When do you wear your best climbing shoes?
Around a month ago I had a bit of a climbing shoe revelation. And it came down to one of the most basic errors a climber can make.
All summer I’ve been sport climbing and since recovering from my injured shoulder earlier this year, I’ve spent quite a lot of that time pumped. It was to be expected but at the same time there was something about it, as time went on, that didn’t seem right. I was almost certainly annoying my partners as I droned on about the state of my forearms.
And then I came across a move that I just couldn’t do in my now misshapen resoles*. I put on my friend’s decent shoe and quickly did the move. That was a reminder to bring my good shoes next time. But the next time I climbed with my ‘best climbing shoes’ I not only did the move again, but got far less pumped on the rest of the route. It was like night and day. I was actually weighting my feet properly for the first time all year – my technique was far improved. Whooaa – this was something I had just not considered - or rather forgotten for myself. It’s not just about which footholds you do or do not choose, it’s also how you stand and weight them.
With my tail between my legs, Lucy, my climbing partner, looked at me like really I should have known better. In fact she said ‘don’t put that on instagram’ (she’s no idea I’ve written a blog on it!).
Lucy Creamer climbing at Lorry Park on the day I realised I needed to bring my best shoes next time.
I’ve always used different shoes for different rock types, styles, whether it’s hot or cold or for multi-pitch. I’ve got ‘good’ shoes that I’ll use in various situations. This is logical.
However I have to admit I got lazy over the pandemic and my ego was making rather unhelpful decisions on my behalf.
Because I’ve been on routes recently that are lower grades than my best, I had subconsciously decided that I did not need my best shoes. And there’s the error – I had forgotten that when your limit is your limit, it’s your limit and you need your best shoes!
There’s a further logic for why I may pick my sloppier shoes – it’s valid, but still not in this case. I’ve always been aware that your technique will suffer in poor shoes (with the edge worn down or holes in), but I’ve used it to my advantage from a training perspective over the years. That it would mean that when you do wear your good shoes you’ll feel better and sharper. But of course that argument is only valid if you actually remember this. There’s no doubt that I wasn’t trying to train on the routes I was doing this summer! I was trying to actually climb them!!
It led me to think – when do other people wear their best shoes? And what is their reasoning? In the first instance I asked instagram this question. 80 people answered and 58% of people said they ALWAYS wear their best shoes for every climbing situation. Everyone else said they wear their best shoes for their hardest climbs. As you can tell I sit in the remaining 42%.
Before you think one is right and one is wrong, there were some very good climbers who were in the 42%, one of whom has climbed 9a+. As far as I’m concerned, as long as you’re conscious about your decisions, it’s all valid – as long as you are really thinking about it not letting things lapse... (and of course there is the question of money here too!)
I delved further and sent a few texts out to some other high performers. I take my research seriously! He’s how my text conversation went with Ben Moon:
Me: “Hi Ben, hope you’re well. Just wondering if you could help me out with a question about climbing shoes please? When do you wear your best climbing shoes?” (It’s fine – we do actually know each other – otherwise this kind of directness would actually be a tiny bit weird)
Ben: “I always wear my best climbing shoes! The only decision I have to make is which size. My smallest and tightest or the next size up, which are a bit more comfy and better on less edgy stuff. Hope that helps.”
Me: “Is that when you’re training too?”
Ben: “Yes! Why would you wear crap shoes? If you have 2 pairs of best they last twice as long.”
So that’s what the person who did the first 8c+ in the world does. Hmm I stared into my phone wondering where I’ve been all these years.
Me with my old sloppies down the wall
Do you want to know what top climber Steve McClure said?
Steve: “I have various on the go, ranging from best to pretty tired and probably one in the middle. However, I rarely have a proper comfy pair, and those are only for like HVS with the kids. Bad shoes = bad footwork. In reality we should wear our best shoes to warm up in, to be able to use small holds and trust them. Anyway, I wear at least decent shoes for everything, because climbing just feels better with good shoes on.”
Ah right.
There is a theme here...
But there are other views...
Abbie Robinson, 3 x World Paraclimbing Champion said this:
“That’s interesting because I actually only really wear one pair of shoes at any one time. Think it goes back to being a broke student and I’ve never gotten out of the habit, even though I get them for free now! I’ll only every have two on the go if I’m the process of breaking in the new pair. It’s possibly not the best strategy but if I’ve got one pair of shoes I feel mega confident in then I’d rather keep it simple and stick with them. Perhaps it’s a psychological thing and I don’t want to overcomplicate things by questioning whether I’m not in the right shoes or not. So I guess it could be a hindrance as I might not be wearing the best shoes for the problem I’m working, but could be a blessing because I’m not wasting any mental energy worrying about my shoes!”
And then I asked her ‘what is the point you retire a pair of shoes?’ She responded:
“When I have to start taping up my big toes!”
Something else to consider is that always wearing your best shoes may be an obvious choice if you’re a sponsored climber and get free shoes. But I was really impressed by the 58% who take their footwear really seriously – and I’m guessing keep on top of resoles and storage etc? Regardless, it’s universal though in everyone I was in contact with that for their hardest climbs, indoors or out they’ll wear their best shoes. And that is absolutely the mentality to have.
There was another topic and that was pain. When I was younger I briefly put up with the pain – it was the way back in 90s that excruciating pain was part of the deal. For me that level of pain was detrimental to the climbing experience and meant I couldn’t actually weight my feet at all (!) so I switched to comfier. My tolerance to pain is reducing with time it seems – and maybe sitting out a pandemic briefly swelled my feet - whatever I can only wear my best shoes for short bursts. I know it’s not easy to find shoes if you have big feet or long toes or arthritis. Something tells me this is another conversation – getting the right shoes for your feet is not always an easy task.
So there you have it, that is the end of my little (and slightly limited) foray into when to wear your best shoes. Certainly in this small study and after my Peak limestone learnings this summer, it’s really got me thinking and I do need to invest in a new pair of best shoes – so I’m not so dependent on my one and only pair of best shoes, which are no longer in production. What will you do? Are you happy with your climbing shoe situation or will you rethink it? There is no doubt, as Steve McClure says a good pair of shoes is vital for footwork – and I guess he’s not wrong.
*And absolutely never let your shoes get to the point, when they need a resole, of requiring a toe patch. The shape of the shoe will be changed forever...