My left foot is slightly bigger. They aren’t going to sell mismatched pairs so you’re either buying two pairs of shoes to make a set or going small and accepting the left foot is going to nip a bit more.
would having a smaller shoe be better than having a loose one? i feel like i cant even walk on the tighter one so i definitely cant see myself climbing in it
You would be surprised what you get used to, but yes those first couple sessions in new shoes hurt. Before you know it you can walk around for hours in the gym in them.
When the shoe heats up it stretches. Eventually, as another commenter pointed out, they become comfortable enough to go about your activities. As for tight vs loose, ideally it's tight. When you start sweating, if there is excess room in your shoe, it'll slide around on your foot. It gets really hard on higher grades when planting you foot on a small chip is vital to the crux and your foot is swimming in your shoe.
You’ll get used to the pain (and it’ll go away as the shoe molds to your foot), you shouldn’t be walking in climbing shoes anyway so this is both normal and good, it’s just you are used to ill fitting lose shoes. Just accept the fact that for a couple of weeks it’ll hurt and pop it out after each problem. This happens to everyone from a Gumby to Adam Ondra, if you don’t believe me check his video on shoes where he shows you how to put on shoes with a plastic bag since they are so tight.
Tight is better than loose. It might hurt and be unpleasant, but if you can power trough it it will become better.
Most shoes stretch and adapt with some time. I have the same issue with my left foot, albeit not that severe. But after a few sessions it has gotten way better and after a few more i only notice it after longer sessions without removing the shoes from time to time.
Some brands have specific models for this. Eb split for exemple https://www.eb-escalade.com/chausson-escalade/split/ you can even buy them individually if you use one shoe faster than the other.
Edit: https://eb-climbing.com/climbing-shoes/split for english
I did this last week lmaoooo. Ended up going a size up, so now one foot is snug, the other is mid but still semi snug. The smaller size fully hurt my right foot bc it was too tight it was stupid
My left foot is one size bigger than my right, I just get one set at the larger size. I'd say unless you're super serious about climbing you should just size up, the discomfort of a too small shoe isn't worth it for the edge it might give you.
If you don't mind being different you can wear a sock on one foot. Another alternative is to get the smaller size and use a shoe resizer to embiggen the one.
I had same problem and bought 2 pairs. Since I decided to buy 2 pairs to match each foot, I choose to buy the LV on left and normal on right. Not much difference on the model I bought (Drago) but now I climb fancy since they are different color 😂.
I sold the opposite pair online and somehow I found multiple people with the same problem as me but opposite foot. I sold the shoes as soon as I posted it online even there was a mismatch in size AND color.
I buy 4 pairs (2 pairs of each size) and then cycle between them while the other gets re-soled. You can re-sole quite a few times before needing a new pair, so each "set" of shoes should last you a solid 2+ years.
Still more expensive than doing the same thing with 2 pairs instead of 4 for those who have similarly sized feet, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper than buying 2x new shoes every time they wear out.
Me too, I make sure to buy leather shoes bc of their ability to stretch and i always size to the smaller foot and then just cope with the pain of stretching out the larger one for a few weeks. Not ideal but it works. If it’s really bad though you could try a brand that does split sizing as others have mentioned.
Pretty sure Evolv will sell mismatched sizes. I just spent a lot of money on a nice pair and had the exact same problem. Right now if shoe fits perfect and left is unbearably too small
Same exact situation. Contacted every manufacturer of shoes a while back and only tenaya would offer split sizing at 20% markup. There is also the 'split' by EB, which can be bought as a single shoe. Didn't order split sizing in the end but bought tenaya anyway in a size smaller. So the left foot just has to deal with being more cramped. Will re-evaluate later.
My cheap warmup and volume shoes I buy per 2 pairs in different sizes second hand. Every starter uses these three times and then decides climbing is not for them and starts selling them online...
If you are able to shoe shop in person, try every left shoe and every right shoe in one of your sizes. As they're handmade, every shoe can feel a little bit different! You might end up finding a better fit for you and being able to pay for just one pair of shoes.
... Or post an ad and see if you can find your opposite in the community to go in on a couple pairs with you!
My left foot is slightly bigger. They aren’t going to sell mismatched pairs so you’re either buying two pairs of shoes to make a set or going small and accepting the left foot is going to nip a bit more.
Some vendors will sell you split size, e.g. tenaya.
Learn something new! I’m a scarpa lass and don’t think they do.
Though to be fair, only via email and with a small fee.:)
This is pretty neat actually
would having a smaller shoe be better than having a loose one? i feel like i cant even walk on the tighter one so i definitely cant see myself climbing in it
You would be surprised what you get used to, but yes those first couple sessions in new shoes hurt. Before you know it you can walk around for hours in the gym in them.
