Tight Techie Shoes - A Cautionary Tale

By Lee Skidmore

I am a Mythos man. My first pair of shoes were a pair of green Five Ten boots that died quickly, at which time I assumed the La Sportiva mantle of purple power, and never looked back. 

The years went by, I climbed many routes, and had many Mythos, resoling each about two times before they were retired to magical shoe heaven.

 

Then one fateful day, I realised I wasn't enjoying climbing. Motivation went downhill with ability. I couldn't understand it. Climbing is my life! Why should I be sucking so hard and *gasp* not enjoying being on the rock? So I did what any respectable rock junkie would do - bought new shoes in the hope of something miraculous. I got a really good deal on a pair of La Sportiva Ghibli's (technical shoes with slingshot rand and recurved sole). They were about 2 sizes smaller than my previous Mythos, and were incredibly tight, but I thought they'd stretch.

Above: Mythos.

 

So after the obligatory five minutes of straining to put them on, out onto the rock I went in my spanking new shoes. Bad news. I felt like a complete bumbly when wearing them, and was climbing really poorly, although I was putting this down to my ability, and not the shoes. They were binding my feet so tightly that I couldn't climb 15m without being in pain and wanting to rip them off.  I realised later that while wearing the Ghiblis, I lost a LOT of movement and sensitivity in my feet, and they actually restricted my whole lower body moving precisely. Don't believe that tight shoes can destroy your climbing? Get an elastic band and coil it tightly up to the first joint of your finger. Wait about a minute and then bend the finger and try to type on the keyboard. You'll notice that the whole finger turns into a gimp. Same thing happens with overly tight, technical shoes.

Above: Ghibli.

I kept thinking "Man, I have new shoes, and I'm still climbing worse than ever". They literally destroyed my climbing for months, until I tried on a pair of a friends enormously oversized Mythos out at Shadow Glen and climbed twice as well, and with ten times the enjoyment. It was then that I resolved to buy a new pair of Mythos myself, and as soon as I did, I begun to climb as good, if not better than I ever have in over five years. Yes they're tight, but nowhere near as tight as the Ghiblis. They fit perfectly which in my book means my toes are up against the end without bending, yet still comfortable enough that I could leave them on my feet for hours without pain.

Now I'm not saying crazily tight, technical shoes are crappy. Many people swear by them. Buy them if you want. You can probably get used to them. However, I for one don't think I will ever find a better rockclimbing shoe for almost all applications than my tight pair of Mythos.

 

Note: No, I do not work for LaSportiva. This story could be applied to any brand of shoes. The brand and shoe names are inconsequential beside the moral, which is: buy shoes that are right for you.