i'm looking to get my first pair climbing shoes. on the couple climbs i've done before i either borrowed a pair or just wore my favorite runners. i'm leaning towards the mad rock phoenix, the price is good and from what i have read they seem like a good starter shoe.

i'm interested in what you guys think about them. and of course any suggestions would be great. also i'm wondering what shoes you guys wear.

thanks,
travis

I have a pair of Mad Rock Pheonix and they are O.K. but Mad Rock in general does not get a great revue. I do know that I ordered them a half size smaller than my street shoes and they are not all that comfy. On the same note they are leather and will eventually stretch and give a little more room. Go ahead and put up 30 more bucks and get some shoes you really like.

Heath

I used to wear Evolv Defy and now have a pair of Mad Rock Super Loco's. I liked the Defy's as a good show to start climbing. With the Mad Rock's I got a great Pro deal that I couldn't turn down. At the time I wouldn't have paid full price for them. Now that I've climbed with them for a while I would. They are comfortable to my foot even though they have the aggressive turned down toe. Work well in all the situations that I have used them.

Mike

i wear quechuas but it all comes down to what you want. do you want comfort? style? performance? what climing do you do? all of these things can alter the type or make of shoe you wear. first thing to do is find out what climbing you do, do you want a shoe for bouldering? do you want a boot for long multi-pitch climbs? do you want velcro shoes for speed? or laces for tightness? go to a good store with an extreemly wide range of shoes and experts that know what to say when you ask them these questions, but a good expert will not tell you ''this is the shoe you want'' that is wrong they should say ''these are the shoes you may be looking for'' its all about personal preference, dont just buy the cheapest or even the most expensive, buy the ones that A; suit you best being comfortable on the crag and B; suit your style best by being adapted to the climbing you will do.

i hope this helps and remember when it comes to gear (not just shoes) its up to you to decide what you need.

dave

thanks all,
thats some pretty solid advice. its nice to hear all of your advice because you all know what your doing and have been there before. i think i'm going to go with la sportiva's mythos. my buddy has a pair that i tried on, even though it wasn't the exact size i need, they still felt good.

travis

I will definatly agree, I was out this weekend(more on this later) and I felt like I was not getting the friction out of them that I felt was needed.

adrew posted the following on Monday 31st March 2008 ive seen a pair of 5.10 Anasazi slippers any good ?

if you're just getting into climbing the best thing you can do is get yourself some good shoes that you could wear on the rock all day long. i can't personally speak to how good slippers may be, because i'm a fan of lace-ups (or velcro for bouldering or TR). but i CAN tell you that my first pair were comfly and i was ok to be in them for a while without any aching toes. a lot of people (especially those who like gym/boulder/sport climbing) tend to try and buy shoes that are overly tight the first time around, and it just ends up uncomfortable. keeeping that tip in mind, i've heard good things about anasazis from friends.

The Pheonix are not my favorite shoe, I mean when you buy a new pair, you can take a lite piece of sandpaper and buf the sheen ( shiney part on the rubber ) off and they usually stick pretty good after a few climbs, but not the Pheonix. The flash are great for climbing, but I'm not a big fan of velcro-slippers.

tbogh posted the following on Monday 31st March 2008 thanks all, thats some pretty solid advice. its nice to hear all of your advice because you all know what your doing and have been there before. i think i'm going to go with la sportiva's mythos. my buddy has a pair that i tried on, even though it wasn't the exact size i need, they still felt good. travis

My son has got a pair of mythos and he loves them. They have a great technicle toe and are really comfortable!! The new color and slight design change are nice also.