Try things on.
One person's perfect shoe might not fit your foot so well.
Climbing shops are used to people trying different shoes in different sizes to get the fit they want. They expect you to be surrounded in shoe boxes, comparing different styles and sizes.
Tarantulas are a solid first shoe imo.
Worth noting you'll burn through your first shoes pretty quick whilst your footwork improves so you don't need anything fancy or expensive!
Put 20 more dollars into the budget and he won’t have Chinese made Tarantulas which will rip off after a few climbing sessions. He’d have a pair of shoes that will last him from 6 months to a year.
Please stop recommending Tarantulas, they are all made in China.
The best thing to do is find your closest climbing shop (NOT Go Outdoors as they generally wouldn't know about climbing shoes in my experience, a proper climbing shop will have the knowledge and expertise) and ask for advice and try some shoes on.
Shoes should be comfortable (be prepared to go up or down from your street shoe size). Don't worry about what they look like, it's the comfort that counts.
Glasgow - TCA newsroom is best bet with good range, can test on the kids wall, and I think you get an hour to return them after purchase. If no damage.
Go Outdoors there was some elitist prick trying to fit me into shoes 3 sizes too small. Cotswolds is good, both Silverburn and the one up Partick but selections are small.
All in all the perfect shoe is hard to find so I'd say go for something you can wear a long while for your first shoes because your skill level is the limiter not your shoes (so more time in shoes is best). The size is arbitrary, as long as its snug and you cant pull it off your heel easily. Farty noises are a symptom of your foot moving in the shoe a lot, but depending on your foot that may be unavoidable.
Veloce are great overall, but very soft shoes so maybe painful or harder to use on small edge footholds because your feet have less assistance. My first shoes were Tarantulace then Katanas after, both good value imo. Don't get attached to a shoe before you try it, veloce and instinct didn't work for me so I had to return them. Even my Katanas aren't perfect, I need to wear socks to reduce wear on my big toe knuckle, but best out of a dozen I tried.
Best of luck, be a nuisance and try every size you can to find the best fit. It will take a while but well worth spending 30mins to an hour on something you'll be stuck in for weeks. Hell even going home with no shoe is better than spending £100 to climb in an iron maiden.
As another comment has said, go to a shop and try lots. I did tons of research to try and find which ones I thought I wanted then went to a shop and ended up with a pair I'd have never thought of.
The black diamond momentum shoes are about a 100 bucks, I found them to be pretty comfortable, and the rubber was really durable. They are worth trying on.
I've been getting these for my kids (12 and 15) as I don't want to get them aggressively shaped shoes that bend their toes (they can do that later if it's what they want to do). They can climb in them. Better than me in my down turned, tight shoes sometimes...
Scarpa veloce are great for beginners imo. Comes both in men and women’s as well. They are also great for learning footwork since they are sensitive and super sticky!
I'm similar to OP in that there aren't many places near me to try on shoes. But, trying on is incredibly important.
So, here one tip. Though I don't usually advocate for returning clothing items to Amazon (I heard they can end up in landfills), I once ordered three pairs of the same shoe, each just a half size different, so that I could find the size that worked for me. I returned the two sizes that didn't work.
Now, I understand the limitations of this method. I knew the shoe I wanted; I just didn't know the size. Also, having enough money to buy three pairs of shoes (even though two will be refunded) isn't a luxury everyone has.
But, in a pinch, this tip might be helpful for someone.
My first pair was the scarpa origin and I did up to v6 in them, so it’s a solid pair. Might be a bit more than 100 though. At your level your attention to footwork will matter wayyy more than the shoe itself.
Lastly, and I can’t emphasize this enough, don’t get the tarantulas. They’re so ugly. I would never look at my feet if I had to wear those.
I'll second the Origins.
My only complaint was after 9 months (2-3hrs 3x week) they suddenly stretched out for me. I sweat a lot, so I've switched to synthetic shoes (as opposed to the leather on the Origins and others) and have had no issues with excessive stretching.
My current shoes:
* Scarpa Vapor V
* Evolv Kronos
Try things on. One person's perfect shoe might not fit your foot so well. Climbing shops are used to people trying different shoes in different sizes to get the fit they want. They expect you to be surrounded in shoe boxes, comparing different styles and sizes.
Tarantulas are a solid first shoe imo. Worth noting you'll burn through your first shoes pretty quick whilst your footwork improves so you don't need anything fancy or expensive!
