How many pairs of climbing shoes do you own?

Just curious, as the multiple sales still going on keep tempting me, but I feel like I'm becoming a shoe whore. I currently use a pair of Moccs as my go-to gym shoes and for the steep stuff as well as a pair of katana laces, sized comfortably, for all day trad/multi pitch and edging. My issue is that neither shoe is particularly great for bouldering...the katana can get the job done, but with the stiff, mostly flat last, it's not ideal for severely overhanging/upside down climbs. The Moccs are good for this, but the softness makes them not great for standing on small edges on vertical terrain, and my heel always feels like it's going to pop out when I hook. So, I'm considering something highly asymmetrical, uncomfortable with a quick on/off like an Evolv Shaman (on sale for $100!) or Sportiva Solution as my 3rd pair. Do I have a problem? Haha.

I have a climbing friend that we refer to as the Imelda Marcos of climbing...he has hundreds of pairs. My collection is much more modest...two pairs of LaSportiva Mythos, an old pair of Megas, two pairs of Evolv Pontas II, two old pairs of Ponta I, a pair of Kaos, four pairs of Shamans, and a 1/2 pair of Acopa Merlins (one went missing). Not a problem. You can find the Shamans much cheaper than $100, especially now that the new Shaman (2016) has been introduced.

I think I'm up to 11 pair now.

Oh wait, I forgot the Katanas...make that 12 pair.

Ted Pinson wrote: Do I have a problem? Haha.

Yes, you do have a problem, but so do most of us who are into this climbing thing.

Anyway, shoes. Having three pairs is totally reasonable. Most climbers who pursue multiple styles of climbing, and try to perform at a high level in each style, are going to want to have a quiver of shoes, so as to have a suitable shoe for each climbing style.

At a minimum, most serious and well-rounded climbers will need 2-3 pairs of shoes. They are:

(A) Trad/crack/multipitch shoes. Sized comfortably (for long routes and jamming), but with a stiff sole (so you can still edge). Katana Lace, TC Pro, Anasazi Lace, etc...

(B) Tight performance shoes for sport climbing and bouldering. If you want it to be a "do it all" sport/bouldering shoe, it will be downturned (for steep), but still stiff enough for hard edging on vertical sport routes. It may also have rubber on the toe (for toe hooks) and a good closure system (no slip-ons!) for security when heel hooking. Shamans or Solutions would both be good options. See also Testarossas, Miura VS, Instincts, Boostics, etc...

An optional third shoe (C) is a soft gym slipper for training in. The softness works well on plastic, and helps make your feet stronger. Also, having this shoe is a long-term cost-saving measure; it is a cheaper shoe than your outdoor performance shoes, and it lets you save you good shoes for your outdoor projects (no need to wear out your solutions in the gym).

Your issue is you have (A) and (C), but not (B). (B) is crucial if you want to pursue sport climbing performance. Just buy the Solutions (or whatever fits your foot). You will climb better, and it will actually improve your footwork as you learn to utilize the performance shoes.

Also, I'm of the philosphy that having multiple shoes will not, over the 10 year time-scale, cost you any more than having one pair at a time. You can burn through one pair per year, or rotate three pairs and havbe them last several years.

Anyway, as an example of absurd amounts of shoes, here is my current quiver:

Pythons, 38.5: Very tight, soft slippers for the gym and very overhung sport routes and bouldering. Great for heel/toe jessery.

Pythons, 39: Similar, but a tad more comfortable. Training shoes.

Testarossas, 38.5: Go-to performance sport shoes, for everything except roof climbing. Very tight. Best application seems to be small edges on a 25 degree overhanging wall. Kind of sucks for heel hooking.

Miura, 39.5: At least 5 years old, near the end of their second sole, and fairly broken down. No longer edge well. Quite comfortable, though. Use these for sport climbing warm ups. Soon to go in the rubbish bin.

TC Pro, 39.5: Performance trad shoe. Toes a bit curled Brilliant for micro-edges on slightly less than vertical granite. Nice for wider cracks, sucks for thin cracks.

TC Pro, 40: Same idea, more comfortable for multipitch (but not quite all-day comfort). Optimum balance for hard multipitch, so long as you take them off at some belays.

Miura, 40.5: I've had these for years, but really don't have a place in the lineup for them. They are more comfortable than the tighter TC Pros, so I can use them as a shoe for long easy routes, but aren't quite comfortable enough to be a true all-day alpine rock shoe. Toes still not flat enough for thin cracks. Not impressed with the edging at this sizing. Overall, kind of a dud. Should probably sell them.

