a bit of everything?
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Tipton
May 12, 2009, 8:22 PM
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Moccasyms and Spires are the same price at my local shop. I got my Moccasyms to replace my old Spires and they are a much better all around shoe.
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kirkiboi
May 12, 2009, 8:25 PM
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Im going to be in Yosemite if that helps(so...little bit of everything). I have a pair of Katanas I bought from rei about 5 months ago bug iv heard that the laces are favored over the velcro when climbing cracks.
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krusher4
May 12, 2009, 8:32 PM
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I would say mytho's or trad masters.
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duncanlennon
May 12, 2009, 8:40 PM
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Tipton wrote: I got my Moccasyms to replace my old Spires and they are a much better all around shoe.
I agree for sure but he said lace-ups. To the OP, the laces vs slipper/velcro thing is mostly preference. It's all about how secure your foot feels in a given shoe. Many people feel that a lace-up fits more snugly when jamming. I would take a look at other options when picking a shoe; as Tipton said, the Moccasym is a deal and a great boot.
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hafilax
May 12, 2009, 8:57 PM
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For all around use you can get away with a wide range of shoe designs as long as they fit well with flat toes. That means snug enough so that you can edge and big enough that they don't cause any extra pain. Foot jamming with bent toes is not fun at all and sometimes foot pain limits performance more than hand strength and technique. General use shoes tend to be laceups but don't necessarily limit yourself to that design. If you find a velcro or slipper that fits the bill then go for it.
All the cheap laceups will work the same although they typically don't last very long. Something that is board lasted will be comfy for jamming but will lack sensitivity. If you get an unlined shoe like the Mythos or Spire you'll have to size them small initially because they will stretch big time. It's more art than science getting the sizing of an unlined shoe right.
Personally I'm a huge fan of the Scarpa Techno although it's on the expensive side. It's like a modernized Mythos (which is another excellent shoe). I hated my Tradmasters and Spires.
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styndall
May 12, 2009, 8:59 PM
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kirkiboi wrote: Im going to be in Yosemite if that helps(so...little bit of everything). I have a pair of Katanas I bought from rei about 5 months ago bug iv heard that the laces are favored over the velcro when climbing cracks.
If you sized the Katanas really small, crack climbing with them will hurt. I don't think the lace vs velcro thing is as important as a jamming comfort.
My favorite crack shoes are really old (pre-logo switch) Sportivas.
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petsfed
May 12, 2009, 9:13 PM
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I climb almost exclusively in Katanas, and my local area is all cracks. If your toes are flat, they are incredibly good for jamming.
However, I wear face climbing shoes when climbing traditionally protected face routes, and I wear crack shoes when I climb bolted cracks. There's no such thing as a "Trad" shoe. Just face shoes, crack shoes, and all arounders.
Moccaysms are also really good all-arounders, although they suck it up pretty bad on really hard edging. Good for smearing and jamming once broken in.
Don't get sucked into that "laces are better for jamming" dogma. If it laces to the toe, you'll have an incredibly adjustable shoe, but sharp cracks will chew those laces to the point that you'll replace them daily. Most good crack shoes don't lace to the toe (which is why velcro and slippers are so popular on cracks), have a medium-stiffness midsoles, and fit so your toes aren't curled much (if at all), but are tight enough to still give you some precision. Note that Moccs and mythos (two old standbys) are so soft that they provide literally zero support. You're going entirely on foot strength there.
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trenchdigger
May 12, 2009, 9:33 PM
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kirkiboi wrote: Im hoping to get some experience trad climbing this summer and was wondering if anyone had any good recommendations for a get pair of lace-ups. Cheaper is better but not the only thing im looking at. thanks to any responses
Hmm... in my mind there is no "trad shoe." Trad climbing varies so much in style that there's no single shoe that is best for it all.
There are good shoes for wide cracks - those with stiff soles and high ankles. Then there are good ones for thin cracks - those with chiseled toes and thin/soft/sensitive soles. And then there are good ones for dime edging those last few moves at the end of a 40' runout slab - those that curl your toes up giving all the possible edging finesse that can be mustered.
Look at the shoes you have now and see where you're lacking, or decide the type of trad you like most and pick the shoe that fits best, both on your foot and with the type of climbing you plan to do most.
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dynamo_
May 13, 2009, 1:44 PM
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What Petsfed said...I like Mythos for most everything, Katanas for pure face routes.
petsfed wrote: However, I wear face climbing shoes when climbing traditionally protected face routes, and I wear crack shoes when I climb bolted cracks.
What?
