Welcome, fellow climbers, to your ultimate guide on the best rock climbing shoes for beginners. Whether you’re just starting your climbing journey or looking to upgrade your gear, choosing the right pair of shoes is crucial for your comfort and performance on the wall. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll delve into the top five rock climbing shoes that are perfect for beginner climbers, while also discussing what to look for when selecting the ideal pair. Let’s get started!
What to Look for in a Rock Climbing Shoes
Before we dive into the specifics of each shoe, it’s essential to understand what features to consider when selecting the best rock climbing shoes for you. In our second episode of Amateur Hour we explained more about talking about rock climbing shoes! The market can be over whelming with the amount of products out there. Some, what I call “myths” are “beginner” vs. “advanced” shoes. I characterize it as purpose function shoes. If you’re predominantly bouldering and doing steep sport routes, you’ll want more aggressive shoes. If you’re doing crack and slab climbing, much less aggressive. But also depends where it is you’re climbing. There is no “real” best rock climbing shoes!
If you’re in Southern Ontario on limestone the best rock climbing shoes for beginners may look a lot like crack climbing shoes, easy soft and pliable leather that allows the foot to move. This is where I would start. Leave the more aggressive “shark fin” types of shoes later, as they do require a bit of getting used to in climbing shoes.
For a new climber, I would suggest prioritizing comfort and fit, looking at toes, width and then heel cup. Everything will come later, ie knowledge of the rubber, shape and shoes used for what climbing. The below are a few suggestions that should cover most feet shapes and size.
However, in short, choosing the best rock climbing shoes in around your street shoe size; don’t worry too much about how tight they should be as you’re learning, or much your toes are curled; if they hurt too much, you won’t have fun climbing! And this defeats the purpose of enjoying the sport!
Best Rock Climbing Shoes for You
Here’s a breakdown of what to look for:
1. Fit and Comfort: When it comes to climbing shoes, fit is paramount. Some argue either you should go super tight where your toes curl under your feet and others argue to keep it loose and flat. As a beginner, the best rock climbing shoes for you is to look for a shoe that snugly wraps around your foot without causing discomfort or pain, otherwise you won’t enjoy climbing at all! Women may prefer shoes designed with a narrower heel and lower volume to accommodate their foot shape.
2. Type of Climbing: Consider the type of climbing you’ll be doing most often. Are you primarily indoor bouldering, or do you plan to tackle multi-pitch routes outdoors? Different types of climbing require different shoe designs, so choose accordingly. Most who start climbing tend to start bouldering or begin with indoor routes. If this is you, the suggestions below are targeted for indoor routes.
3. Closure System: Climbing shoes come with various closure systems, including lace-up, Velcro, and slip-on. Each has its advantages, with lace-up offering a more customizable fit and Velcro providing quick adjustments. Choose the closure system that best suits your preferences and needs. My preference is lace up system.
4. Rubber and Sole: The rubber and sole of a climbing shoe determine its grip and durability. Look for shoes with high-quality rubber compounds that offer excellent friction on the wall. Thicker soles provide more support for long climbs, while thinner soles offer increased sensitivity and precision. But as a beginner, don’t worry about this too much for now. Understanding that the rubber is a key part of the climbing performance will come as your grow as a climber.
5. Budget: As with any gear purchase, consider your budget when selecting climbing shoes. While higher-priced shoes may offer advanced features, there are plenty of affordable options available for beginner climbers.
Recommended Shoes for Beginners
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La Sportiva Tarantula: Explorations choice! This is the best rock climbing shoes in this context. Laces generally fit better as they have more points of contact over your feet to ensure better a closer fit. Available in both men’s and women’s versions, these shoes offer the same great features as the original Tarantula with the added benefit of a customizable fit.
Key Features:
- Lace-up closure for a precise fit
- FriXion rubber for superior grip
- Asymmetrical shape for enhanced performance
Why We Love It: The La Sportiva Tarantula Laced provides unbeatable comfort and performance for climbers, with the added customizable fit of a lace-up closure system.
La Sportiva Tarantula Original: They are your go to for introduction to climbing and are not yet ready to drop some coin into your shoes! These will probably be the most comfortable shoes and as they break in, it will fit even better!
Available in both men’s and women’s versions, these shoes feature an asymmetrical shape and sticky FriXion rubber for excellent grip on a variety of surfaces.
Key Features:
- FriXion rubber for superior grip
- Asymmetrical shape for enhanced performance
- Velcro closure for quick and easy adjustments
Why We Love It: The La Sportiva Tarantula strikes a perfect balance between comfort and performance, catering to the needs of climbers.
La Sportiva Finales are considered “better” in some circles and have been known to be a little bit more “aggressive”. Without getting into too much technical detail, the Finale’s will have better edging performance and will fit tighter.
available in both men’s and women’s models. These shoes feature an unlined leather upper that molds to the foot over time, providing a customized fit and enhanced performance on the wall. The downside is that if you have wide feet, these may feel tight and take a while to get used to the tightness.
Key Features:
- Unlined leather upper for a customized fit
- Vibram XS Edge rubber for superior grip
- Lace-up closure for a precise fit
Why We Love It: The La Sportiva Finale offers exceptional performance and versatility, making it an excellent choice for climbers who are looking to improve their skills.
The Black Diamond Momentums came a little later to the rock climbing shoe game, but they did come out with a decent quality entry-level shoe. Major difference is that this is synthetic and does not stretch as much as the leather shoes and the rubber is known to not be as sticky with their brand of rubber compound.
