Hi everyone,
I'm looking for a new pair of climbing shoes and because I'm pretty limited by travel I can only try a select few pairs at my local store (namely Boreal Kintaro or Scarpa Boostic & Instinct VS's for what I'm looking for) or have a guess at a pair that I can return-and-swap for free online.
My current shoes are the 'newer' release 5.10 Team black models that I've been wearing for the past 7 months. I find the toebox to be exceptional but the heel has become very saggy to the point of looking comical when heel hooking; It squashes and contorts and has started to limit my pulling ability on smaller holds.
I'm basically left with shoes that have a fantastic front end but a really sloppy back, and although the heel 'ball' is really loose the shape of the section above it digs into my Achilles' to such a degree that I fear I might be doing it some permanent damage. This twinned width the width of my feet is the reason I couldn't buy smaller shoes and force my heel into them.
Call my bluff if you will but I also find 5.10 Stealth rubber to be quite inconsistent. Maybe I'm asking too much but even freshly cleaned I just don't feel that it's tacky enough.
In short, I'm looking for high-end bouldering shoes with a steep rand, good rubber, lots of sensitivity, and built for someone with wider and less slender feet, and a 'squarer,' less pronounced heel.
It's a big ask, but it might sound similar to someone so I thought it'd be worth a shot. I've got my eye on Andrea Boldrini Apache 5's at the moment because I've only heard good things about them, and from what I can tell they look like they'd fit my foot shape. Has anyone had any experience with them? What about the alternatives?
Thanks for reading,
Zen
