Shoes : Proper Footwear for Rock & Mountain Climbing

Video Transcript

" Hi! My name is Dan, and I am here with Expert Village today to talk to you a little bit about climbing shoes. Some of the things to look for in a climbing shoe is the shape of the toe box. You want it to closely mimic the shape of your feet, which is sort of hard to do. Your toes are typically going to be fairly tightly crunched into your shoes to assure that the whole shoe is filled by your foot. When putting a shoe on, you want to make sure that the laces are already opened and expanded so you can get your foot in and be able to feel just how and where your foot sets into the shoe. This particular type of shoe is a lace up. They do also make a Velcro shoe, which is typically a little bit easier to get into. You also notice I am not wearing socks. While socks do help for wicking away sweat, they also add a little bit more mass to your foot and don’t let your shoes fit quite the way they are supposed to. They are supposed to hug your whole entire length of your foot. So now we have the shoes on. A few of the things you might want to think about before purchasing a pair, is what kind of climbing you are going to be doing, as certain shoes have a more aggressive sole and different arch support. So advanced climbers typically go for a more aggressive shoe, whereas beginner climbers typically start with a less aggressive shoe. There are also different options for types of material on the uppers: leather versus synthetic. Leather will take a mold of your foot a little bit better than a synthetic shoe will; and also what kind of rubber is on the bottom. Some rubber’s perform better when cold and some hot, and some are more durable than others. Those are a few of the considerations you want to think about for buying a pair of climbing shoes."