[Breaded_Gecko]

Currently using some 5:10 Gambits. Only had them 2 months, but they're bending around the toes on smaller edges, now that trickier problems are getting trickier. obviously that's no good, but can't fault the shoes, they were probably too big in the first place and may have stretched a bit. (May do post to sell them for £45. this reasonable for newish seconds?)

So, I need some fitting shoes, for trickier probs. I apparently have wide feet (e.g. the Anazazis hurt lots).

Tried on the Sportiva Katana, and they fit like a glove even on very small edges and when pointing (at size 8, and my street size is 11). Do they stretch much? And are they technically a good shoe? And do Sportiva differ from boot to boot even when they state the same size (e.g. like 5:10) so the ones in the shop are the same size as the internet ones. I'm not that fussed about long-use comfort, as I prefer bouldering. Think I'll get these, but would be grateful for any other suggestions for good new boots for wide feet before i splash the cash.

[tomtom]

I really liked my Boreal Joker Velcros and I have wide feet.
Some people have sneered at them but I much preferred them to my anazasis...
T

[Johnny Brown]

Get some Anasazis, live with the pain for the first fortnight and then enter a world of boot heaven. I have feet like pork chops.

[Drew]

And are they technically a good shoe? And do Sportiva differ from boot to boot even when they state the same size (e.g. like 5:10) so the ones in the shop are the same size as the internet ones.

Sportiva tend to be very consistent. But buy them from the shop you got service from. It's only polite.

[JonI]

The Katanas are a good shoe, well made etc. But like most sportiva shoes they do stretch a lot, so it's probably better to err on the small/painful side when you buy them.

[slackline]

I've wide feet too, don't bother with 5.10.

I generally buy Boreal, I've had some velcro jokers and they're great all-day shoes.  When I want to pretend I can climb technical problems I put on my Crux's, which were tight to start with, but not as tight as the 5.10s I tried on.

On the plus side the Quattro rubber is half-decent too.

[neil h]

katana is the way forward, i have feet like an elephant, the katana stretch and mould my shape really well after a day or so, but they do bag out a lot, go down from your normal shoes about 3 sizes, try a pair on get the tightest fit posible then drop another size, give it a week then they a perfect

[Breaded_Gecko]

Get some Anasazis, live with the pain for the first fortnight and then enter a world of boot heaven. I have feet like pork chops.

does anyone else agree with this? I can't say that i'm not curious about what the Anasazi fuss is all about, and i don't mind suffering for something worthwhile, but is it possible that a load of razor wire will keep me from EVER climbing over the gates into "boot heaven"? i keep coming across a lot of posts advising against 5.10s for wide feet. And the pain I had was concentrated in the big toe, whilst the other pinkies had none because they weren't barely touching rubber, surely not a good sign... the interesting world of feet shapes.

Sportiva tend to be very consistent. But buy them from the shop you got service from. It's only polite.

Valid point... The ethics of buying rock boots on the internet after trying them in the shop. Discuss.

Politeness is not a necessary or sufficient reason for me to buy anything, not that i advocate rudeness. Sure, a sales assistant gives me time, knowledge, experience, and prods my feet, and I wouldn't like to abuse this. But buying merely on the basis of politeness could be unnecessarily expensive, and therefore unwise esp in this day and age. Plus, it could lead me to buy quite compulsively and I could be the mug of sales people that are trained to push the 'hard sell' (this sales assistant probably wasn't).

In a similar situation, I once found myself trying on some Campers shoes (not climbing boots)--very nice, fair-trade, spanish leather, but £80. The service, also very nice, let me try on a few pairs. I thought, I'll sleep on it (and hopefully forget about them!). Then I saw them elsewhere for £40. It was a no brainer, and hiking back to the original store to pay an extra £40, just to acknowledge good service would be, for a non-rich person, economically unwise. Okay, so I'd bought them from a really impersonal franchised chain-store, which left me with a headache of capitalism, rather than a gorgeous little individualised shop probably owned by more friendly folk. If I was flush, then maybe politeness would over-rule. But I'm not. Its a really dull story, but then that's shopping...

