Velcro or Lace up?

i'm just about to buy some new climbing shoes. i mostly do sport. i want to know which would be better Velcro or Lace-up? and which of each is best, in your opinion.

Lace up.

Lace up.

I've tried many a shoe over the last 5 years but I keep coming back to the tried and true LS Miura Lace-Ups. Especially for sport.

I've found mostly it's a matter of how hard you climb, how tight you like your shoes & your pain tolerance. I started with lace-ups but switched. On hard short sport routes, I want my shoes off pretty quickly so now I wear Velcro

longer trad routes with hanging belays or small ledges also posed difficulty with lace-ups. Retying can be challenging and also more time consuming. I do have 1pr of lace ups I still wear and love but they are cushy padded tongued 5.10 hi-tops. I only wear them on slabby moderate trad routes were I tie them once at the start and leave 'em on

This preference could (?) also depend upon your foot type. I have a slightly wider & larger-boned foot with a high-built arch vs. a narrow/thinner foot. Five-Tens & Boreal usually work better for me overall than LaSportiva

if you do mostly sport i'd say go with velcro for the easy on/off ability. I have some lace ups but i use them solely for longer trad climbing.

If you don't think that you care about taking your shoes off between climbs then lace ups will most likely be a better fit when you find one that works for you.

In the end it's really whatever works more for you. As you look for more out of your climbing shoes look into those more aggressive models. IMO the higher end shoes do make a difference.

VELCRO 100%!!!
Especially for sport.

It's more about the shoe. In general go with straps or a slipper, but there are plenty of shoes that unlace very quickly, or that perform well even when unlaced.

darth jables wrote:VELCRO 100%!!! Especially for sport.

i love my 510 verdes and also my mocs (of course). how would i like the anasazi velcros?

sberk4 wrote:It's more about the shoe. In general go with straps or a slipper, but there are plenty of shoes that unlace very quickly, or that perform well even when unlaced.

My current quiver is two laces(mythos, muiras), 1 slipper(mocasyms) and one velcro(solutions). It really is more about finding a good shoe for yourself and type of climbing.

In models that offer both-ie muiras- I'd go with lace ups. They allow more fine tuning of the fit.

Evan

Another vote for velcro here. Main reason is I have wide feet and so no matter which shoe I have it pays to be able to open up the shoe completely without having to loosen the lower laces.

Miuras are great even though they lace up. They lace fast, adjust easy, and come off quick. I can't find a shoe I like better right now, but that's just my opinion. I have a pair of Mocs I wear and a pair of Defys but my Miuras are on and off almost as quick and they cinch down and work way better than any velcro I've tried.

Some people say there's no such thing as a stupid question. I disagree with those people.

Why not ask 'Red or yellow?' Shame on all of you who politely answered the man's question without any condescending flames!

Get the best shoes for you; laces and velcro are just a marketing ploy.

Yellow is clearly superior.

Monomaniac wrote:Yellow is clearly superior.

Yep, yellow all the way!

WiledHorse wrote: i love my 510 verdes and also my mocs (of course). how would i like the anasazi velcros?

I used to climb in the anasazi velcros for years and LOVED them!!! Then crazy shoes came out...

Unfortunately they're not yellow tho...

Hank Caylor wrote: Yep, yellow all the way!

Yellow tends to clash with my skin tone... Red for me!

Go with what fits your foot the best!

Velcro/lace-up doesn't matter, as long as they're both YELLOW:

Yellow Shoes are KING!

jaredmartin35 wrote:i'm just about to buy some new climbing shoes. i mostly do sport. i want to know which would be better Velcro or Lace-up? and which of each is best, in your opinion.

I used to do lace up when I first started. Now I size my sport shoes so tight they resemble Chinese Foot Binding, I can't stay in them for more than five or ten minutes. Because I am always in and out of my climbing shoes, I went with velcro. Laziness prevailed.

My multi-pitch trad shoes are sized more comfortably, and there I own both a pair of lace ups and velcro, and I have no preference of one over the other since I am generally in them for the duration of the climb. I can say, if I am doing more cracks with foot jams, I wear the lace ones since the velcro tabs get in the way. So it just depends on what I'll be climbing.

And no yellow for me, bright orange. :)

Mike Anderson wrote:'Red or yellow?'

LaS Testes are both!

Monomaniac wrote:Velcro/lace-up doesn't matter, as long as they're both YELLOW:

I am sure there is a story/reason for the different shoes. Enlighten us Mono.