Climbing Shoes for the Rock Gym

by Maggie Peterson
(Bloomington, Illinios)

I am a female rock climber with size 10 street shoes in women's. I climb 100 percent in a gym ( the silos of Upper Limits in Bloomington,Illnios) so my feet are either on fabricated holds or on litlle numbs and cracks in the concrete/smearing on the concrete.

I toprope and lead climb from 5.10+ to 5.11+. I'm having trouble figuring out what kind of agressive shoes i should wear for the gym. Have any ideas?

Answer:

Hey Maggie thanks for your question. By the way I love that gym I climbed there once several years ago. For gym climbing I prefer shoes that are easy for me to take off so that I can take them off inbetween climbs.

If you are looking for something strictly for rope climbing and that is a little aggressive I would go with the women's miura or the katana. Both are really good shoes.

The key is finding something that fits your foot right. I would only recommend a really downturn shoe (very aggressive) if you are climbing a lot of really overhanging walls.

Hope that helps

-the climbing expert