Good gym shoe

By bmo4378072 Ranked #603 - Climbing Shoes March 15, 2011

Pros: Good all around. I have used these shoes for bouldering, sport, trad and crack. It is a capable shoe. The biggest strength is really good heel hooks. They smear pretty well, and they are decent for edging.

Cons: Bad for crack climbing (pain and performance). Otherwise it is a compromise shoe. Not a real high performance shoe in any category. Also if you size the shoe aggressively in order to get the most performance for bouldering and sport climbing you will want to get out of them as soon as you are off the wall (multi-pitching is out of the question). The synthetic top "leather" is not as soft and does not stretch as well as real leather. The synthetic shoes will also start to smell horrible after some use and it takes effort to make sure they aren't offensive. I use the washing machine, disinfectant spray, cedar blocks AND dryer sheets.

Conclusion: If you size these shoes aggressively you can get a lot of performance for gym climbing and moderate boulder and rope climbing. If you are starting out and you dont want to invest in 2 or 3 different pairs of shoes this is a great starting point.

Comments: I sized these shoes down to 8.5 from my 10.5 street shoes. Since they are synthetic, they will form to your foot but the top "leather" will not stretch as much as actual leather. My level is around V5 for bouldering and 5.11 on sport. At this point I am not out-climbing these shoes.

View Details: Mad Rock Trickster Climbing Shoe - Men's

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes