So I got a pair 5.10 Moccasym shoes for climbing very thin cracks - basically cracks too thin for TC Pros to be very effective.

I know people usually size down for these shoes, but since I have a wide foot I decided to stick straight with street shoe size. The problem, though, is even at street shoe size I can barely get the shoe on, and all of my toes except the big toe are kept in a slight crumple. Besides being painful to climb on, this doesn't seem conducive to good crack technique!

I have never owned a pair of "slipper" climbing shoes before, but I've heard they stretch out a lot and it is better to err on a tighter fit as you can't tighten them up as they become too loose as you can with lace ups.

Sooo, I'm debating between:

A - Getting the shoes one-half size ABOVE my street shoe size (!)

B - Sticking it out with the current pair with the expectation that eventually my toes will stop being crumpled (though the rubber is low enough on the sides I wonder if I'd lose rubber protection over the tops of my toes as the shoe widens).

C- Go for another climbing shoe, as the toe seems more pointy than my foot, and sizing up might leave a lot of dead space around the tip of the big toe?

With skiing & climbing I've always had trouble finding footwear that doesn't leave me in pain, and for both I have decided to err on the side of more slop in the shoe with less pain than a more precision shoe and too much pain to really use my feet effectively.

Does anyone familiar with slipper shoes have any suggestions here?

moccs will stretch a full size. I have huge feet and like 'em for climbing cracks.

Thanks! Maybe I should just wear them around the house a bit and at the gym to get the toes flat before I take them up some cracks. Curl with the shoe I know is fine, but crumple has got to be bad.

Put some shoe trees (ask Grampa what these are) in them. They won't stretch the shoe lengthwise or widthwise, but they will keep the "slingshot" rubber strip that runs around the heel in a stretched position. That'll relax it a bit so it won't cram your foot so viciously into the front of the shoe. Worked wonders for my Mocs.

I wear a 10 or so street shoe.

I have mocc's in all sizes between 9.5 and 11. (I just kept picking some up for cheap on e-bay and thought I would give them a try)

I found they all have their place, but the 10.5's and 11's were great for hand cracks and those cold days. I could wear smartwool's underneath them with my toes still flat.

Sure they stretch, but totally flat and comfy toes are pretty nice in handcrack sizes.

Moccs stretch a full size. i wear 11.5-12 street shoes and wear 10.5 moccs. they took a long time to stretch and become comfy, probably about 25 pitches. They also fit the shape of my foot almost perfectly. So yes they will stretch a lot but if the last doesn't fit your foot maybe you need to find a different pair of shoes.

Take a hot shower in them, and then let them dry for a little while on your feet. Put grocery bags on your feet so the red dye from the leather does not get on anything. Then climb about two more pitches in them and they will be formed to your feet. Stick it out they are great shoes, enjoy!