What kind of rock climbing shoes should you get?

That's a really important question.

To start we are going to give you some tips and suggestions on how to choose the right rock climbing shoes.

Then we will tell you about some of our favorites.

Sound Fair?

Good.

Well what is the most important thing in choosing climbing shoes?

You need to find the right rock climbing shoes for you. What do we mean by that? There are a lot of shoes out there varying in size, style, model, and certainly price.

When you are hunting for the right climbing shoes, the most important thing is to make sure the shoe fits to your foot well.

You are going to be wearing these babies quite a bit.

So here are some tips…

Beginning climbers need a shoe that is comfortable and will give them the extra support they need.

The climbing shoe should still feel skin tight, but not painfully tight.

Slippers are definitely not the best choice for beginners. They are usually a more aggressive shoe and do not have the support that a beginner needs. Though a slipper is a great choice for a more advanced climber.

Finding the right size.

Most of the time it's best to go down about 1 size from your street shoes. This can vary depending on the brand. Some companies like Mad Rock, already take that into consideration. Our suggestion is to follow the shoe sizing guide. This is typically found on the rock climbing shoes company website.

What do we recommend?

We all have different styles of climbing, but here is our top picks.

Beginner climbers

For your first shoe we recommend Mad Rock climbing shoes. These are cheap rock climbing shoes and are good quality.

Our picks are the Mugen, the Hooker (lace or velcro), and the Flash.

Pros: Great quality and a cheap price. Innovative technology and always striving to improve their shoes.

Cons: The only beefs we had with these shoes were the Mugen's will start to smell after awhile.

Want something more aggressive?

Aggressive climbing shoes typically have downturn toes to help maximize your precision. These shoes are best for vertical and overhanging climbing. Here’s our powerhouse picks

La Sportiva venom (slipper)

Evolv predator (velcro)

Evolv agro (slipper)

How about something technical?

Looking for a technical shoe? This is our pick and my all time favorite shoe. This climbing shoe is great for edging, pockets, strong rock climbing, and it great on powerful climbs.

La Sportiva Miura (lace-up)

Rock climbing shoes specifically for women

Most rock climbing shoes are for both male and female. However, there are climbing shoes designed specifically to cater to women's needs.

We like the...

La Sportiva Katana (velcro)

This is definitely a performance shoe. It's great for sport routes, bouldering and gym climbing.

Five Ten Anasazi Velcro

This climbing shoe is built for a intermediate to advanced female climber. It is a powerful shoe that is great on steep climbs. The Anasazi velcro has a wonderful heel cup that allows for bomber heal hooking and is great for edging.

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