Crack-specific shoe sizing...?

[imnotnate]

hiya there,

i'm recently addicted to crack, and i need different shoes to feed this addiction.

is there a rule of thumb to follow... like should my toes be absolutely flat in the shoe, nice 'n comfy, or good and snug with toes curled a little bit, or somethin' else?

i know they shouldn't be super tight as i've been using my aggressive, downturned, toes cramped shoes and it hurts pretty freakin' bad to foot jam.

i've been looking at sportiva barracudas which seem to fit my foot well... definitely looking for a high-performance crack/trad shoe.

any help much appreciated!!

[glomeruli]

i like my sportiva tradmasters although the rubber can be a little soft as i wore through them fairly quickly before getting them resoled. i went up 1-1.5 sizes from my sport shoes and the toes are flat so i can wear them all day. whatever shoes you get make sure that the rand is pretty stiff so you're not crying in pain after only a couple of jams.

[Dru]

Slippers are good for tips and finger cracks

For anything bigger generally a stiffer shoe is less painful. Stiffness however can mean two things with respect to shoes - front to back and side to side. Front to back stiffness is not so important for a crack shoe, and less of it will mean more sensitivity for smearing. Side to side stiffness is more important. In a hand or fist crack, with your foot jammed in, a shoe that's soft side to side will bend in the middle, creating more foot pain.

Also important is whether you are climbing single pitch cracks or long trad routes involving both crack and face. For the single pitch stuff, a tight shoe works great. But if you are wearing shoes for hours or all day, getting something a little looser fitting may sacrifice some precision on the first pitches of the day yet be more comfortable and hence offer better performance by the time you get to the 20th or 30th pitch of the day.

[hafilax]

I just got some Scarpa Technos which in my mind are an updated version of the Mythos. They have a system where the laces tension the heel so you can push your toes into the box or ease them out depending on how tight you tie them. I sized them with flat toes. The sole is pretty stiff with a pretty big toe profile and they're designed as a technical crack shoe (which is somewhat of an oxymoron).

So far I've only used them bouldering (to try them out), on Klahanie crack (hand crack) and at Fatty Bolger (slab). Not great for bouldering but they worked well on the others. They jammed perfectly in Klahanie. My ankles tired out before my feet started hurting. I had no problems on the slab either (up to 5.9).

I've always heard that something like the Moccassyms with flat toes are the benchmark for thin cracks.

[bradley3297]

my favorites are 5-10 anasazi verdi, evolves sharma model. but i dont mind foot pain. they perform well in crack for me but foot pain doesnt bother me.