How accurate is this climbing shoe sizing guide?

What are your thoughts on its accuracy? How do your shoes fit compared to their suggestions?

If you own any of the shoes, please state what they are and how you sized them, your street shoe size (snug), and if your feet are narrow or wide.

Graphic is confusing, you may as well just make a list.  So I want a flat-soled narrow volume. . .!?  Also, where does the data come from?  Why should anyone trust this?

If I'd ordered any of my 3 pairs of shoes based on this I'd have to return them. I'm just one person, it may work for others but it's way off for me. 

try sizesquirrel.com, they are getting pretty accurate as their database grows

Unless someone here has tried every shoe on that list, it's obviously impossible to judge the accuracy of a fitting guide complete with products we've never used before. Like anything clothing related, it's going to be extremely variable. Some might think that list is dead on while others may find it's off by a mile. Shoes fit different people differently. I have plenty of friends who absolutely swear by La Sportiva and think it's the best shoe in the world, but for me they perform poorly because their best shoes dont fit me well. Evolv on the other hand fits me well so I use them. The best option is always to try shoes on in person. Climbing shoe fit is extremely important and even a slight misfit can have a very noticeable impact on performance.

One of the best resources is the demos they do in gyms every few months. Being able to try on several shoes and actually climb in them is "huge" for finding that perfect fit that works for you and your climbing style. Even guys who have been wearing the same shoes for 10 years and think they have the best there is will sometimes be surprised that there is something out there that works even better.

I size my Scarpa Instinct VS exactly to my street shoes size and it fits perfectly. If I were following this guide I would be unable to climb anyting in those pain generators.

The same is to be aplied to 5.10 Anasazi VCS and Evolv Addict. Moreover, I fit Addicts +1/2 to street shoes size and it feels right (according to the table I should size 'em -1/2 size which would be a total masochism).

Very strange guide. It is more "how to make yourself uncomfortable and unable to step on your toes via bringing a lot of pain in exchange of a decent amount of your money" than shoes fitting guide.

In my opinion bananafingers.com has the most accurate size conversion between different shoes

This graphic shows sizing down a full to haf size more than I prefer for a firm fit, but it's totally user preference. Agreed that sizesquirrel is a much more thorough comparison. The volume of your foot, both width, height, and other aspects are going to significantly change how one size fits people with the same length foot.

Nothing compares to trying shoes on before buying if at all possible. 

My Scarpa Vapors, Instinct Lace, and Anasazi VCS all sized in at a 43 for me, my exact measured foot length. Moccasyms on the other hand, I bought a half or full size small because they stretch a lot. 

Correct for Testarossas for me, and 5.10's that I have worn in the past are not on the chart... but YMMV.

It is impossible to accurately predict how the shoe will fit you, and only you know how tight you are comfortable with, so any chart is just an approximate starting point and you still would have to test and discover for yourself.

Width and volume are not the same thing (ex: the instinct VS is wide but relatively low volume, and definitely NOT the most aggressive of the bunch). Asymmetry is also a very important fit factor, even if they are mostly found in more aggressive models (ex: boostic is relatively flat but very asymmetric, Kataki is equal to Katana Lace wrt aggressiveness but has the same asymmetry as Muira Lace/VS).

The euro Sportiva catalog someone posted a few days ago had the most detailed comparison of all their models (much more so than the website). I wish these are more readily available across all shoe companies. 

I own 11 shoes on the diagram. Of those it gives good advice for 2. Some of the advice for shoes I've tried but don't own is laughable. 1-2 euro sizes down for the Vapor V? Probably physically impossible.

You're better off relying on Size Squirrel (and that's hardly great).

RobG814 wrote:

In my opinion bananafingers.com has the most accurate size conversion between different shoes

This has always been correct for me