Shoes for the gym and trad/multi pitch

It’s time for me to get new shoes and I’m trying to decide which ones I want to get. I climb primarily in the gym because of where I live but I often go on trips in which I’m trad and multi pitch climbing. I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for  shoes that are comfortable for multi pitch routes and good for crack climbing while still allowing me to perform well and climb hard in the gym. Thanks for your help.

The best way to go is to have a "quiver" of shoes for different uses. Similar to how one pack isn't good for everything, neither is one (pair) shoe.

That's akin to having a bicycle that is good for road and mountain.  

TC Pros

More seriously, the La Sporiva Katana would give you what you are looking for.

FrankPS wrote: The best way to go is to have a "quiver" of shoes for different uses. Similar to how one pack isn't good for everything, neither is one (pair) shoe.

I know that would be optimal but I’m not really in a position to own multiple pairs of shoes at the moment. 

Ben Johnson wrote: More seriously, the La Sporiva Katana would give you what you are looking for.

Thanks Ben.

I use the Instinct VSR for both the gym and crack climbing.

+1 for Katanas. I find mine perform well in the gym and comfortable enough for a few pitches.

Bennett, I have a pair I'm trying to sell if you're a size 42

ScoJo wrote: I use the Instinct VSR for both the gym and crack climbing.

Interesting. Is it comfortable for multi pitch routes?

Bennett G wrote:

Interesting. Is it comfortable for multi pitch routes?

For me it is. I use a half size up from what I use for bouldering or sport climbing. I think a full size up would also be appropriate if you tend to downsize your bouldering/sport climbing shoes a lot.

TC Pro, Katana, Kataki or Boreal Lynx.

Just dont get them too small.

Harumpfster Boondoggle wrote: TC Pro, Katana, Kataki or Boreal Lynx.

Just dont get them too small.

I’ve heard that boreal has junk rubber. Is that true? Other than that, thanks for the suggestions.

Evolv Nighthawk and Evolv Addict. Will cover what you want and you will have a quiver for less than 200 bucks :)

Bennett G wrote: 

I’ve heard that boreal has junk rubber. Is that true? Other than that, thanks for the suggestions.

No. Boreal rubber is excellent. More sticky than XS Edge,  better edging and wear than XS Grip 2.

Here’s a great article about a rational way to look at fitting climbing shoes.

Your Climbing Shoes are too Tight

BITD in the day there were only 2-3 models of shoes. The EBs, the Sportiva Mariachers and the Boreal Fires. Despite this we managed to throw down some solid 5.11 and 5.12 routes. You can have a great time gym climbing, trad climbing and trad climbing in one pair of shoes.

It ain’t the arrow; it’s the injun.

Find the shoe that fits your foot regardless of what your friends wear and what the reviews tell you. Stay away from anything with a radical down-turn. 

Do I need to remind you to to buy them from a store where you can try them on? A good store will spend an hour with you and have a wall where you can try climbing in them.

And finally, don;t buy them too tight. The right shoe won’t hurt you.

Good luck,
Mal

Lace Miuras. The AK47 of climbing shoes, as one review site put it

Scarpa Chimera.  They're soft, great for smearing, lace up so you can dial the fit in, and pretty comfy.  I wear them for gym climbing, sports climbing, top roping and trad...

Further to the above, some of the best all-round shoes I’m familiar with are:
Sportiva: Miura Lace, Katana Lace, TC Pro, Finale
Scarpa: Force V, Maestro, Helix, Vapor and Vapor V
Five 10: Asym
Butora: Altura

These are the ones I’m familiar with but there are lots more. Evolv, Red Chili, Tenaya and Ocun all make good shoes. Find the Cinderella Slipper for your foot.

Climb safe,
Mal

I don’t climb hard (yet). But since I blew through the rand of my Katanas unexpectedly I’ve been doing all my climbing on Mocs, TC Pros, and a pair of rental shoes I bought for $20 from my gym.

The gym shoes suck a little more than the other two (they are still fine for pretty much anything that doesn’t involve really precise edging or heel/toe hooks, though). If I know I’ll be doing more edging on small holds I’ll go with the TC Pros over the Mocs, but tbh at the level I climb I think the difference between those and the Mocs is mostly psychological.

Mocs are $65 less than TC Pros, so that’s something to consider. I’ve heard claims they are less durable since 5.10 was bought by Adidas, but haven’t experienced this myself so far.

Re: not buying two pairs of shoes to save money, eventually you will probably want to buy two pairs so you can use the second pair while the first is being resoled. I personally like having the cheapo rental shoes because they are honestly fine for the vast majority of the gym climbing I do, and I don’t feel bad at all about wearing through the rubber.

Like others have said, the most important thing is finding something that fits your feet. This is what I like least about the rental shoes...they fit ok but not great. One of the things I like about the Mocs is that they stretched to be basically perfectly molded to my feet. Sometimes I think that makes up for what they lack in other areas (precision, aggressiveness, etc).

as others have said, don't waste your good rubber on plastic. I have two pairs of the same gym shoes, two pairs of same trad shoes, and two pairs of the same sport shoe. this way when one is getting re-soled Im still good to go. I used to wear my Muira's in the gym, but I would need to get them re-soled every 6 weeks. No thanks.