UKC

As above, just starting up bouldering and have brought some Scarpa shoes and notice noone seems to wear socks?

I do, but I'm definately not the norm.

Just do what feels most comfortable to you.

In reply to After Eight:

Yes, i do.

In reply to After Eight:

Never trust anyone wearing socks with their climbing shoes.

In reply to After Eight:

Yes only to prevent them smelling to much -

In reply to After Eight: yep, all the time. On climbs up to E1 I can't think of why anyone would where shoes so tight that sock wearing became a problem

In reply to After Eight: Almost always wear socks. Some people find this weird. It's not weird, we wear socks the rest of the time (with footwear), so why not with rock shoes.
Without socks the shoes rub more and are usually more uncomfortable.

Bought a new pair of rock shoes today from a well known and respected shop in the Lakes. Staff did try to have me take off my socks (which i did briefly, but then woke up to the fact that i always wear them) and gave various reasons for this, some of which were no doubt valid.

Also, in the UK it can be a bit chilly in the mountains, socks keep our feet warm. Isn't climbing supposed to be fun and enjoyable?
Mark

In reply to After Eight:

Dave Macleod does. Or used to anyway.

In reply to After Eight:
you will notice the pungent cloud that follows the 'non sock wearers' round the boulder room... WEAR SOCKS!

In reply to After Eight:

Yeah I do, thin ones

In reply to After Eight:

Yes I wear thin socks. I feel very vunerable with exposed ankle bones and like a bit of covering in case I bark them.

In reply to After Eight:
Always.
It's just not the done thing to go sockless.
But I'm the only one in my neck of the woods....

In reply to After Eight:

Yes, I do. I didn't at first, but realised that the livestock were dropping dead as I walked past on the way to the crag and after leaving them in my car on a hot day returned to find my car cordoned off and a crew of army types talking about a controlled explosion.

Did try and clean them (which works for a (very) short while) but realised that wearing socks was comfier and meant I had more friends...

In reply to After Eight: Almost the only clothes Ron Fawcett use to wear were some nice big thick red ski socks. I emulated him for a time until I realised that it wasn't the socks that made him climb E7...

In reply to James Moyle: ooh http://www.supertopo.com/photos/4/89/170456_4575_L.jpg

In reply to After Eight: thanks everyone, seems i may lose a bit of sensitivity but if i get some thin, 100% cotton socks i should sweat less and probably make my shoes last a bit longer. As i'm doing this for exercise and fun i'm going to get some thin sock liners. Hate stinky shoes so will help avoid this for longer!

In reply to After Eight:

I do otherwise my feet are red raw after 2 routes, and my shoes aren't even that tight. Don't worry about lost sensitivity, you've already got half a centimetre of rubber between you and the rock.

In reply to After Eight: 2 pairs, coolmax next to skin & Bridgedale Trek over, comfy, why not?

In reply to After Eight:

What's wrong with you freaks?!

In reply to After Eight:

I wear socks in my big comfy trad/cold weather climbing shoes but as soon as it gets remotely technical I switch to the bouldering shoes O doom. There's no room for socks.

In reply to After Eight:

Wearing socks makes no appreciable difference to me. I don't wear them when I'm DWS'ing obviously but wear them for trad, sport and bouldering. I din't used to in the beginning but the comfort and smell difference is massive.
Horses for courses etc.

In reply to After Eight:

Rock shoes get slimy inside with time if you are a heavy sweater. It can be somewhat disconcerting to feel your shoes start to rotate off an edge because of this. This happened to me on the crucial layback moves of Think Pink (Avon) many years ago. In slow motion my boots started to rotate around my foot and I yelled "I'm off". Fortunately they stopped just before I parted company with the rock. Somewhat embarrassed I shouted "oops , no I'm not!" and continued on my way. I have been a sock wearer ever since though I avoid full length ankle socks cos there are degrees of fashion crime even I won't stoop to.

In reply to After Eight:
I spent 10 years not wearing socks, then an old pair of rock boots started to rub uncomfortably so wore a pair of coolmax liner socks as a bit of a 'one-off'. Much more comfortable, am unaware of any difference to my (admittedly mediocre) ability, & it doesn't half help with the odour issues. Wear them all the time now ...

In reply to After Eight: yes.. when I'm doing big mountain routes in comfortable shoes.

In reply to After Eight:

In some shoes I do, some I don't. Just do what feels comfortable.
jk

In reply to After Eight:

I have to wear socks or I can't get the boots tight enough. Once upon a time when climbing footwear was definitely narrow lasted I went without, but actually on hot days this resulted in my sliding around in a home baked foot cheese fondue, so I'm probably better off with socks anyway.

