Best beginner climbing shoes: a buyer's guide

Your first pair of climbing shoes matters less than the internet would have you believe, and more than the rental counter suggests. You do not need an aggressive, downturned weapon to climb your first V2. You need something that fits, that you can actually keep on between attempts, and that lets you stand on small things without your foot rolling around inside. Get those three things right and almost any reputable shoe will do the job.

What a beginner shoe should actually be

The shape you want as a new climber is flat or neutral. That means your toes lie roughly flat rather than being scrunched into a curl, which keeps the shoe comfortable enough to wear for a full session and forgiving on the slabby, vertical terrain most people start on. Leave the steeply downturned shoes for later; their power comes at a cost in comfort, and you do not yet have the footwork to use it.

A slightly stiffer shoe is your friend early on. Soft, sensitive shoes reward feet that already know how to weight a tiny edge. While your foot muscles are still adapting, a bit of stiffness does the standing-on-edges work for you and saves your toes a lot of ache.

Velcro closures are worth seeking out for gym climbing. You will take your shoes off between burns and at the start of every rest, and fiddling with laces dozens of times a session gets old fast.

Three the community keeps recommending

These are the names that come up again and again for good reason. Treat them as examples of the type rather than a ranking.

• La Sportiva Tarantulace (or the Velcro Tarantula). A long-running best-seller and the default recommendation for new climbers. Comfortable, versatile, and usually around or under £80 to £100, it is the shoe a huge number of people learn in without complaint.
• Scarpa Veloce. Soft rubber and a comfortable fit make this a strong indoor choice, and it does particularly well smearing on volumes and the big shaped holds you find in modern gyms.
• Black Diamond Momentum. A neutral, soft shoe with a knit upper that breathes well, sitting at the budget end. An easy, low-commitment way into the sport.

Getting the fit right

This is where most beginner foot pain comes from, and it is entirely avoidable. The aim is snug, not crushing. Your toes should be lightly curled and pressed to the front, with no dead space at the toe box or under the arch where your foot can slide. If your toes are screaming, the shoe is too small; if you can wiggle them freely and feel air at the end, it is too big.

Expect to size down from your street shoe, but not into agony. Climbing shoes are meant to fit closer than trainers, and most will stretch and mould a little with use, leather more than synthetic. The classic mistake is buying painfully tight because someone online insisted on it. A shoe you dread putting on is a shoe you climb worse in.

Try them late in the day when your feet are at their largest, and wear them around for a few minutes. Mild pressure that eases is fine; sharp pinching or numbness is not.

A few practical notes

• Care. Climbing rubber lives or dies by grip, so keep your shoes out of the sun, let them dry between sessions, and try not to walk to the wall in them — grit on the sole kills friction.
• Resoling. A good shoe can be resoled when the toe wears thin, which is cheaper than replacing it and worth knowing before you bin a pair.
• You can always go more aggressive later. Your first shoe is not a lifelong commitment. As your footwork sharpens and you start climbing steeper ground, a more downturned, sensitive shoe will make sense. It does not now.

Buy comfortable, buy reputable, and get the fit honest rather than heroic. Once you have a pair that works, log which shoe you wore on your hardest sends in Sendit — over a few months it is genuinely useful to see what your feet prefer when it counts.