La Sportiva Kids Gripit Climbing Shoes

Regardless of whether you are a beginner or experienced climber, rock shoes are close fitting and made very differently to normal shoes, so a precision fit is really important to enjoying your climbing.

We stock adult rock shoes from size UK2 (EU 35) to UK 14.5 (EU 50) and children’s sizes from UK junior 10. Some styles are available in half EU sizes to get a perfect fit.

Good footwork is fundamental to climbing and poorly fitting shoes can hinder your technique. If you are keen to get into your climbing then a specially designed foot hugging shoe with sticky rubber is going to make it a lot more fun. However, the first six words of this paragraph are possibly THE most important part of rock climbing. Indoors and out.

There are three different types of specialist rock climbing footwear. A rock shoe is the general term we use for a low cut, lace up shoe. A rock boot is much the same thing but cut higher around the heel to offer more protection and support. A climbing slipper is usually the term given to a super soft Velcro or elastic closured shoe which is close fitting easy to get on and off.

There are so many different grades, climbing styles and rock types that shoes have been designed to be specific, almost like tools, so you need different tools for different jobs. Shoes are made to offer different fits, different levels of support and come in very different shapes to encourage your weight to be concentrated on different areas of your foot.

It’s very easy to think that rock shoe styles worn by professional climbers are the best and for that reason they’ll be the right ones for you. Wrong. To concentrate on good footwork as you learn to climb, your shoes need to be comfy and supportive, allowing your foot muscles to develop and therefore reducing fatigue and injury. A stiffer shoe means lots of support. Stiffer shoes often use thicker leathers, synthetic materials and rubber allowing for the increased wear and tear as you learn to place your feet with precision.

Rock shoes do not have to be painful to work. If you are a beginner then please, please don’t buy the smallest pair you can stand forcing your feet into. At best; you’ll have to buy another pair when you can’t stand the pain anymore. At worst; you could cause problems like blisters, callouses or bunions. If you are experienced and require your toes to be held in a dynamic position for balancing on invisibly small holds THAT’S when you want to consider tear-inducingly tight footwear.

When fitting your climbing footwear, avoid shoes that have dead space between your toes and the inside of the shoe since the shoe will not stay rigid when you place your toes on a foothold and could roll off. The absolute BEST way to fit footwear is to come into the shop and try it on in person – especially with rock shoes where there is little room for error.

Once you have amazing footwork and are cruising the grades; softer, snug fitting and therefore more painful rock shoes can be a great help for precision foot placements however, softer rubber will mean they wear out faster.

You can save your wallet AND the planet by simply looking after your shoes. By far the best method is to have great footwork – did we mention that already? Next up is: Don’t be afraid to clean them! Simply flush with water, brush inside and out with a soft brush, repeat as necessary and then air dry them in the shade. Look after the rubber by keeping it clean and when the soles are worn simply send them of to be re-soled

Outdoor Gear Chat Podcast

Take a listen to our Outdoor Gear Chat podcast Episode 9, all about rock shoes, where Cathy and Wayne talk about buying new rock shoes, and how they are made.