Worst climbing shoe you've worn?

Every rental shoe at every gym I have ever been to. You don’t realize how grippy and comfortable your ordinary shoes are until you leave them at home and try rentals for a day. I’m convinced rental shoes were originally designed for bowling or something and then just rebranded. I’m pretty sure I’d have a better experience if I wore through the rubber on my regular shoes and just climbed on the rands.

About 15 years ago, Climb-X cornered the market on shitty climbing shoes for cheap bastards. Take every design that Mad Rock gave up on a decade prior, make them out of the worst possible materials, and charge $30 less. Recipe for success? Clunky, stiff, stinky, scratchy, you name it.

As a broke college student I had 2-3 pairs of one particular model that I took on my first trip to Colorado. Still got by because I was young and strong, but I probably could've done better barefoot. I found them in my parent's closet a while back and they reminded me of a cross between a ballet shoe and a danish wooden clog.

EB's  I don't know that they climbed much better than my Red Wing logging boots but they shure as hell hurt more. 

Evolv Raves. I didn't feel like they did anything particularly well, and for moccasins they weren't even comfortable. My Achilles hated me when I'd wear them

Kevin Mokracek wrote:

kamets

Not too many people ever used these. I had mixed feelings. The rubber was so hard that it was actually perfect for some Tuolumne climbs, like the perfect edging platform to stand on dimes and nickels that would even squeak on cold mornings. But I also put my toe through the whole shoe doing Reg Route on Fairview, so I second this pick as worse ever. Cool logo though lol

Tombo wrote:

La Sportiva made a all black artificial leather shoe similar to the Mythos sometime in the late 80’s, don’t remember the model. It lasted in their line up about 5 minutes.  Absolutely no stretch to it and being all black the minute your feet were in the sun man’ oh man your feet just ballooned up and the suffering began.

The TAO. I actually really liked these shoes on cloudy or cold days in the shade.

I got some Ondra comps recently, reminiscent in design, but the Tao did not leave your foot dyed black and yellow like Ondra comps. Love the way they OC climb, but hate the frostbite look that doesn't come off even after a vigorous scrub. So in a way, I place new Ondra comps as among the worst.

My worst pair of rock climbing shoes was also one of the best: Kronhoffer Klettershoes. In their stock form, they are worse for friction than the blue suede "Yosemite" RR's!! But with a Steve Moyles resole the Kronhoffers became awesome face climbing machines. Not just my opinion. I think Tom Higgins put up some of his boldest/hardest face climbs in Steve Moyles modified Kronhoffers. Steve himself used them to good effect on the thinnest of face climbing problems at Indian Rock. And elsewhere too, I expect. 

Scarpa Invernos for alpine climbing. I could never get into the plastic boot thing.

Anyone heard of what we called “Korean Climbers”? In the late 70s/early 80s some folks in my circle ran across these Korean made shoes at the local Army surplus store in Flagstaff, Arizona. I think they were $10 or $15 for a pair—attractive pricing for the poor college student. They were very stiff and had super, super hard, almost slick, rubber. But my buddies were getting up routes in those things. 

Tc pros

Converse All Stars, by a good margin.

Chounard made a boot called “Canyons” for Rockclimbing… it was sort of like a plastic mountain boot- with a plastic sole!!  Climbed like one to.

@Nick…. EB’s were pretty darn good- when they went away from the hand made model they went down hill fast.

It was the best of shoes:  5.10 anasazi   I climbed many hard routes in these, such as at Mt. Woodson.  Great at thin cracks, smedging, hard faces...

It was the worst of shoes:  5.10 anasazi.  I wore them quite tight and they really bent my big toes sideways.  Painful to wear for very long.  Not as asymmetric as many shoes now are.

Collin H wrote:

Every rental shoe at every gym I have ever been to. You don’t realize how grippy and comfortable your ordinary shoes are until you leave them at home and try rentals for a day. I’m convinced rental shoes were originally designed for bowling or something and then just rebranded. I’m pretty sure I’d have a better experience if I wore through the rubber on my regular shoes and just climbed on the rands.

There's a route at Woodson we tried a few times in bowling shoes, as an ultimate achievement.  No one ever did it, as there is a lieback off a little foot crystal.

Since I'm a bit of a climbing shoe fetishist, I have tried many varieties. I really can't think of which was the absolute worst ( for me, with weird feet, long distorted by too many years of wearing too tight climbing shoes). It always has amazed me how certain shoes will feel great in the store, even using the 'test' holds available for that purpose in certain shops, but then perform miserably once 'introduced' to actual rock. But, while I can't recall which model was the worst, I can unequivocally say that, for me, the best, at least for the edging climbs that I favor, were the La Sportiva Megas !!! I am still mourning their 'passing'.

When I visited Ceuse for a climbing trip the strap on my Solutions broke so I visited a decathlon nearby and bought a pair of Simond Vertikas, interested to try a brand I'd never heard of before. 

Not only did the rubber refuse to stick to anything, after climbing only a few routes with them I stood on a foothold which completely delaminated the toe rubber from my shoe, something I've never seen before. To say they were absolute crap would be overselling them.

Evolv Pontas

Does anyone remember the Quantum and Quetzal? I think boreal or Scarpa made them. They had some weird, stiff, polished rubber. They sucked. 

I only climbed a few pitches in a friends pair, but the Mad Rock Remoras quickly earned the nickname the Sad Socks in our friend group. 

I grew to hate the 5.10 moccasins eventually. They’re just so flaccid and impotent. Sure, they’re great for hand cracks but if you encounter an edge or foot jib … forget about it.