TC Pros hurt both my wallet and feet!

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Do what I do:

1) Don't buy TC Pros, or any shoe that doesn't fit your feet. For me that rules out all La Sportiva shoes. For others that rules out all 5.10 shoes. If they didn't fit you shouldn't have bought them.

2) Don't wear stiff edging shoes unless you're climbing 12s. Tommy Caldwell uses TC Pros to climb 14s, not 10s. 

Seems you're learning that the best shoe is not the one with the highest price tag or biggest names sponsoring them, but rather the shoe that fits your foot the best. A cheap set of entry level shoes that fit your feet really well are far better than top of the line shoes that dont fit well. The TC pros use an asymmetrical toebox (as do most shoes) which is the worst type of toebox for someone with Morton's toe. You want something with a more symmetrical toebox such as the Mythos or possibly the Tarantulas. At the minimal you want something classified as semi-asymmetrical or "light" asymmetry. Shoes with symmetrical toeboxs are not that common, but most companies make at least one model.

I've never owned TC Pros, only borrowed them so I cant speak from experience. However, Sportiva's website lists the shoe as being made from unlined leather which means it should stretch quite a bit overtime. The Mythos are also unlined leather and they stretched substantially over the course of a few hundred pitches. As such they should become more comfortable with time, although my recommendation would be to find a shoe that is better suited for you foot type.

I love my TC's, but they are far and away the largest sized shoe I own. I usually squeeze my size 12 feet into a 10, but my TC's are 11 1/2.  Still stiff enough to edge on granite or gneiss up to easy 5.11, comfortable enough to wear for a multi-pitch climb without having to take them off at every belay station.  I found the ankles bothersome for the first few weeks, then they stretched out.

If you aren't climbing "advanced" level routes then your shoes do not need to be uncomfortably tight. Even when people are climbing "advanced" routes they may choose to wear comfortable shoes. I wear 5.10 moccasyms for everything I do because they are comfortable.

Most people I know who climb in TCP's had to buy two pair.  And there's a steady stream of "worn for just a few pitches" TCPs for sale here as well as folks looking to trade for a 1/2 size different.  Clearly there's something about that shoe that makes sizing problematic.  Maybe it's just that newer climbers don't know how a stiff shoe is supposed to be sized.  Or maybe, as 20 kN suggests, people are buying it b/c it's the high end shoe-of-the-stars; "Air Caldwells" my friend calls them.

I wholeheartedly agree that getting a shoe that fits well is MUCH more important than getting a shoe that other people love or are supposed to be awesome. That said, the TC Pros are one of my favorite shoes. I am generally a person that fits La Sportiva well and does not usually fit Five Ten well. That is until they made the new Quantum, which I freakin' love. Both are stiff soled shoes that allow me to wear a bigger size but still get a lot of support for standing on tiny edges. Good news for my bad toes. Lastly, TC Pros will not stretch much more than 1/4 size. They are leather, but all of the rubber on the shoe really makes it keep the shape. The shower in the shoes trick probably won't work for TCs.  Good or bad depending on your needs. 

I find TC Pros to fit pretty awful if you have Mortons Toe.  From my experience it will not get better over time.

You may have sized too aggressively...or need to break it in more.  As a leather shoe, the TC will break in, but it also won't fit every foot.  You might have more luck with an Anasazi last...wide heels, try the Tan (Velcro) or Moccasyms (will fit any foot since they stretch to fit).  The toebox is much more amenable to longer 2nd/3rd toes.

Gunkiemike wrote:

Clearly there's something about that shoe that makes sizing problematic.  

This is my experience with the TC Pros. I sized my first pair like all my other climbing shoes and hated life. They eventually stretched and felt better but still painful. My next pair I went a size up and they are glorious. I think these shoes don't need to be uber tight to perform well. I should probably add that I bought them for Yosemite slabs and cracks and they are the best (and most comfortable) shoes for those purposes once I found the right size. 

20 kN wrote:

I've never owned TC Pros, only borrowed them so I cant speak from experience. However, Sportiva's website lists the shoe as being made from unlined leather which means it should stretch quite a bit overtime. The Mythos are also unlined leather and they stretched substantially over the course of a few hundred pitches. As such they should become more comfortable with time, although my recommendation would be to find a shoe that is better suited for you foot type.

The TC pro is fully lined, if sized properly they will not stretch. I have a 26.5cm foot (42 street) and used a pair that were 40.5, that was a slightly bumped up knuckle on the big toe when new and ended up almost flat after ~60 pitches. The "stretch" that I ended up getting out of them was the end of my toe pushing the rand out PAST the sole. At most maybe a 1/4 size. If you think that you need a "performance edging" fit go with a size that bumps your toe knuckle up, then go up half a size. They will stay that tight flat toe fit. That said I don't think they are really the bees knees, don't friction smear well, don't jam thin hands for shit, have the sensitivity of a 2x4. 

Also for the OP, the pro just doesn't work for anyone that has a true mortons toe, there is just nowhere for your second toe to go in that shoe. My second toe is just a hair longer than my big toe (not a full mortons toe). I like the katana lace for moderate granite trad, sized comfortably with some dead space in the heel. Only a half size down from my street shoe. They jam thin cracks, edge decently and smear well once broken in. For the 5.9 and below stuff I've been wearing pinks with thick wool socks, they could stand to be a hair stiffer. 

My experiences are a little different than most apparently. I found I have to downsize the TC pro significantly for it to be worth anything more than a generic, flat, stiffish beginner shoe. And I have a mortons toe. The actual last of the shoe may not stretch in length, but the upper will break in (read: stretch). When that happens and the rest of the shoe softens as well, you're left with pretty mediocre edging performance.

Yes the break in period is really not fun, but if you put up with it, you eventually will get one of the better combinations of performance and comfort I've found in a shoe. Assuming the shoe actually fits the shape of your feet to begin with...

I  only went  half a size smaller then street shoe. They still took awhile for them to break in. I can wear them all day without issues sounds like you went to small. 

Mine actually shrank a bit.

90% of people who buy TC Pros climb 5.8.

Meanwhile I climb 5.11 in clown shoes & socks. 

Money isn't going to make you a better climber. Stop it.

Politically Correct Ball wrote:

90% of people who buy TC Pros climb 5.8.

Meanwhile I climb 5.11 in clown shoes & socks. 

Money isn't going to make you a better climber. Stop it.

If having money isn't going to make them a better climber than shouldn't they buy TC pros and genius? 

Nick Drake wrote:

If having money isn't going to make them a better climber than shouldn't they buy TC pros and genius? 

wat

Politically Correct Ball wrote:

wat

You forgot to say *SPENDING* money isn't going to make you a better climber

Nick Drake wrote:

You forgot to say *SPENDING* money isn't going to make you a better climber

Neither will.

Politically Correct Ball wrote:

Neither will.

I don't know, I spent money on climbing gear and I'm pretty sure I'm a better climber than when I didn't have any climbing gear...

I accidently bought a pair of TC Pros that were a half size smaller than my previous pair. The smaller shoes were super painful. I bought wooden shoe stretchers on Amazon and stretched the shoes and now they are perfect. The stretchers also came with plugs that you can attach to the wood to work on specific hot spots which helped for my bunions.