Climbing shoes: training pairs vs performance pairs

Climbing shoes are a strange piece of kit. We pay a lot for them, squeeze into them, complain about them and still refuse to take them off between attempts on a project. Many climbers own a single pair and use it for everything, from warm-ups to their hardest redpoint. That usually means either the shoes are too comfortable for hard climbing or too painful for long sessions.

A common solution is to keep two kinds of shoe: a training pair and a performance pair.

The training pair

A training pair is the shoe you wear for most of your climbing: volume sessions, technique drills, long gym evenings, easy days at the crag.

Typical features:

• Flatter or only mildly downturned shape.
• A comfortable fit, snug but without curling your toes painfully.
• Often a stiffer or more supportive sole, which helps on small edges without needing a very tight fit.
• Thicker rubber that lasts longer.

Why it helps:

• You can climb longer. Comfortable feet mean more metres and more practice.
• Better footwork habits. When your feet do not hurt, you are more willing to place them carefully and stand on them. Painful shoes can encourage climbers to rush, smear on everything or lean on their arms.
• Healthier feet. Spending hours a week in very aggressive, tight shoes is associated with foot problems in climbers. Schöffl and others have written about deformities and pain linked to tight climbing footwear. This is general information; if you have persistent foot pain, see a doctor or physiotherapist.
• Cheaper. Your expensive performance shoes last much longer when they are not worn for every warm-up.

The performance pair

A performance pair is the shoe you put on for your hardest attempts.

Typical features:

• Downturned and often asymmetric, to concentrate power on the big toe.
• A tighter fit, for precision and sensitivity.
• Softer, thinner rubber on many models, for smearing and feeling small footholds.
• A good heel and often rubber over the toe for hooking on steep terrain.

Why it helps:

• Precision on small or steep footholds. A downturned shoe lets you pull with your toes on overhangs.
• Better hooking. Toe and heel hooks are much easier in shoes designed for them.
• A small edge when it counts. On a project at your limit, small differences in fit and shape can matter.

Matching the shoe to the climbing

The style of climbing matters as much as the training versus performance split.

These are tendencies, not rules. Plenty of strong climbers use flat shoes on steep rock and downturned shoes on slabs. Try different models and see what works for your feet.

Fitting tips

• Try shoes in the afternoon, when feet are slightly larger.
• Bring the socks you climb in, or none if you climb barefoot.
• Stand on a small edge in the shop if you can, not just on the floor.
• Expect some stretch in unlined leather shoes, and very little in synthetic ones.
• Avoid pain that makes you want to take them off after one route. Tight is fine; painful is not.

Comfortable shoes build footwork. Precise shoes use it. Most climbers need far more of the first than the second.

Looking after your shoes

• Let them air dry, away from radiators and direct sunlight.
• Wipe the rubber clean before hard attempts.
• Resole before the rand wears through. A good resole is cheaper than new shoes.

Try this

• For the next month, do all warm-ups and volume sessions in your most comfortable shoes.
• Save your performance pair for projects and hard attempts only.
• Add a short note in Train Climb about which shoes you wore on hard sends in your climbing journal. Over time, you will see which pair actually helps you.
• Read hips and feet for drills that make better use of whatever you are wearing.