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Red chilli climbing shoes

Original Post
Hayden Webster · · Estes park · Joined May 2016 · Points: 35

Hey there! Recently saw a good price on some red chilli "spirit speed" brand climbing shoes. I've never heard of them, do they make good stuff? I have some la sportivas that are on their last stretch, and I absolutely loved those shoes. Some questions I have are:
-Do they fit "true to size?
-Comfort level for trad + sport?
-How durable have you found them to be?

Thanks everyone for reading this! I'd love to make a good buy on these if they are worth the money, I'd be paying $85 for them.

Arin F · · Las Vegas · Joined Oct 2011 · Points: 64

Thought Red Chili was out of Spain.

brenta · · Boulder, CO · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 75

There's good evidence that they are a German company: redchiliclimbing.com/en/abo…
but they may have their shoes made in Spain. I had a pair of Red Chili shoes years ago. I liked them until resoling made the toebox a bit too small.

Arin F · · Las Vegas · Joined Oct 2011 · Points: 64

I was on the Backcountry website and they mentioned Red Chili was based out of Spain and I saw a recent youtube video mentioning the same. My mistake. Could be German and just manufactured or based out of Spain I guess.

backcountry.com/red-chili-a…

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Jim Titt · · Germany · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 490
Gray Bush wrote:I was on the Backcountry website and they mentioned Red Chili was based out of Spain and I saw a recent youtube video mentioning the same. My mistake. Could be German and just manufactured or based out of Spain I guess. backcountry.com/red-chili-a…
The company is Red Chili GmbH and registered in Löchgau Germany. Founded by Stefan Glowacz and Uwe Hofstätter. Doubt they make the shoes there though.
My brother likes them, I had a pair which fitted well but the rubber was incorrectly vulcanised and went through in days. Reportedly they manufacture in China.
Dougald MacDonald · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2002 · Points: 842

German company, started (or at least co-started) by Stefan Glowacz. I've had and used a pair of Red Chili Spirits for years, and I think they are very good all-around and long-route shoes. Very comfortable (on my feet) and reasonably durable. I expect to resole mine a couple more times.

I think CAMP USA may now be distributing them: Red Chili was sharing the CAMP booth at the Outdoor Retailer show last week.

Zach Myers · · Durango, CO · Joined Oct 2012 · Points: 50

If they have a Vibram branded sole go for it, some of their cheaper models (at least from years past) have some weird proprietary rubber that kinda sucks on granite, maybe would be ok on sharp limestone stuff. Maybe just a bad batch of rubber but wasn't too impressed.

Kevin DeWeese · · @failfalling - Oakland, Ca · Joined Jan 2007 · Points: 981

Great gym and easy route shoes. Lasts a while and fit true to size and super comfortable. They'll never replace my tc pros for real pitches.

Climb Germany · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2015 · Points: 2,505

They are from Southwest Germany. Red Chili is pretty big here, very common probably partially because its local. It's a "regular" legit brand in Germany, just not as well known elsewhere.

Matt Himmelstein · · Orange, CA · Joined Jun 2014 · Points: 194

I picked up a pair deeply discounted to use as my beater gym shoes. I ended up liking them quite a bit and use them all around. They are not my favorite (I like Tenayas), but when I can't get a good deal on a pair of Tenayas, I wear the Chilis.

Alex Zucca · · Salt Lake City, UT · Joined Oct 2013 · Points: 355

I have Red Chili spirit speed as my beater easy trad shoes. They are very comfortable, and run large in my opinion. I usually wear 10.5, and I got these in 10 and would get 9.5 if I bought them again. The edges wore out faster than I am used to but overall I'd give them a 7/10.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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