Is internet shopping an extension of just "shopping around", or not? What if everyone acted as I may do?... do i seem a little defensive? We'll see. My arm is bust, so I can take my time with this til it heals. If there's only a tenner in it, then I'll ask the local shop if they can 'price match', and probably settle with them either way. If there's more of a cash difference, then I know where to go. I guess the Credit Crunch robs me of some sentiment in this situation.

katana is the way forward, i have feet like an elephant, the katana stretch and mould my shape really well after a day or so, but they do bag out a lot, go down from your normal shoes about 3 sizes, try a pair on get the tightest fit posible then drop another size, give it a week then they a perfect

so the sportivas stretch lots. what was the difference in your street size/rock boot? should i drop another whole size to compensate, or just half-size? sorry, just need to be sure.

[moose]

I have feet like flippers (but with very narrow ankles) and Sportivas have always done it for me.  They tend to bag out by 0.5-1 size within a few weeks of use so best get them fairly tight (but not excruciating).

If your are going mail order, well caveat emptor obviously, but as a guide Sportiva sizing depends on the model but is consistant within that model.  I am UK11/euro46 in street shoes, UK10/EUR44 in Sportiva Katana's & Miuras and UK8.5/EUR42.5 in Sportiva Venoms (slippers).  For comparison I am UK9.5/EUR44 in new anasazi's VCS velcros. 

If you are curious about 5.10's they are worth a go if you can get to a shop to check.  I could never get my feet inside the old pinks and velcros but now find the new velcros to be a good snug fit.  My current well-worn pair, now they have gained sensitivity and flex, are my favourite ever all-round shoes (especially on grit). Unfortunately, they are starting to wear through and I'm not sure if I could bear to go through the pain of breaking-in another pair (Katanas etc are far more comfortable from the box for me and Venoms are my favourite ever steep-stuff / lime shoe).

[Tim Broughtonshaw]

5:10 galileos are definately the business for wide feet.

[St Hubbins]

All us hobbit footed boulderers tend to drift towards boreals.

I've not tried crux's yet, are they any good?

[Houdini]

All us hobbit footed boulderers tend to drift towards boreals.

I observe the trend towards La Sportiva, Muira's in particular.

[JonI]

Like JB, I wear anasazi's and I have feet like plates of meat.  I've worn sportivas before, but I always seem to have a bit of dead space at the tip of the big toe, which I don't get with five ten.  I think getting the last of the toe box to match your feet is quite important, as this won't change, while the rest of the shoe will stretch with time. 

[moose]

All us hobbit footed boulderers tend to drift towards boreals.

I observe the trend towards La Sportiva, Muira's in particular.

If I climbed more on edgy / pockety rock like limestone I reckon I'd only ever wear Miuras or Venoms.  For grit slopeyness though they've always seemed a bit too stiff and insensitive. Katanas are a little better but still a little too "limestone" when new to give confidence on anything smeary or less-steep.  Sadly, for me it seems that the perfect blend of precision and sensitivity only occurs after agonisingly wearing-in a too-tight pair of Anasazis or Katanas: that all-too-brief period of perfection between early painful, cloglike stiffness and baggy, peeling obsolescence.

[Iesu]

i suffer from ham-like feet, and my recent experience with sportiva solutions was good in terms of fit (for me). Unfortunately they did bag out unbelievably as mentioned by others i think. Also i wouldn't recommend them due to the straps breaking and the rubber having ridiculous cut-out logos which were worn almost right through by californian granite in 3 weeks.

i'm wondering why no-one is recommending pre-stretching shoes that are a size (or 2 sizes) too small? I tend to stuff the toe box with newspaper then wedge a stick in between the paper and the heel to avoid the pain of the initial stretch. Then gradually build up the amount of paper in the shoe.

works for me