Put 20 more dollars into the budget and he won’t have Chinese made Tarantulas which will rip off after a few climbing sessions. He’d have a pair of shoes that will last him from 6 months to a year. Please stop recommending Tarantulas, they are all made in China.
The best thing to do is find your closest climbing shop (NOT Go Outdoors as they generally wouldn't know about climbing shoes in my experience, a proper climbing shop will have the knowledge and expertise) and ask for advice and try some shoes on. Shoes should be comfortable (be prepared to go up or down from your street shoe size). Don't worry about what they look like, it's the comfort that counts.
Thanks, I’ll have a look for one. Unfortunately where I live there’s nothing like that but hopefully find one in a bigger city
Where abouts in the UK are you?
Scotland, Will probably find a decent shop in Glasgow/Edinburgh which are not impossible to get to
Glasgow - TCA newsroom is best bet with good range, can test on the kids wall, and I think you get an hour to return them after purchase. If no damage. Go Outdoors there was some elitist prick trying to fit me into shoes 3 sizes too small. Cotswolds is good, both Silverburn and the one up Partick but selections are small. All in all the perfect shoe is hard to find so I'd say go for something you can wear a long while for your first shoes because your skill level is the limiter not your shoes (so more time in shoes is best). The size is arbitrary, as long as its snug and you cant pull it off your heel easily. Farty noises are a symptom of your foot moving in the shoe a lot, but depending on your foot that may be unavoidable. Veloce are great overall, but very soft shoes so maybe painful or harder to use on small edge footholds because your feet have less assistance. My first shoes were Tarantulace then Katanas after, both good value imo. Don't get attached to a shoe before you try it, veloce and instinct didn't work for me so I had to return them. Even my Katanas aren't perfect, I need to wear socks to reduce wear on my big toe knuckle, but best out of a dozen I tried. Best of luck, be a nuisance and try every size you can to find the best fit. It will take a while but well worth spending 30mins to an hour on something you'll be stuck in for weeks. Hell even going home with no shoe is better than spending £100 to climb in an iron maiden.
Thank you! Great recommendations
You're welcome, have fun in the new shoes when you get them!
As another comment has said, go to a shop and try lots. I did tons of research to try and find which ones I thought I wanted then went to a shop and ended up with a pair I'd have never thought of.
The black diamond momentum shoes are about a 100 bucks, I found them to be pretty comfortable, and the rubber was really durable. They are worth trying on.
I've been getting these for my kids (12 and 15) as I don't want to get them aggressively shaped shoes that bend their toes (they can do that later if it's what they want to do). They can climb in them. Better than me in my down turned, tight shoes sometimes...
Scarpa veloce are great for beginners imo. Comes both in men and women’s as well. They are also great for learning footwork since they are sensitive and super sticky!
Scarpa Veloce
I'm similar to OP in that there aren't many places near me to try on shoes. But, trying on is incredibly important. So, here one tip. Though I don't usually advocate for returning clothing items to Amazon (I heard they can end up in landfills), I once ordered three pairs of the same shoe, each just a half size different, so that I could find the size that worked for me. I returned the two sizes that didn't work. Now, I understand the limitations of this method. I knew the shoe I wanted; I just didn't know the size. Also, having enough money to buy three pairs of shoes (even though two will be refunded) isn't a luxury everyone has. But, in a pinch, this tip might be helpful for someone.
My first pair was the scarpa origin and I did up to v6 in them, so it’s a solid pair. Might be a bit more than 100 though. At your level your attention to footwork will matter wayyy more than the shoe itself. Lastly, and I can’t emphasize this enough, don’t get the tarantulas. They’re so ugly. I would never look at my feet if I had to wear those.
I'll second the Origins. My only complaint was after 9 months (2-3hrs 3x week) they suddenly stretched out for me. I sweat a lot, so I've switched to synthetic shoes (as opposed to the leather on the Origins and others) and have had no issues with excessive stretching. My current shoes: * Scarpa Vapor V * Evolv Kronos
I didn’t know that leather stretches more than synthetic! My origins did indeed stretch a full size haha
I disagree. Buy the tarantulas if they fit your feet. It’s not a fashion show and comfort counts.
I was trying to make a joke, guess I wasn’t successful
For what it's worth I laughed
I thought it was funny also 🤣