(This post was edited by dynamo_ on May 13, 2009, 1:45 PM)
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angry
May 13, 2009, 1:56 PM
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Join the BICA (Bolt Indian Creek Alliance).
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krusher4
May 13, 2009, 2:00 PM
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back to talking about shoes, I have a pair of Ballet Golds (does anyone wear these anymore?) and they are killer for hand/wide cracks you can't feel a thing under your feet but man are they comfy for jamm'in and all day alpine rock.
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scrapedape
May 13, 2009, 2:00 PM
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angry wrote: Join the BICA (Bolt Indian Creek Alliance).
It's truly a good cause - dedicated to Fair Access for those who don't own sixty cams.
I joined last year.
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angry
May 13, 2009, 2:10 PM
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scrapedape wrote: angry wrote: Join the BICA (Bolt Indian Creek Alliance). It's truly a good cause - dedicated to Fair Access for those who don't own sixty cams. I joined last year.
I proposed garage openers on the gates to Friends of the Creek. If you pay a certain amount they give you a garage opener and you don't have to get out of your car to go through the gates. Totally unnecessary but I bet they would sell.
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dynamo_
May 13, 2009, 2:10 PM
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angry wrote: Join the BICA (Bolt Indian Creek Alliance).
Headed there a week from Saturday...first time...any pointers?
My crowbar can't be carried on, guess the BICA will have a reprieve.
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granite_grrl
May 13, 2009, 2:30 PM
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angry wrote: scrapedape wrote: angry wrote: Join the BICA (Bolt Indian Creek Alliance). It's truly a good cause - dedicated to Fair Access for those who don't own sixty cams. I joined last year. I proposed garage openers on the gates to Friends of the Creek. If you pay a certain amount they give you a garage opener and you don't have to get out of your car to go through the gates. Totally unnecessary but I bet they would sell.
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petsfed
May 13, 2009, 5:03 PM
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dynamo_ wrote: What Petsfed said...I like Mythos for most everything, Katanas for pure face routes. petsfed wrote: However, I wear face climbing shoes when climbing traditionally protected face routes, and I wear crack shoes when I climb bolted cracks.What?
Making the point that trad doesn't necessarily mean crack climbing, nor does sport necessarily mean face climbing.
Besides, how else do you protect a 20 inch chimney devoid of any smaller cracks?
(This post was edited by petsfed on May 13, 2009, 5:15 PM)
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petsfed
May 13, 2009, 5:22 PM
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Just to be clear, the last time that I climbed a bolted hand crack, I was looking for a warmup, anything, because I dunno about you, I can't just hop on a steep 11c sport climb cold. I'm not angry for Christ's sake.
And you better believe I was pissed about it. It was perfect hands for 80 feet. With a rack of cams, it would've been a 4 star route anywhere in the world. But with the bolts, you realize that there's a lot more to cruiser hands than just the movement (which actually got kind of monotonous by the end). To add insult to injury, I live 20 minutes from one of the better crack climbing areas in the country, and I had driven the 7 hours to this sport area because I wanted to go climb featured faces for a change. Fortunately, I had packed my katanas, as all of my other shoes (except my JBs, which climb faces about as well as I do) were off for resole. And they performed just as well on primo hands as they did on thin edging and monopockets. Like I said, I'm a fan of them.
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dynamo_
May 13, 2009, 11:27 PM
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petsfed wrote: Making the point that trad doesn't necessarily mean crack climbing, nor does sport necessarily mean face climbing. Besides, how else do you protect a 20 inch chimney devoid of any smaller cracks?
I gotcha...a bolt does not a sport climb make...
I am personally fond of sketchball, runout granite slab and face climbs...ala, LCC or Western North Carolina...
BUT, the fewer bolts the better...
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climbingaggie03
May 14, 2009, 12:41 AM
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Just to throw my 2 cents in my favorite shoes for all day routes are some 5.10 ascents that are on their 3rd resole, ultra comfy and broken in, I can wear them all day if I want, but they climb well. I prefer the velcro especially for long routes cause you can slip them on and off easily and they fit snug when they are velcroed. Also they're nice and smooth between the tops of my toes and the rock if I'm jamming.
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getsomeethics
May 14, 2009, 12:46 AM
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duncanlennon wrote: For cheap, durable trad shoes, you can do much worse than Five Ten Spires or (not so cheap) Huecos. Both smear and jam very well; not so much on overhangs or hard edging.
I have had a pair of Huecos long enough to have them resoled 3 times. Great shoe for smearing and crack; highly recommend them.
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