In reply to After Eight:

always wear thin socks, despise the feeling of squelchy shoes

Depends on the shoes i'm wearing. The comfortable ones i wear socks but the more technical pair are a snug fit so wouldnt get socks in without it becoming too tight. I also find wearing socks makes the shoes rotate around the foot on edges more. Shoes have limited pong at the moment after 3 months of sustained use.

In reply to After Eight: I don't wear socks as feet slide a bit in shoes but grip like a second skin without socks. Some shoes smell more than others. 5:10 seem to be really bad. Would take the smell over foot slipping on a small hold any day. Keep them in shed if pong is too strong to have them in the house.

In reply to cas smerdon:
Comfort
Reduces smell
Anti Midge (if you tuck your socks into your trousers)
Warmer (I live in Scotland)
Shoes last longer

I've never noticed the lack of sensitivity to be honest. Modern shoes are so good that the performance will far outweight my climbing ability.

In reply to After Eight: I wear really thin trainer liners when climbing. I have never noticed a difference.

In reply to After Eight: i do a lot, but then i'm in shetland most of the time. just depends on the weather. i think if its a bit nippy, wearing socks and thermals makes a big differnence.

In reply to After Eight: I you don't wear socks you'll need to put your shoes in the washing machine occasionally (40 deg to melt the grease). better still cut the bottom 12 inches from the legs your wife's tights (prefereably while she's not wearing them) and use them as very thin socks.

In reply to After Eight: yep and you can wear them on the outside a la Bill Peascod in the wet!

In reply to After Eight: I dont wear socks,unless i want to wear my comfy climbing shoes....

In reply to After Eight:

So the up shot is yes you should wear them.... unless of course you don't

In reply to After Eight: i do when climbing gritstone cracks - protects your ankles from getting skinned

In reply to After Eight:
I don't, it makes standing on tiny stuff that little bit harder, and keeps me even hotter, and I get too hot in just about any weather.

In reply to After Eight:

I do! Thin ones, as I developed an allergy to the dye in the rockboots (i.e get a rash if I don't wear any socks) A great side effect of wearing socks is that my rockboots don't smell! (Well, at least not as badly as some other people's)

So, I think it's up to you, but I wouldn go for fat red, wooly ones

In reply to After Eight: I have always worn socks. Considered it a bit of a fallacy wearing overly tight rock shoes.Its whats inside them that counts.

In reply to After Eight: I wear short sport socks. I can think of several practical reasons for wearing socks and none against.
- More comfortable
- Reduces smell
- Fills out the shoe to make it fit more snuggly

In reply to After Eight:


I wear socks but only over my head when robbing bank

In reply to After Eight: Socks are your friend.

In reply to After Eight:

I don't wear socks as I find the shoes fit better without them. I also find that my foot moves in the shoe if you wear socks reducing confidence, trust and precision in your footwork.

It is obviously a personal choice and depends upon the conditions in which you are climbing, the type of route/problem you are on and what you want to achieve with your climbing.

As a slight aside to address a couple of the points raised:

- I have very skinny feet and the 5:10 Low Volume shoes fit great, also, evolve tend to be quite narrow
- To tackle smelling shoes, keep them well aired and put blocks of ceder wood inside, it soaks up the moisture and reduces the stench

In reply to After Eight:

Yep, I do... been wearing socks for a year now and if I forget them I miss them. Hate the slime!

In reply to After Eight:

I like my shoes to smell of vinegar, so no.

In reply to After Eight: I find that having my feet as close to the rock and as snug in my boots as I can stand significantly improves my climbing results. I also have access to a washing machine. As such I never wear socks with climbing shoes and never have smelly shoes. Washing the shoes also shrinks them fractionally (5.10 anasazi and verde anyway) them making them fit properly for longer and also gets all the chalk out of the grain of the rubber making them super sticky again. What's to not like in that?

In reply to After Eight:

Always have done, always will. More comfortable, especially for long days out, stops them reeking too!

Chris

In reply to After Eight:

Is that you Kelly?

In reply to After Eight:

I tend to wear a thin pair of coolmax socks during the midge season to stop the little blighters nibbling away on my ankles. They also help to avoid grit rash on your ankle bones.

There's no discernable differnece in sensitivity given that there's already 4mm of rubber and a midsole between my foot and the rock.

