Indoor climbing

I actually bought a new pair today as it happens, I was passing by Edinburgh Indoor Climbing Arena so I popped into their shop!

I tried on a few pairs:

Five Ten Hiangle Synthetic: Looked and felt rad in the hand but pinched my little toe in a size up and the sales assistant I actually try sizing down to my normal size with them, couldn't actually get my feet into them despite breaking a serious sweat trying.

Evolv Shaman 2: I wanted to love these and they were a significant step up from the Five Tens for me in terms of comfort, wider in the toe than the Hiangles and the padded "tongue" is actually a really nice touch. It also helps that they fed into my Chris Sharma complex.

LaSportiva Skwama: I've never tried a pair of LaSportiva shoes before as I've always felt they looked a bit naff and I always like Five Ten because I also wear Five Ten mtb shoes... well I was wrong. The most comfortable climbing shoes I've ever tried on. They were a really spacious fit across the toes and had a really fitted anatomic style sole, very much hug your feet.

Five Ten Quantum: I also tried these on, they reminded me of my old Anasazi Blancos. They were quite nice but just not as comfortable as the LaSportivas.

TL;DR I bought the LaSportiva Skwamas. General wisdom from sales guy was also that if a pair of shoes in your normal size don't fit you then they're just the wrong shoes, don't size up if shoes are too narrow, find a wider shoe.

Good shout. I bought some Skwamas recently while my Futuras and Pythons were off getting re-soled. Really nice shoe although the lip at the achilles tends to fold in and dig in when I put them on so I have to flip it back out. Very nice balance of sensitivity and aggressive heel, though, and they aren't all synthetic like the Futuras so wont smell like a zombie's colon.

As a lifelong sufferer of ingrown toenails and someone who’s been climbing for over a decade, I feel your pain.
Have you had them looked at by a doctor? I had one big toenail removed and the other partially removed many years ago but they still give me grief.
Climbing shoes and sore toenails are not a great combo :(
Make sure you soak the toe in salt solution or something similar after if you can - nothing like the inside of a sweaty climbing shoe to kick off infection.
(Sorry I can’t offer more useful advice!)

Epictv shop also have %15 off shoes if you buy two pairs at the mo.
Not for everyone I know (big outlay of cash), but I picked up some scarpa instinct vs (good for wide feet) and a set of the old scarpa Magos for £150.

Another tip for breaking in shoes is to wear plastic bags over your feet to help them slide in. It looks stupid but saves the skin on your feet/toes for those initial sessions where the shoes haven’t stretched at all.
Also, leaving your shoes on a warm radiator to soften the rubber before sliding them on deffo helps (careful not to leave them too long or on a radiator too hot as this may affect the curing of the glue).

Breaking in shoes is such a nightmare - if I don’t buy aggressively small, they stretch out too much and get sloppy at the toes before they’re worn out. It’s almost a test of bottle - seeing how tight you can get them, having to believe the initial pain is worth it so that they wear in properly!

I have the enviable combination of climbing, working on my feet/ crouching/ knees all day and hereditary susceptibility to ingrown toenail unfortunately! Somehow this is my first one at the age of 29 but I've been trying to shake it since last August including three efforts by chiropodist to trim the bastard into order! Getting pretty ticked off with it at this stage but full on nail removal isn't really the done thing in Ireland these days. Think I'll just have to let it get to the point it looks healed again and then stay away from climbing for another week or two thereafter and hopefully that will do the trick!

The method I had the doctor use years back was to cut a strip of nail off right back to the bed and then dab that side of the bed in some kind of chemicals to stop it growing (resulting in a narrower toe nail I assume). Done under local anaesthetic

Yeah there's some weird thing going in on Ireland where none of the chiropodists can do the anaesthetic and none the doctors can do the nail job or something like that, my chiropodist explained it to me and it made no sense. I think if I want it off altogether I have to go to Northern Ireland for it which is a faff but at this stage might end up being my best option if it doesn't heal soon. Really hope this isn't going to be an ongoing longterm thing :(

That's what I had done on one side, the other one fully removed (might've been half removed before that).

Which just brought back the amazing memory of watching my GP fuck it up while under local anesthetic. He took half the nail off, fine, he then cut the infected bit totally off. When the anesthetic wore off, it was one of the worst pains I've ever felt. Lol. They're just supposed to lob a bit of nail off, and then the infection should clear up as it doesn't have a toenail wedging itself into the flesh 24/7

/disgustingstory

I've got a spare ticket to see The Dawn Wall at the Covent Garden Odeon on Tuesday 2 October at 6.30. It's sold out and I paid £16 for it, but you can donate to https://mendmountains.thebmc.co.uk/ rather than pay me for it.

