A climbing shoe is a specialized type of footwear

Footwear

Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet, for fashion, protection against the environment, and adornment. Being barefoot is commonly associated with poverty, but some cultures chose not to wear footwear at least in some situations....

 designed for rock climbing

Climbing

Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...

. Typical climbing shoes have a close fit, little if any padding

Padding

Padding is thin cushioned material sometimes added to clothes. It is often done in an attempt to soften impacts on certain zones of the body or enhance appearance by 'improving' a physical feature, often a sexually significant one...

, and a smooth, sticky rubber sole

Sole

Sole may refer to:* Sole , the bottom of the foot* Sole , the bottom supporting member of the shoe-Business:* Sole proprietorship, a business which legally has no separate existence from its owner...

 with an extended rubber rand. Unsuited to walking and hiking, climbing shoes are typically donned at the base of a climb.

Construction

Modern climbing shoes use carefully crafted multi-piece patterns to conform very closely to the wearer's feet. Leather

Leather

Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...

 is the most common upper material, with other materials such as fabric

Fabric

A fabric is a textile material, short for "textile fabric".Fabric may also refer to:*Fabric , the spatial and geometric configuration of elements within a rock*Fabric , a nightclub in London, England...

 and synthetic leather also employed. The climbing rubber used for soles was developed specifically for rock-climbing.

Climbing shoes manufactured with a downward pointing toe box increase the ability to stand on small holds and pockets at the expense of both comfort and the ability to smear

Smearing

Smearing in rock climbing is the practice of using as much as possible of the surface of the sole of a shoe against a flat rock face. This is done to maximize the amount of friction between the rock and the shoe. Smearing can be one of the most insecure and technical techniques used in climbing,...

.

Approach shoes

Approach shoes

Approach shoes are hybrid footwear with some characteristics common to both hiking boots and rock climbing shoes. Like a shoe or boot designed for hiking, a properly fitting approach shoe can be worn comfortably while walking for long distances. Like a climbing shoe, an approach shoe generally...

 are hybrids between light-weight hiking shoes and climbing shoes offering some of the qualities of each.

Shoe fit

Climbing shoes fit very closely to support the foot and allow the climber to use small footholds effectively. Most climbers forgo sock

Sock

A sock is an item of clothing worn on the feet. The foot is among the heaviest producers of sweat in the body, as it is able to produce over of perspiration per day. Socks help to absorb this sweat and draw it to areas where air can evaporate the perspiration. In cold environments, socks decrease...

s in order to achieve a more precise fit. As a result of their tightness, most climbing shoes, particularly the more aggressive or technical styles, are uncomfortable when properly fitted.

History

Early rock climbers used heavy-soled mountaineering

Mountaineering

Mountaineering or mountain climbing is the sport, hobby or profession of hiking, skiing, and climbing mountains. While mountaineering began as attempts to reach the highest point of unclimbed mountains it has branched into specialisations that address different aspects of the mountain and consists...

 boots studded with metal cleats and hobnail

Hobnail

A hobnail is a short nail with a thick head: used to increase the durability of boot soles.Hobnail may also refer to:* A pattern of glassware: where the body of the piece has a regular array of bumps, as if finished with glass hobnails* A popular song from 1907, performed by Billy Williams*...

s. An advance on this for dry rock, were boots with Vibram

Vibram

Vibram S.p.A. is an Italian company based in Albizzate that both manufactures and licenses the production of Vibram-branded rubber outsoles for footwear. The company is named after its founder, Vitale Bramani. Bramani is credited with inventing the first rubber lug soles for shoes...

 soles, with a pattern of rubber studs developed by Vitale Bramani in Italy in the 1930s. In postwar Britain, a new generation of climbers like Joe Brown

Joe Brown (climber)

Joseph Brown, CBE is an English climber, born the seventh and last child of a family in the Manchester suburb of Ardwick. He became famous for climbing during the 1950s, and was a member of the Valkyrie climbing club and founding member of the Rock and Ice climbing club. An early climbing partner...

 began to climb harder routes wearing plimsolls

Plimsoll shoe

A plimsoll shoe, plimsoll, or plimsole is a British English word for a type of athletic shoe with a canvas upper and rubber sole, developed as beachwear in the 1830s by the Liverpool Rubber Company. The shoe was originally, and often still is in parts of the United Kingdom, called a 'sand shoe' and...

