When it comes down to it, rock shoes are the most important piece of climbing gear, whether you’re picking a path through a 5.5 or making magic on your first 5.14. So we rounded up the best new shoes available this fall and put them to the test. After more than a dozen testers sent routes from Rifle’s steep limestone to the 1,000-foot granite walls of Squamish to plastic paradises across the country, we narrowed the field to eight top performers.
Of all the things climbers accumulate, the rock shoe is one of the few that actually improves performance. Nearly everything else is designed primarily to keep you alive and relatively comfortable. When you find a perfect match for your feet, climbing shoes will encourage good footwork and make you a better climber.
Can't get to the crag without comfortable and sturdy shoes. Here are Climbing magazine's favorite approach shoes for rock climbers.
You won't get far without a great pair of climbing shoes. Here are Climbing magazine's favorite new rock climbing shoes.
Here’s what you need to know about 11 crack climbing shoe models that were designed mostly or partly for cracks or long trad days. Every shoe in the review can handle cracks of all sizes, but we’ve arranged each by its No. 1 strength, according to crack size (fingers, hands, wide) or all-day wear.
After months of testing on hundreds of routes, Climbing magazine's editors offer up their picks for the most innovative, useful, and just damn good gear of the year. The Singing Rock Crux, Mammut Smart Alpine, Black Diamond Gridlock Screwgate, Petzl Grigri 2, Five Ten Arrowhead, Arc'Teryx Squamish Hoody, Beal Joker 9.1, North Face Verto, and Salewa Rapace GTX all won high praises and took home the Editors' Choice Award.
New for 2010 are 19 models (plus two time-tested Mammut shoes) that will make you reconsider the perfect rock climbing shoe. Climbing magazine tested more than 20 new rock shoes; here are the testers' top picks.
The Italian boot and shoemaker Scarpa has a long tradition of making quality climbing shoes and boots. In recent years, they’ve been stocking their line with top rock shoe performers like the Booster, the Feroce, and the Techno. For spring 2010 they’ve continued the trend with six new climbing shoe models, among them the hard-cranking, well-balanced Instinct.
Climbing shoe designers still find ways to tempt those of us who need the perfect shoe for a specific rock climb.
Here are some of the rock shoe highlights from the 2009 Summer Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, in very hot and sunny Salt Lake City.
The Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, is madness this time of year—the reason is the summer Outdoor Retailer Trade Show, a massive gathering (over 20,000 people, I've been told) of outdoor gear and apparel companies, retailers, media, and athletes.
Using skills and knowledge honed on El Capitan’s burliest free climbs, Tommy Caldwell helped design the new La Sportiva TC Pro climbing shoe. Made to shine on such mega-endeavors (or any trad line requiring comfort and high performance), the TC Pro combines advanced edging and crack climbing capability with all-day wearability.
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