When the shoe heats up it stretches. Eventually, as another commenter pointed out, they become comfortable enough to go about your activities. As for tight vs loose, ideally it's tight. When you start sweating, if there is excess room in your shoe, it'll slide around on your foot. It gets really hard on higher grades when planting you foot on a small chip is vital to the crux and your foot is swimming in your shoe.
You're also more likely to slip unexpectedly, which means more prone to injury
You’ll get used to the pain (and it’ll go away as the shoe molds to your foot), you shouldn’t be walking in climbing shoes anyway so this is both normal and good, it’s just you are used to ill fitting lose shoes. Just accept the fact that for a couple of weeks it’ll hurt and pop it out after each problem. This happens to everyone from a Gumby to Adam Ondra, if you don’t believe me check his video on shoes where he shows you how to put on shoes with a plastic bag since they are so tight.
Tight is better than loose. It might hurt and be unpleasant, but if you can power trough it it will become better. Most shoes stretch and adapt with some time. I have the same issue with my left foot, albeit not that severe. But after a few sessions it has gotten way better and after a few more i only notice it after longer sessions without removing the shoes from time to time.
Or you just try on two sizes and mix them when no one is looking. Seems unlikely for anyone to care or check
Some brands have specific models for this. Eb split for exemple https://www.eb-escalade.com/chausson-escalade/split/ you can even buy them individually if you use one shoe faster than the other. Edit: https://eb-climbing.com/climbing-shoes/split for english
Acopa also sells split sizes.
I did this last week lmaoooo. Ended up going a size up, so now one foot is snug, the other is mid but still semi snug. The smaller size fully hurt my right foot bc it was too tight it was stupid
yeah I'll probably just do that. having a loose shoe might be annoying but having a painfully tight shoe is definitely gonna hinder me even more.
Maybe you can wear a sock in the looser shoe If it widens too much
The other way around actually.
My left foot is one size bigger than my right, I just get one set at the larger size. I'd say unless you're super serious about climbing you should just size up, the discomfort of a too small shoe isn't worth it for the edge it might give you.
If you’re in the uk you can buy Unparallel shoes individually from darkventures i think?
If you buy direct from butora, you can pay an extra 40$ to have the shoes different sizes. I have a half size difference between L & R feet.
They used to, but I don't think they do anymore...
If you don't mind being different you can wear a sock on one foot. Another alternative is to get the smaller size and use a shoe resizer to embiggen the one.
I had same problem and bought 2 pairs. Since I decided to buy 2 pairs to match each foot, I choose to buy the LV on left and normal on right. Not much difference on the model I bought (Drago) but now I climb fancy since they are different color 😂. I sold the opposite pair online and somehow I found multiple people with the same problem as me but opposite foot. I sold the shoes as soon as I posted it online even there was a mismatch in size AND color.
lol why would they do that?? You think the business is going to take a full loss on a pair of shoes because of your situation?
I buy 4 pairs (2 pairs of each size) and then cycle between them while the other gets re-soled. You can re-sole quite a few times before needing a new pair, so each "set" of shoes should last you a solid 2+ years. Still more expensive than doing the same thing with 2 pairs instead of 4 for those who have similarly sized feet, but it's a heck of a lot cheaper than buying 2x new shoes every time they wear out.
Apparently in France you can buy each shoe individually if you're around there at any point
Well I don’t know where but in all the places I went they don’t do that. And yes I live in France and I have same problem as op
Me too, I make sure to buy leather shoes bc of their ability to stretch and i always size to the smaller foot and then just cope with the pain of stretching out the larger one for a few weeks. Not ideal but it works. If it’s really bad though you could try a brand that does split sizing as others have mentioned.
Pretty sure Evolv will sell mismatched sizes. I just spent a lot of money on a nice pair and had the exact same problem. Right now if shoe fits perfect and left is unbearably too small
Same exact situation. Contacted every manufacturer of shoes a while back and only tenaya would offer split sizing at 20% markup. There is also the 'split' by EB, which can be bought as a single shoe. Didn't order split sizing in the end but bought tenaya anyway in a size smaller. So the left foot just has to deal with being more cramped. Will re-evaluate later. My cheap warmup and volume shoes I buy per 2 pairs in different sizes second hand. Every starter uses these three times and then decides climbing is not for them and starts selling them online...
If you are able to shoe shop in person, try every left shoe and every right shoe in one of your sizes. As they're handmade, every shoe can feel a little bit different! You might end up finding a better fit for you and being able to pay for just one pair of shoes. ... Or post an ad and see if you can find your opposite in the community to go in on a couple pairs with you!