 (rubber-soled canvas sneakers), sometimes with woolen socks over them to improve grip. Pierre Allain

Pierre Allain

Pierre Allain was a French alpinist who began climbing in the 1920s. In the 1930s he was joined by several others at Fontainebleau, where his group of "'Bleausards" developed a love of bouldering that went beyond simple training for the Alps. The famous , done in 1934, is a testament to their...

 was an enthusiastic French rock climber who experimented with hard composite rubber-soled canvas boots; by the late 1950s his "PA" boots were being used by climbers worldwide. Fellow French climber Eduard Bourdineau later introduced "EB" boots, which had softer rubber soles and became very popular in the 1960 and 1970s. In 1982, the Spanish company Boreal produced the "Fire" style of shoe with a revolutionary sticky rubber sole.

Climbing Shoe Manufacturers

• Wild Climb
• CragDance
• Five Ten Footwear
  Five Ten Footwear
  Five Ten Footwear is a privately owned manufacturer of outdoor and athletic footwear. Founded in 1985 by Charles Cole, Five Ten is one of the top-selling climbing shoe manufacturer worldwide. The company's headquarters are located in the city of Redlands, California, 50 miles east of Los Angeles...
  
  
• La Sportiva
• Scarpa
• Mad rock
• Millet
  Millet (manufacturer)
  Millet is a French based company that specializes in outdoor equipment, such as backpacks and sleeping bags. They also offer a wide variety of other equipment, earning comparisons to United States based companies such as Timberland and Columbia Sportswear....
  
  
• EB
  EB
  EB may refer to:*East Brunswick Township, New Jersey, a city in central New Jersey*EarthBound, a role-playing game for the Super Nintendo*Eat Bulaga!, a long-running variety show in the Philippines*EB , Polish beer...
  
  
• Evolv
• Red Chili (climbing)
• BOREAL
  Boreal
  Boreal may refer to*Boreal ecosystem**Boreal climate, the climate found in a region of boreal forests, and designated Dfc, Dwc or Dsc in the Köppen climate classification scheme.*boreal forest*Boreal forest of Canada*Boreal Bluet...
  
  
• Montrail
  Montrail
  Montrail Corporation is headquartered in Richmond, California. The company manufactures and distributes footwear for trail running, hiking, and general long distance running....
  
  
• Mammut Sports Group
  Mammut sports group
  Mammut Sports Group AG is a Swiss producer of mountaineering and trekking equipment with headquarters in Seon, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1862 by Kaspar Tanner in Dintikon. Today, Mammut belongs to Conzzeta AG...
  
  
• Bufo
  Bufo
  Bufo is a large genus of about 150 species of true toads in the amphibian family Bufonidae. Bufo is a Latin word for toad.- Description :...
  
  
• Rock Pillars
• Triop
• Saltic
• Nepa
  Nepa
  Nepa is a village development committee in Dailekh District in the Bheri Zone of western-central Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 3621 people living in 739 individual households.-External links:*...
  
  
• FM Tech
• Acopa
  Acopa
  Acopa is a genus of moths of the Noctuidae family.-Species:* Acopa carina Harvey, 1875* Acopa perpallida Grote, 1878-References:* *...
  
  
• Quechua
  Quechua (brand)
  Quechua is a mountain sports brand founded in 1997 in Domancy, France, producing Hiking, Trail running, Adventure racing, Climbing and Mountaineering apparel and equipment and is sold in every store of Decathlon Group and sportswear shops. It currently employs about 150 persons. The name comes...