SWEET!!! Shoe Sizing Guide

I just came across a sweet sizing guide on Rock & Run's website:

info.rockrun.com/articles/r…

It doesn't appear to be the most up to date, but as far as all the shoes I've worn they appear to be accurate.

What do you think? (keep in mind that UK sizes are the same as USA sizes minus one e.g. size 13 USA = 12 UK, so a drop in UK size by one is equal to a drop in USA size by one!)

It would be sweet to have a shoe review section that people could just 'vote' how many sizes from street shoe they suggest for a given use.

Go to a shop and try the shoe on. Period. As someone who works in a climbing shop and fits many people every day, I would say it is nearly impossible to order a climbing shoe online comfortably, there are too many factors involved.

Every brand fits different and every style in a brand fits different. We are not just talking different lengths but different overall volume, design, and shape. And guess what... every one has a different foot!

I have a friend, we both wear size 10 street shoes, climb at the same places, and never wear the same shoes because we have vastly different shaped feet. I am thinner and lankyier in build, he is shorter and more stout. Our feet follow the same pattern and change what shoes actually fit us the best.

The overall size (read: length) is only somewhat important, volume and shape play just as big of a role.

Spend the extra $5 and go to a shop and get fitted by a professional.

Curt Hokanson wrote:Go to a shop and try the shoe on. Period. As someone who works in a climbing shop and fits many people every day, I would say it is nearly impossible to order a climbing shoe online comfortably, there are too many factors involved. Every brand fits different and every style in a brand fits different. We are not just talking different lengths but different overall volume, design, and shape. And guess what... every one has a different foot! I have a friend, we both wear size 10 street shoes, climb at the same places, and never wear the same shoes because we have vastly different shaped feet. I am thinner and lankyier in build, he is shorter and more stout. Our feet follow the same pattern and change what shoes actually fit us the best. The overall size (read: length) is only somewhat important, volume and shape play just as big of a role. Spend the extra $5 and go to a shop and get fitted by a professional.

Unless the nearest gear shop that carries the shoes you want is over 4.5 hours away. Gear shops are great, but a list like this will help people like me pick up shoes.

I will only ever buy shoes from a climbing shop. They know what's going on. Curt hit it on the nose. Every shoe fits very differently, even within brands. My La Sportiva Katana Laces are 41, and in the Cobras I'm a 39.5. I can't even get a good fit for 5.10s, because my toes are long and knobby: the 5.10 toe box is so short, that it really smashes my toes into a very bad curl. A bigger size just leaves a lot of baggy spots. On the other hand, the La Sportiva toe boxes seem to fit me very well.

In conclusion, go to a climbing shop. Make it part of your stop on your roadtrip. If you're going to a destination, there will always be at least a decent climbing shop nearby. If you're buying online, you may be very disappointed. Plus, my local shop price matches. Besides that, with their expertise and beta sharing, they've more than earned my business for life. Just my 2 cents.

Curt Hokanson wrote:Go to a shop and try the shoe on. Period. Spend the extra $5 and go to a shop and get fitted by a professional.

Hilarious, you think I'll only save $5 by going online? Even funnier is that you think a shop employee knows how to fit a shoe to my foot better than I do??? Awesome.

John Wilder wrote:I find it amusing that people still think shoes need to be smaller for them to perform better.

+1

John Wilder wrote:I find it amusing that people still think shoes need to be smaller for them to perform better.

You don't think there's a relationship? I'm not saying that smaller is better with no limit, but each type of shoe has a sweet spot, right? My Muiras are pretty snug, my thin crack shoes or all-day easy trad shoes are not. Not painful, can't wait to tear them off at the end of the pitch tight, but nothing I want to walk around in for long.

Ok, by that chart - the sizing is silly. I dropped 2 sizes (42 to 40) on my Muiras, and they are as tight as I can imagine wanting them. Maybe you could go 2.5, but 3.5... no.

John, If the rest of the shoes on there are similar, and that's what you're referring to - yeah, that's silly.

John Wilder wrote:I find it amusing that people still think shoes need to be smaller for them to perform better.

+2

The best climber is no longer the one having the most fun - it is the one wearing the tightest shoes.

John Wilder wrote:I find it amusing that people still think shoes need to be smaller for them to perform better.

+1

I go climbing with a couple of people that wear wool socks (yes, those thick wool socks) inside their 'comfy' climbing shoes. Yeah, I know I'm a newer climber and can only climb 5.9/10a sport routes at my best, but still, when they make routes look easy in those shoes....I know it's not my shoes!

I"ve bought just about every pair of shoes through the mail, not from a store. The fit has improved over the years as the sizing became more familiar. I can assure you that my climbing has improved every time I got a more comfortable fitting and performing shoe. Pain in the toes is no gain anymore. My feet/shoes now climb with more confidence than ever before on the holds.

I don't think it's a question whether you buy them from a brick and motar or a internet store, but you have to know they fit YOU!!! The size guides are just that, a guide. I can't really wear sportiva katanas no matter what the size. My feet do better in US brand shoes most times, and no size guide will tell me that.

I do however agree that each shoe can differ at times, especially the leather shoes.

And yep the smaller shoe idea is a bad one. Do a quick search on all the people having surgery (plus an article in R&I) or look at your friends feet that have been climbing for a while. Big big mistake!!! A little smaller is fine, but unless it's a mythos don't do 2-3 sizes.

I actually have a friend who a clerk (REI?) recommend shoes to her on how they looked. Instant fail...

I don't agree with a lot of that sizing chart. I size shoes pretty tight, and like to think that I'm doing "hard bouldering" and "hard sport," but I have never dropped a full two sizes for any Anasazi, which is what they're implying you should do.

Their beta for Katanas and Five Ten Teams are fairly similar to my preferences, but as others have mentioned, this chart is ignoring heel cup depth, length, and a bunch of other variables that you cannot address without trying a shoe on first. I order plenty of shoes online, but only after knowing exactly what size of each particular model works for me.

Lots of people are going to get hosed by relying solely on this chart.

Camhead, I wear a size 13-14 street shoe and I can't even cram my foot into a size 12 anasazi or galileo. Routes in the UK are very short, so maybe they can tollerate a lot more pain than I can.

+1 on trying them out. I have to size up on most rock shoes.

Street Shoe (5.10 Guide Tennies) = 10
5.10 Prisms = 12
5.10 Project = 11
Evolv Pontas = 11
Shimano DX shoes (clippless shoes for MTB) = 43 (US 9.5)