How to choose climbing shoes

Climbing shoes are the one bit of kit that genuinely changes how you move on the wall, and they are also the easiest thing to get wrong as a beginner. The mythology around painfully tight shoes puts a lot of new climbers off, when in truth your first pair should help you climb rather than leave you limping to the bench every few minutes. Here is how to pick a pair that works.

Fit comes first

A climbing shoe should fit snugly with no dead space, especially around the heel and the toe box. Your toes will be slightly curled rather than lying flat, and there should be no gaps where your foot can slide around inside the shoe. That snugness is what lets you stand on small footholds with precision, because power transfers straight from your foot to the rock instead of being lost in a loose fit.

Snug is not the same as agony, though. The very tight, heavily downturned shoes you see strong climbers wearing on steep problems are specialist tools, broken in over time and worn for short, hard efforts. For your first pair you want something you can leave on for a full session without dreading every move. Aim for a fit that feels firm and a little tight when new, knowing that most shoes stretch and mould to your foot with use.

Try shoes on late in the day when your feet are slightly swollen, and try several brands. Foot shape varies enormously and a model that fits one person like a glove can be unwearable on someone else.

Shape and stiffness

Beyond fit, two features shape how a shoe behaves: its profile and its stiffness.

• Flat or neutral shoes sit with a fairly straight sole and a relaxed shape. They are comfortable, support your foot on long routes and slabs, and suit beginners and all-day climbing.
• Downturned shoes curve down towards the toe, concentrating power at the front for steep, overhanging climbing and small footholds. They are less comfortable and more specialised.
• Stiff shoes hold their shape under load, which helps on small edges and supports feet that are still building strength. Soft shoes flex and let you feel the rock, which helps on smears and volumes but asks more of your foot muscles.

For a first pair, a flatter, moderately stiff shoe is almost always the right call. It will not hold you back at the grades you are climbing, it stays comfortable, and it gives your feet the support they need while the small stabilising muscles develop.

Velcro, laces or slip-on

Closure is mostly about convenience. Velcro straps are quick on and off, which is handy for bouldering where you take your shoes off between problems. Laces give a more adjustable, dialled fit and suit longer days where you keep them on. Slip-on shoes are sensitive and great for training, but they offer the least adjustment. None of these will make or break your climbing, so choose what suits how you like to climb.

A few practical notes

Resist the urge to buy aggressive, downturned shoes because they look the part. They will hurt, you will take them off constantly, and they will not help you at beginner grades. Buy for where you are now.

Wear them without socks, or with the thinnest socks you can tolerate, since that snug fit assumes bare feet. And accept that no climbing shoe is truly comfortable in the way a trainer is. The goal is a shoe you can wear for an hour or two while climbing, not one you would walk to the shops in. Get the fit right and your footwork will improve almost immediately, simply because you can finally trust your feet on the holds.