UKC

I have tended to wear boots in the past as they're nice to climb in and keep my feet dry on the walk in but they've been aggravating a knee injury recently so I'm looking for an alternative. For hill walking without much technical terrain, I usually wear a pair of Salomon Speedcross or a pair of ancient La Sportiva trail running shoes and the difference on my knees is amazing but both are terrible to climb in. Ideally I'd like something that I can climb up to VDiff in (which for my skill level is definitely not trail running shoes!) I have a pair of BD technicians which are great to climb in and have a pretty grippy sole for UK conditions but no arch support and really not comfortable for a long day out. I have looked at a few approach shoes but most are aimed at nice dry rock and don't do so well on steep wet grass. Does anyone have any recommendations? 

I have had a pair of these for a few years and they have done really well on all sorts of terrain from boggy lowland grass to high Via Feratta in the Dolomites... and everything in between! 

I have the wide-fit version, and also have my own insoles added for arch support. 

They would be worth looking at IMO..

I quite like climbing in my Terrex Swift Solos, but I'd imagine they would be lethal on wet grass!

The basic problem you face is that somewhat decent climbing performance requires a relatively flat sole profile, which is the exact opposite of what you want for steep wet grass.

TX4s basically aim to to be good on grass in the heel lugs and good on rock in the forefoot. Really rate them, but have become forbiddingly expensive. Pretty long lasting though.

  . . . but - as we all know - THEY ARE NOT THE SAME ANY MORE!!

Do we? I see there is another thread... I will reserve judgement before panicking and CAPs-ing anyone who mentions them.

One Shoe to Rule Them All

One shoe to Climb In

One shoe to Grip the Wall

But on the Grass not Slidin'

Perhaps shoe companies prefer us to buy 3 different types of shoe, rather than offer the Unicorn?

this thread seems like a good opportunity to post this video of tom randall climbing london wall in tennies  vimeo.com/60612674

they're totally crap on wet grass though. scarpa mescalito have worked well for me.

If you can figure out a way of addressing the basic problem that Alan describes here:

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/gear/scrambling_and_easy_climbing_footwea...

you'd better keep it to yourself, otherwise, the evil Footwear Industrial Complex will quietly ensure you meet your end in a 'climbing accident', maybe caused by wearing inappropriate footwear...

I've made my own solution by sellotaping the front half of a Moccasym to the back half of a Hunter wellie.

<thokka-thokka-thokka-thokka>

That's the sound of the FIC black ops team arriving...

I have a pair of La Sportiva Boulder X Mids. 

I can confirm they climb V Diff and they can handle bogs and wet grass pretty well. 

Tx4

Thanks everyone. I hadn't quite realised what I was looking for but think some of those La Sportiva options fit the bill (guide, tx4 or boulders). They look like they have quite stiff soles which would probably work well for me. I think the reason I don't get on well climbing with running shoes is the flexibility of the soles. I always feel more secure on edges.

I had a pair of those in the low a long time ago and really rated them as an all round walking shoe but they might be a bit flexible for what I'm looking for. It might be that my foot is a bit narrow for them but they never gave me a lot of lateral stability. 

They look really nice. What is odd about the fit?

Very true, you can't have it all. I made a post recently about midlayers looking for something that packed really small and was light weight but very warm 😂 I am also looking for a really small backpack with a large capacity!

Brilliant 😂 I'll have to remember that one

I agree with most recommendations. I tend to use La Sportiva Boulder (mid height) on mountain rock climbs (such as Tryfan East face) up to vdiff or severe. In good summer conditions I use my Guide shoes. But these are quite low volume at the toe, so definitely need to be tried on before you buy.

I love Boulder Xs but I have found them terrifying on steep wet grass. The soles have little rounded lumps on them rather than a traditional pattern which bites into wet grass.  The uppers last well though so I’ve had them resoled by Cheshire Shoe Repairs, making them much better on grass and only a little worse for scrambling. 

I did a backpacking trip in Scotland last year in TX4 Mids. I was concerned about how they might perform in the wet, but luckily I had mostly dry weather and the only wet surface they had to deal with was flat bogs. So I can't comment on how they might have been on any steeper wet ground, except to say that for this year I've bought some Inov-8's with rather deeper & sharper tread.

I have a pair of La Sportiva Boulder X Mids too. Lovely and comfortable but I found them rather hard work on wet grass - I think the sole lugs could do with being a bit more aggressive, especially towards the heel. I've only used them on easy scrambles and they were fine for that, though I'm not sure that they would edge well enough for me on anything harder.

Have tried scrambling/climbing/walking in various manufacturers shoes, but far and away the best for me are Salewa waterproof approach shoes from Decathlon. £104, Vibram soles, as good on rock as a non climbing specific shoe can get. Prior to these I tried Sportiva and Scarpa.

Depends on how you size them. If they are tight enough they edge really well, I’ve even been up things on the slate that obviously rely on edging to stand on anything. In contrast I’ve found the TX4s great on other terrain but I find they don’t edge well.

My go-to for dry conditions is the TX2. They are lighter than TX4s (560g vs. 760g) but not as hard wearing, and have relatively thin soles. If you're switching into climbing shoes they stow really unobtrusively on the harness, but they are also really sensitive and great to climb in. I've used them for things like the Cuillin Ridge (including the pitched climbs) and the approach/descent from Piz Badile.

However, as per everyone else's feedback, approach shoes are designed for dry rock and are generally terrible on steep/wet grass (they also tend not to drain and dry very well, so they get heavy and stay wet a long time). So whenever I know steep/wet grass is going to be an issue I go with trail/fell running shoes (inov8) with decent lugs.

I have Scarpa Mescalito GTX which have been happy using as approach shoes but I have problems with heal lift which is disconcerting climbing. I recently bought Mescalito Mid GTX which are much better to climb in. On special offer at the mo from R&R.

I'll be buying another pair of Scarpa Crux when mine finally give up the ghost in a month or two.  (Just checked to see they're still available.) They're a lot more pricey now than when I bought the last pair, but if the new ones last half as my current pair have they'll still be well worth it.

I use La Sportiva Ultra Raptors for scrambling now, the low non-goretex version. They seem to scramble almost as well as my TX4's, and they're much better on steep grass. Also, they're much more comfortable to wear all day if you're doing a lot of mileage, and they breath a lot better in hot weather.

That could well be right - mine aren't that snug, bought for comfort rather than performance. Also, you are a much better climber than me so I suspect you could climb things in wellies that I couldn't climb in the best rock shoes, on a tight rope. 

Like for like though, the TX4s soles seem to flare out a lot that must reduce edging performance compared to, say, Mescalitios. 

There’s a lot to be said for comfort, especially with approach shoes. By sizing them the way I do I am kind of trying to have my cake and eat it, really. I have both the Boulder X and TX4s fairly tight (tight enough to not be able to wear thick socks), and you are entirely right, the flare of the TX4s reduces edging performance. The TX4s feel absurdly sticky to me though, very surefooted hopping around on scrambling terrain.

Personally I’d recommend Scarpa mens zodiac GTX, a bit pricy but amazing shoes 

https://www.ldmountaincentre.com/walk-hike-c1/footwear-c18/shoes-c62/scarpa...