Yet with all these shoes, I still have two noticable gaps. I'd like to have a dedicated thin-crack shoe (toes flat, narrow profile...for when the TCs are too chunky), as well as a stiffer downturned sport shoe (like a Miura VS) for dead-vert sport edging (where the Testarossas feel a tad soft).

Haha, you guys are great enabl...err at making me feel better! Yeah, you nailed it JCM...that definitely is what's missing from my arsenal.

JCM wrote:Yet with all these shoes, I still have two noticable gaps. I'd like to have a dedicated thin-crack shoe (toes flat, narrow profile...for when the TCs are too chunky), as well as a stiffer downturned sport shoe (like a Miura VS) for dead-vert sport edging (where the Testarossas feel a tad soft).

If they fit your feet, I'd recommend the Boostics for sport edging. As aggressive as the VS, but with a stiffer forefoot platform and better velcro, plus some rubber on the knuckle (I think VS's are horrible toehookers).

My active rotation:

2 x Boostics 41, one resole each: The best vertical edging shoe I've used. Great on hard edges at the NRG or sharp nubs at Ten Sleep.

Furias, 41.5: Very overhanging sport and bouldering. Great for toe hooks, and surprisingly comfortable due to the softness.

Miuras, 39.5, 2 resoles: Becoming my go-to trad shoe for NC, when you need to do a bit of everything. A good sport shoe up through 11's (though Ondra does 5.15 in them).

Merlins, 8, 4 resoles: Still my most comfortable shoe. I use them for warmups and slabs, and strangely enough, anything requiring a full weight heel hook. My only shoes with no airspace whatsoever.

It's nice having a second pair of your "performance" shoes because you're much more likely to get a pair resoled when they actually need it if you still have a pair to climb in while they're gone...

A lot

Quiver

I have two pairs of TC Pros and two pair of Katana VS. I like to have one of each available, if one is getting resoled.

I also have several pair of loaner shoes that I don't use anymore, but if I'm climbing with someone new, and they wear my size, they can use. (I think that last sentence is called a "run-on sentence.")

I hope you have big feet - buy my solutions!!!

I've got 7 pairs... going to get rid of a few though - 7 is too many for me.

I'm with FrankPS, except I would increase your variety. I have Katana+Miura velcro for gym/bouldering/sport. And I have TC Pros and a $30 pair of purple Mythos for trad/comfort. In both cases, the alternate is good enough if one is away for resoling.

Since you already have shoes, I would wait till you see good deals go by here in For Sale or wherever to build your collection. Use it as an opportunity to try different shoes too - I'm waiting to find Solutions in my size. If you don't mind, you can buy shoes with blown out toes for super cheap and have them fixed - the main downside to this is that you're never sure what sizing you're going to end up with.

(PS - I apologize to everybody for always pushing used/resoling, but we really do have too much shit in this world already)

Two pairs of rock shoes currently/ both 5.10s
Three pair of boots/ LaSportiva and Scarpa.

Jesus, Knowbuddy...no kidding! Do you actually wear all of those?

Four, plus a lone left boot hoping the right gets found.

Two.

I have found that if you are patient enough you can generally find a new pair or newish pair for not much more than a resole costs.

For this reason I have about 10 pairs of shoes (8 of which need resoles lol). 2 are the 5.10 Stoneland slippers which I got on Amazon for $42 shipped. I bought a pair of Tenaya's on here that had 80-90% rubber for $35 or something. The guy included a 2nd pair for no extra cost because the velcro is starting to deteriorate.

There are so many good deals to find online, and even if you can't find what you are looking for chances are someone else took a chance on a shoe that will fit you and they don't like it. Most people are pretty honest when they say they tried them in the gym 5 times and they don't like the fit. Anytime I see a pair of 5.10 shoes for sale on here I check to see if it is my size. A lot of the sellers are pretty motivated and will accept less than what they ask.

Three.
One for sport. One for cracks. One for the gym. But it seems like one always needs a resole so it gets very confusing for me.

I wear a majority of them. Acopas only come out for special occasions though

Yeah, C4 is awesome.

Nine, plus three pairs ice boots. Of those, four pairs shoes and one of boots don't fit well and should be sold, when I get around to it.