UKC

Hello,
I bought a pair of scarpa vapour Vs that were too small. I assumed that they would stretch but they haven't . They are painful to wear and to climb in. Is there anything I can do to stretch them?

I should add that the upper sole is leather but the toebox is a rigid rubber construction.

I have heard of several suggested techniques for stretching them such as the hot shower, microwave or oven. Do these really work on the rubber sole? Has anyone extensively tested this?

In reply to modaniel:

They should stretch, it just might take a bit of time. How much have you used them?

When I get a new pair of shoes I usually just wear them for a few boulder problems indoors, or maybe on a warm up route outdoors, then switch to my old pair for the rest of the session. Then I can break them in gradually. Just make sure you buy a new pair before the old pair are trashed.

Never had to try any other tricks.

In reply to 1poundSOCKS:

It would be hard to say how much I have used them because the pain experienced has put me off climbing but I would guess at least 15 hours of use. Unfortunately my old shoes are simply too worn to be of any use.

In reply to modaniel:

I fear you may be out of luck. I've had a couple of pairs of downturned Scarpas - old style Boosters and now Vapour Vs - and they seem to keep their downturn very well & give lengthwise very little.

In reply to modaniel:
I have pairs 2 full sizes apart. They relax to the shape of your foot a little but if the overall length is too short then it will never work.

If you have the burning fiery pain on the top of the toe knuckles then keep wearing them, this will ease with time.

In reply to modaniel:


Sounds like they are too tight then, I would guess an hour or two at most of actual climbing would be enough for me.

Have you been climbing for very long? I bought some old Vapour V as a beginner and put them in the loft never to be used again, too painful. I can now get in a size smaller without pain. Your feet do adapt to tight down turned shoes eventually.

In reply to modaniel:

When I get new and tight shoes I usually heat them up in the car just before the climbing session. Put them on the floor in front of passenger seat soles up , then on the way to the crag turn the heating on to the max full blast to warm it up. When warm they stretch quicker and are much more comfortable to wear. Couple sessions and they should break in. Obviously there is a risk that the sole may detach but its been good so far.
hope that helps

In reply to modaniel:

It does sound like they may simply be too tight, but one thing that might help is the cellophane-y stuff that came with the shoes (if you still have the box) or, failing that, clingfilm (much less durable and more annoying to work with, but still does the job). If you wrap this around your foot before squeezing them into the shoes you should find that pain from hotspots is at least somewhat lessened, if not eliminated entirely, and you might well be able to wear them in with a little less agony. Plus, if that doesn't help you'd probably be right to conclude that they're simply too small and can thus justify getting a more sensibly sized pair!

In reply to modaniel:
I've climbed in scarpa vapors, both lace up and Velcro, for years - numerous pairs. Never had to do any trickery. I find they break in really well after a few sessions. As 1 pound socks said, the trick in future is to buy new pair well before old pair are trashed so you can have weeks of overlap to break new ones in gradually.

As others have said, if its the length that's horribly tight (toe knuckles curled up) then you'll just have to accept no amount of wearing will change that. in which case sell them on here and start again.

BTW, I used to love the old orange Velcro ones and really don't like the new yellow velcros - totally different fit and far less precise. So now I use the yellow lace up with the black zigzag stripes. Love them! like the old velcros for performance but, obviously as they are lace up, you can get them even tighter and more precise. If youve not tried them I'd reallly recommend.

Good luck whatever you choose.

In reply to modaniel:

I once bought a pair which were to uncomfortable for me to enjoy climbing in, being a tight arse, and not wanting to buy another pair, I warmed them up with a hair dryer until they were really pliable and put them on while wearing a pair of thick socks, then kept the heat on for a bit, it worked surprisingly.

In reply to modaniel:

You will be lucky to get much longitudinal stretch from them, in my experience you will get some stretch around the other toe knuckles, but not the big toe - too much rubber. A soak in warm water with wearing afterwards can accelerate this. I'd advise against the microwave unless you're single and live in the country. At worst It's a quick way to make a house uninhabitable and will probably make the shoes delaminate. (The glues are heat sensitive).

In reply to modaniel:

I actually found the heel on these to dig in quite tightly over the insertion of the achilles tendon.
They have stretched slightly, enough to now be comfortable, but this took 3 months of intermittent use.