UKC

Hello,  1st timer here .

Apologies if this seems a ridiculous question.

 I'm *very* new to climbing & just purchased my 1st pair of shoes. A pair of Boreal Silex womens.  They fit well but I'm a little disappointed by the general levels of grip compared to some rental Tarantulas I had been using.  I realise this could be my ( lack of) technique but do new shoes require breaking in grip wise ?   I have been a mountain biker for many years & new tyres always have a residue of moulding stuff on them that takes a few rides to scrub off , before they really grip properly. I'm wondering if new climbing shoes are similar? 

They got their 1st use last night.  I have read about how to care for them , keep them clean etc....... but.......

I  prefer the rental Tarantuals, they seemed confidence inspiring where as in my new ones, I am slipping off small holds and feeling 'wooden'.  My attempts at smearing don't work like they did with the Tarantulas. 

I do understand that I have zero technique yet!    So itcoukd easily be me. 

Thanks in advance.  I have searched around for info but nothing compares to real world experienced people.   

Cheers. 

Brand new shoes can be a bit slippery on the first few uses but you should notice them get better after a few more sessions.

You could try rubbing them with your hand to "squeak" them up a bit before climbing as well, cold rubber doesn't preform quite as well!

Ah,  Thankyou. That's helpful to know.   

Yeah Silex are quite stiff and being new need breaking in for a few sessions

Good to know.  Thanks. 

brand new shoes often feel like wooden clogs, they're stiff and unbending leaving you no real feel for what your feet are doing. (this is especially so for people with small feet - shoes have same material thickness and construction across the whole size range; so the smaller ones are inherently stiffer) your hire-shoes were probably well-worn and quite soft.

if they fit reasonably from the box, they should break in and soften up nicely - the grip will start to feel better, I think -  not so much from a change in the rubber, I don't know if the rubber does lose a top layer to become more grippy (maybe it does). personally I think it they just tend to soften and re-shape to your feet giving you better contact and giving you better tactile feedback from your feet.

either way - they'll break in and improve.  happy climbing :-D

Thanks for the advice. I was beginning to worry there..... 😊