[Phil-p]

Wanting some more agressive shoes. Have some solutions at mo but wanting more toe power, thinking of boosters, prob is tend to have heel volume/pouchyness when I've tried on. Have wide flat feet with narrow heel. How much volume is acceptable. Any advice is most acceptable. Thanx phil

[Richie Crouch]

What is wrong with the solutions? I'd say they are better than a pair of Boosters in every aspect - toes, heels, rubber? Did you purchase them too comfortable as they do stretch a fair bit?

If you are wanting to branch out to something more aggressive/downturned/affordable then you need to give the 5.10 Dragons a look which tend to hold their shape better for longer. The Jet 7's are also amazing for a while but soften up a bit too much for most peoples tastes (I found them to be amazing in font and switzerland for anything not too edgy)

Worth looking at the Evolv Talon's too maybe as I know a couple people who have them and rate them highly although they soften up like a jet 7 to an extent.

[Phil-p]

Downsized a size and half in solutions, couldn't get foot in next size down. Love the rubber, love the heel just seems to supple under toe as if no power. Tried dragons on briefly but have heel volume issue. Sporti's seem to fit heel better. Would partial volume in boosters be ok or persivere n try smaller size solutions

[Richie Crouch]

I went down 2 sizes from my usual 5.10's in Solutions and forced them on with plastic bags! They bagged out eventually to feel precise and fortunately no longer painful. I know what you mean though - the toes do seem to round off a bit more than some others I have worn by 5.10.

I guess I kind of use them as a specialist shoe for certain problems requiring a lot of heel/heel-toe work so the toe being sharp becomes less of an issue and I usually switch to Jet 7's or Boreal Blades for crimpy/slightly overhanging stuff.

I can sympathise with the Dragon's issue as I dearly wanted a pair but the heels were poor for me also. 

[Phil-p]

Blades are a hideous fit with me, not wide enough. Had to upsize 2 sizes to get my hoof in but might aswell put a barge on my foot lol. Think I'll try plastic bag on solutions or prize foot in boosters. Wots your thoughts on muira vs?

[Drew]

I'd personally suggest strengthening your toes. How long have you been climbing for, and what shoes have you had before?

I've found my Solutions perfect on small positive edges. I bought them for the heel, and hoped the toes would work too, which I've found they do. I also had to put them on with plastic bags to start with, but they stretched sufficiently within a couple of times putting them on, and now they're nicely tight.

If you're looking for something stiffer, then the Muira VS could be worth a look, but you will lose some sensitivity, and they don't have quite as good a heel.

Dragons could be worth a look, but they will flatten out in no time at all. They aren't made to stay downturned for long, and once they flatten out, you'll have to use the strength in your toes even more!

You'll find all the Scarpas are very deep fitting, and if you are getting lots of space above or below you foot, then it'll be the same in all of the downturned Scarpas (with the possible exception of the Visions).

[Phil-p]

Hi drew. Climbing wise on and off for 10yrs, mostly on for last 2. Never tried a bag with a smaller size solutions, think that might be the way forward as Ive no excess heel space with them and my muiras which is way I was thinking of the vs version. Considered the testarossa's but can't find any. Scarpa's fit front foot fine but have the farting noise kangaroo pouch at the heel lol. Thanks drew for your info

[SteG]

Hi Phil,

if you're looking for Testarossa's you could try these peeps:

http://www.espacemontagne.com/product-shop-791-76215-la-sportiva-testa-rossa.html

cost 99EUR and will ship to the uk for an extra 15/16EUR, my gf just got some womens muiras from them as they're not stocked in the UK for some reason  they arrived 2-3 days after the order was placed.

I'd echo Drew's recommendations, I have solutions and testarossas (and and old pair of muiras) and used to favour the testarossas for small edges but as I get used to the solutions am starting to favour them more and more. They do feel a little softer but it just means keeping the toes a bit more 'active' than you would in say testarossas which tend to do most of that work for you.

[Phil-p]

Hi ste. Thanx for the reply. After tryin some boosters again tonite which still proved major heel probs even after squeezing my feet in silly small size for me, have decided defo solutions are the best fit. I'll go down the plastic bag route to see if I can downsize a bit more. Currently running 1 full size down from street shoe. Guy in shop is 3 down (ouch). How much did you downsize ?

[moose]

Might be worth hunting out some sportiva venoms: they're like a slightly more aggressive, slipper version of the Miura with lots of bonus toe-rubber for hooking.  I found them better than Boosters which did strange things to my toe knuckles. Beware of purchasing without trying on though - they need to be sized smaller than Katanas or Miuras. 

[Phil-p]

Hi moose.  Any ideas where I can source some from. Was intrigued with the speedsters to. Prob is not many places seem to stock the aggresive sporti's

[Drew]

Must admit, I'm keen to try the Speedsters at some point.

In terms of size for the Solutions... well I measure 9.5 on the official Brannock foot measuring device as available for use, at most good outdoor shops. I take an 8 in the Anasazi's for a comfortably tight fit, and 7.5 for a very tight fit. I squeezed into an EU 40 (UK6.5) in the Solutions. Thin plastic bags were the order of the day.

[SteG]

I've got some comfy street/approach shoes from Salomon in 9 1/2 (44) and have had training shoes in the past in the 9 1/2 to 10 range. My Sportiva sizing has been 39 in all the models I've tried (although I have a flexible big toe joint that allows the toe to retract quite a bit).

my solutions are 39 and I have testarossas in 39 (my last pair) and new ones in 38.5 (cause they didn't have any 39s - they're tight but not painful). The solutions were really tight initially and I used a pair of qd's to get my feet into them, I only needed to do this 2-3 times before the middle part of the shoe opened up a little and now they're a perfect fit.

[andybfreeman]

I have exactly the same issue my solutions are super comfy and suit my feet but they do stretch and i think my feet have adapted somewhat. I've had 3 pairs in a 42 but i think I'll go down to 41s next time.

I've also got a pair of boosters that are a super tight fitting 41s which i got on the cheap. They were agony initially but after stretching with plastic bags and hot water they are now bearable and are my go to shoe when i feel the solutions are too loose. the heel is super secure on my foot but the sticky bit is smaller than the solutions so i find i need to be more precise when placing it.

the advantage of the solution is that they are more suited to smearing etc whereas I find the boosters perfect to pulling on little edges or pockets but just too aggressive for anything else

[Phil-p]

The problem I've got is coz my feet are wide it's not the length it's the width. I struggle to push my feet in and when they're in the outer sides of my feet go numb. So I'm gonna try plastic bag n downsize to get foot in then see if I can stretch the width. Anyone had any success with bags and steam/hot water to strecth. Also have you seen the 5.10 team shoe coming out next year ?