UKC

I've been climbing (mostly bouldering) for around 2 years and am climbing V4/V5, very close to completing V6s. I thought I'd upgrade my shoes to some more aggressive ones from the Scarpa Thunders that I've had since starting. The options at my local shops were quite limited and I eventually opted for Miura VS. People I spoke to told me to size down by a couple of sizes in order to get the full benefits of these shoes. However I have only sized down from size 7 street shoe to a size 6 but am having difficulties. The left one (I always thought my right foot was bigger), I can only get on by putting a plastic bag on my foot. Then I can't actually keep it on for more than ten minutes without my foot feeling like it's going to fall off, yet my right is quite comfy. I tried the size up. 6.5 in the shop and it just went on too easily. What should I do? Is it simply that these shoes are not suited to my foot shape? When people talk about cramming their feet into painful shoes, how much pain are they talking about?
Thanks for any help.

In reply to ezzle:

I have the Miura VS's and they are quite comfortable sized about 2.5 sizes down from my street shoe size. Personally I think the whole 'stuff your feet into it it, no pain no gain' attitude that seems to be popular is complete crap. If they hurt, they don't fit your foot shape. Scarpas (I don't get on with any of the down turned ones) fit very differently to La Sportiva which suit lower volume feet.

In reply to ezzle:

Likely unsuited to your foot shape, but make sure when you are trying them on you are wriggling your toes as far into the toebox as possible and tightly (without ludicrous discomfort) before pulling on the heel.

I wear UK9 street and UK6.5 Miuras.

In reply to ezzle:

I have a pair of VS's and Scarpa. The VS's are brilliant for most things but the Scarpa's are so uncomfortable I can only use them for my cellarboard.

There's science behind it relating to the shape of your foot and the specific manufacturers but I think the long and short of it pick a shoe that suits your foot.

As for different size feet, I believe this relates to just about everybody.

In reply to ezzle:

You should probably start by checking what size the 6s actually are. La Sportiva use european sizes, not UK ones; the secondary UK size on the label is simply the closest equivalent of the primary (euro) size - ie the one in large figures. Because the size ranges don't match up exactly you get a "bunching" effect; while 38.5 is equated to UK 5.5 and 40 to UK 6.5, both 39 and 39.5 get translated as UK 6. So it's possible that you've been trying 39 (6) and 40 (6.5) under the impression that they are adjacent sizes, when in fact there's an intermediate size (39.5) that you don't even know about. Best to forget about UK sizes unless they are what a particular manufacturer uses; and if a sales assistant offers you a pair with the simple words "these are size 6", ask them to be more specific.

In reply to ezzle:

Thank you very much for your swift and knowledgable answers. Will be taking them back and trying out some other shoes.

In reply to ezzle:

I'm a uk 9 and i Went for uk7.5 way less reduction compared to some of the posters above....

These were too painful for my feet... 8's in my opinion would have suited me better, but..I think the main problem with tight technical shoes is the shape does it match your feet?


Dont go off what anyone tells you TRY them on most shops have a little board set up so you test the feel on various holds.