North Face Smedge shoes

By wanderphil Ranked #943 - Rock Climbing Shoes October 23, 2009

Yikes - I can't believe the reviews here got me to buy this shoe. I wear a 13-14 narrow, and there are NO manufacturers of sticky rubber approach (canyoneering) shoes that are long enough for me. I have bought three of the best brands, they are all too short, and 13 is the largest size ANYONE offers. Smearing up is O.K. but coming down KILLs my toes. O trusted that the reviewers were accurate - saying that this shoe is lobger than it says. IT IS !!!!!

So - I just finished 9 days of super climbling all over arches and canyonlands with friends, the shoe performed THE BEST - as soon as I figured out how to get it to fit. Tips: yes, it is long, but like many shoe designs, this one laces down to the tip of your toes. Stupid. Feet do not go to a point. So - lace the first three lace crossovers as usual - loosely. Then tie a double knot - so that your toes won't get squeezed more than that. Lace the rest of the shoe to fit, tighter for a lot of downhill smearing or edging. Also, If you use a toe jam into a wide crack, there is no rand on the outside edge of the shoe to protect you. Cut off a strip of 1/8" moleskin about 3" long x 1" high and apply it to the inside of the shoe where you need padding. If you get into a lot of soft sand, plan on emptying the sand out occasionally, the mesh fabric of the shoe is a sieve for the sand - which eventually fills the footbed and starts wearing your skin off.
This is the best shoe for a 13 narrow foot - but like all products - you have to figure out how to get it to work for you. Almost as sticky as 5-10 or mad rock - after three days of skuffing the soles on sandstone, they got more sticky and I knew exactly what I could do with them!

View Details: The North Face Smedge Approach Shoe - Men's

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