In reply to Kafoozalem:
This happened to me once also. I was wearing a older pair that day. Sweaty feet got slimy and my right shoe rotated out of the heel.

In reply to After Eight:
I normally wear stockings with mine

I'm surprised at the amount of people who have posted that they wear socks. Nearly everywhere I go to about 95% of the people I see are sockless. Especially in gyms where the holds are huge anyway.

Unless your climbing at pro level I think everyone should wear them for hygienic reasons. I know i've never failed on a move, because I didn't have enough sensitivity from having socks on.

In reply to birdie num num:

Hold ups or the full rig - sussys and basque? Got any pics?

D

In reply to Dan1984:

I concur

In reply to After Eight: It's something I've never really tried.

I don't get the whole slimy inners because after using my shoes I hang them up in my cupboard with cedar blocks inside, which help keep them from ponging, and helps dry them out.

Feet wise, I find that treating them like my hands (intense cleaning daily, sanding off dead skin, ex foliating or whatever these boffins like to call it and moisturising after a climb.) Usually means that I don't really have the rotten smell wafting up although the gf does find it hilarious my regime is more extreme than her's.

I'm not a high grade climber by any form, but I suppose old habits die hard, my old man never wears socks, so I followed suit, and he didn't pay half as much attention to his feet as I did mine. So I guess my standards are pretty low, seeing as the first proper pair of shoes were hand downs from him.

Either way it's down to personal preference, I climb without because I've always climbed without, I don't suffer from raw skin or anything, so I have no real reason to swap to something else. But if I see someone wearing socks I don't pull a funny face and mumble about them being an amateur, for the exact reasons mentioned about, some of the greats wore/wear socks, some didn't. But if you're comfortable and having a good time, it really doesn't make much difference.

In reply to After Eight:

Yes, of course.

In reply to After Eight:

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. If it's cold then comfy shoes and socks are nice. If I have to get a little more weight onto my feet then snug fitting shoes without socks are the order of the day. Do what you find comfortable.

jk

Its definitely personnal choice and the number of replies in here is way off the general opinion. Ther are many who have polar opinions on it but try with and without and see what you prefer.

I don't as i find my feet move in my shoes more if i wear socks unless i crank them so tight the blood flow stops. Antibacterial spray, cedar blocks and washing are enough to control the smell.

When it gets cold i would wear a pair with comfy shoes on easy routes.

In reply to After Eight: of course one should wear socks you need something to tuck your plus fours into.

In reply to birdie num num:

Fishnets? I bet you look gorgeous.

In reply to After Eight:

I wear socks. It stops my shoes stinking and collecting disgusting mank, helps the fit, keeps midges and nettles etc from biting my ankles, keeps my feet warmer (thicker socks best then). Anyone not wearing socks on anything below extreme or V2 to me is a bit odd.

In reply to After Eight:

your not supposed to wear socks with rock climbing boots (you will almost certainly get wierd looks off the gurus of the climbing world LOL)

I usually slide a johnny over my foot, helps keep the blood flow in really tight shoes.

In reply to After Eight:

Myself personally I used to in Winter but only with a pair that would allow in size, ie: a pair a size bigger than what I normally wear or my normal shoe size.

If in summer when it is hotter, I wear a pair without socks but I also chalk up my feet to keep them dry. I change my shoes every couple of days, I own several pairs, spray them with an odour eating spray leave them for a few days, keeps them fresher and cleaner for longer.

In reply to After Eight:
I'm sure some of my contemporaries on here have worn them both inside and outside their boots. I think the route I did this on was Lorraine on the Nose.

As to normal dry weather wear - of course. The same with sandals.

In reply to After Eight:

I used to with my old shoes, but my new pair are a bit too snug and socks make them fairly uncomfortable to wear. Which is a shame, because I find that I get cold feet easily, and especially with snug shoes and no socks...it's no fun halfway up a long route!

In reply to After Eight:

Eversince I barked my ankle bone I've worn socks.

In reply to After Eight: No, I wear solutions and they are tight enough!

In reply to After Eight: all the time, really thin ones, it stops them smelling and stops your feet slipping around inside your boots when your feet get sweaty. Lots of people think im weird for it, but it works for me.

In reply to After Eight: i always give my shoes a big sniff after a sweaty route. I'm generally pleased with the result and give myself a knowing smile. i like to think of it as my 'lucky' sniff, showing appreciation of the fun time i've just had. oh, and i don't wear socks

In reply to foxjerk:

Christ. Thanks for sharing.

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

That is so funny!