It's on at 6.30 and I can meet you out front to give you the ticket. You may also have to sit next to me (popcorn appreciated).

Anybody need some new booties?

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/3277­47/#comment14500738

Just started climbing in a boulder centre (boulder Brighton) and loving it.

Where should I try in London? Anywhere especially good?

I'm not local but when I visit London I'd definitely want to visit Yonder

The Castle is a brilliant place to visit.

Will have a look. It’s such a fun thing to do - wish I’d started sooner

Yep! The eternal wish of every climber, compounded into an aching bitter remorse when you watch prepubescent children climb harder than your slowly decaying body will ever be capable of. Hahahaa .... no seriously though.

Assuming you live in Brighton then your pick of London gyms isn't area specific?

In that case for purely bouldering I would check out Yonder. It's only been open a couple of months but honestly the place is just beautiful. Aesthetically it cannot be beaten. Everything has been custom fabricated with such fine attention to detail. The hold sets (+ colour, grade numbering system) are awesome. The wall angles and texture are unique. I particularly like the huge circuit board with user adjustable angle and laser cut panelling. Also a yoga studio, great cafe with pool table and Beavertown on tap for post-sesh recovery gainz.

The setting is good but is matched at Stronghold (two amazing top out boulders, loads of climbing but lacking a roof), Vauxwall (outdoorsy which is a good thing, but the West centre can be claustrophobic so try the East first) and Mile End (a particularly wicked set of proper comp holds+volumes on their comp wall and an outdoor style faux-rock boulder).

The Castle is amazing too and the place to go if you want bouldering, top rope and lead all in one place. It's particularly busy on weekday evenings but the history and quirky layout of the Victorian pump house makes it really fun.

For rope climbing only the Westway is very spacious and has good setting too.

Time's a funny thing eh? Trying to get back into it after a 10 year hiatus. Lord almighty things aren't stretchy anymore.

Lovely, thanks!

:) no problemo, enjoy. And get outdoors as soon as you can! Climbing out surrounded by nature - it's something else entirely.

If you're coming down anytime soon and making a trip, watch out as the Westway is currently having some work done - there's at least some of the walls out of action.

Probably won't take long to complete but you might want to phone ahead.

I’ve just bought a pair of shoes (scarpa helix) their tight (my toes are right to the edges). I’ve read conflicting stuff about fit - is tight what’s needed? Do shoes normally stretch over time?

They do need to be tight but hard to know whether they are too tight and bad, or just tight enough. You should not have any empty space at the front though, that's for sure, and they should be tight enough that you can use the tip on the wall.

They won't stretch loads but that depends in part on whether they're full synthetic or leather top

These are suede on the top so I guess there’ll be some stretch

Being suede they will stretch a little bit. More like mold to your foot slightly but the rubber rand won't so if they're agonising then try half size up. Just bear in mind that the Helix is a flat shoe designed to be comfortable wearing for a long time. Being a beginner that's important, you don't need them to be crazy tight at the grades you're climbing. When you eventually move on to more technical/downturned shoes with tighter/performance fit it would be nice if your Helix' remain your most comfortable pair so that you can wear them on multipitch climbs, easier trad stuff and or hanging out with friends. So try to fit them with that in mind.

If there are any particular spots where there is a lot of pressure when you weight the foot and it actually hurts then again try half sizing up or even a different shoe. Everyone's feet are different which is why there are so many models to accommodate them. Some just won't fit your foot. This is why it is important to go to shops, take your time and try everything on.

The snug fit of climbing shoes definitely takes some getting used to. But the myth that they should be painfully tight is just that, a myth.

I would add that if you just boulder then it's worth getting some soft-ish shoes earlier than if you were trad or sport climbing. The helix is relatively stiff for big indoor footholds. Soft shoes will give you more sensitivity, making you more mindful of your foot placement so your footwork will improve much more quickly. It will feel better smearing on slab and you will trust your feet more, especially on steep angles, if they are stickier. But do avoid very aggressive downturns and high asymmetry at this point.

Buying new climbing shoes is the bane of my life!

Just wore them around the room for a bit and I have some toe wiggle. My toes are flat but my big toes are touching the end.

This is with thickish socks though...