These shoes are designed with both men’s and women’s versions, ensuring a comfortable and precise fit. The neutral shape and flat last provide ample support for long sessions at the gym or out on the crag.
Key Features:
- Neutral shape for all-day comfort
- Engineered knit technology for breathability
- Velcro closure for easy on and off
Why We Love It: The Black Diamond Momentum combines comfort and performance, making it an ideal choice for beginner climbers
Scarpa Helix are probably my favourite shoes, and arguably the best rock climbing shoes I’ve ever bought. They are super comfortable, sticky and great for crack climbing as well, available in both men’s and women’s models.
These shoes prioritize comfort with a flat last and padded tongue, making them ideal for long days at the crag. The suede leather upper molds to the foot over time, providing a customized fit.
Key Features:
- Suede leather upper for a customized fit
- Flat last for all-day comfort
- Velcro closure for easy on and off
Why We Love It: The Scarpa Helix offers unbeatable comfort and performance in a stylish package, catering to the needs of climbers looking to climb in sport multi-pitch and cracks
In conclusion, selecting the best rock climbing is very subjective, but is essential for a successful climbing experience. Whether you’re a beginner climber or a seasoned veteran, choosing a shoe that fits well and meets your needs is key to enjoying your time on the wall. With the options outlined in this guide, you’re sure to find the perfect pair to take your climbing to new heights. Happy climbing, everyone!
Ian is the Subject Matter Expert in this case, having started climbing in high school. Launching outdoor climbing for over 10 years of climbing, getting into trad and vertical ice, then having gone to the Himalayas, climbed in Southern Africa, United States, Canada and Korea. Read up on Ian’s post on Rock Climbing in Korea, here! Damian with a close second on climbing experience with getting out in Southern Ontario and British Colombia. Rob… well, he’s the one who needs climbing shoes!
Rock Climbing in Korea: Where we climb
Rock climbing in Korea has become such an extensive part of our lives here in Seoul. If you followed us, you know we continuously post these pictures up with us on this mountain.
Please also note, rock climbing in Korea is generally trad climbing. Please be comfortable with your gear placement and anchor building before setting out! This post reflects our favourite routes and additional information on getting there, down and around, but climbing and information continues to evolve.
The information isn’t by any means secret. But if you’re wondering what we’re climbing or if you’re reading this blog sniffing out rock climbing in Korea, keep reading! This could be a great round the world idea for you to start your outdoor travel adventures!
Table of Contents
ROCK CLIMBING IN KOREA: What is there to climb?
There are a lot of climbing gyms in Korea, but most of them are bouldering gyms. We’re not really gym rats… Korea is a very mountainous country. Don’t know where to go in Seoul? “Bukhansan”, on the northern edge of the city, a city which few would think of as an “adventure getaway”. Rock climbing in Korea, Seoul is actually very accessible. The city literally wraps around this mountain which is in a national park called “Bukhansan National Park”. This is a very popular park for Seoulites. The peak in the mountain we climb is called “Insubong” which is across from the main peak called “Baegundae”. From the summit of Insu, when you look across, it looks like an ant hill. Easy access (but complicated to get there) and a plethora of different routes attracts a lot of climbers to Insubong.
The climbs on the main face of Insubong are mainly high friction granite slabs and cracks. Multi-pitch trad climbing is prevalent. There are other climbs on the rappelling side that attract more sport climbers, single pitch stuff. There are 5.12 stuff for you stronger climbers. Most routes are about 5 pitches, so leave your portaledges at home! You can find a picture of the routes at the bottom of the main slab.
A few favourite routes of ours is “Insu-B [인수-B]”, “Yang Ji [양지]”, and “Gomak-B [검막 – B]”. Standard rack should suffice. There is this one 5.7 splitter crack, though, that requires BD5’s. But that’s one special case.
ROUTES ON INSU-BONG
A brief description of some of our three favourite routes for rock climbing in Korea, by no means comprehensive. We’re also a fan of mish-mashing routes together instead of sticking to one route the entire way. This is to give you an idea. For a more comprehensive climbing guide, check “more information” at the bottom of the page.
“Go Deok Gil” 5.6 (5.5?)
This route can be done with minimal trad gear. However, bring out your slings, because this is where you’ll need them. At the big slab head up right. Way right, like you’re going to leave the climbing area. This route is great for foul weather climbing as it’s very not-exposed. It’s about 6 pitches, but most of these pitches are less than 30m. Crux pitch is the last pitch that starts with a 5.7 shallow crack that opens into a layback. Several routes converge right here and usually bottle necks traffic. Bring up to a BD 3 here.
“Insu – B” 5.7
This is by far, our most favourite route, mainly because Ian learnt how to trad climb on this. We usually start this on the slab, but the official beginning is a 5.7 crack. The crux pitch is pitch 2, where you can navigate a 5.9 slab on the left and right, or stick into the off-width 5.8 crack. Ian usually sticks to the crack. Not a bad idea to bring a size 5BD camalot for this pitch, especially near the top of the crack. The rest of the 3 pitches are cruisers hovering around 5.7’s.
“Gomak – B” 5.9 (with A0 on crux pitch)
If you like slab, this ones for you. On the 3rd pitch, before you head up the climb, you have to walk down a bit to get to Gomak, otherwise, the route you’re looking at is a 5.8 splitter crack which requries 5BD’s and a lot of them. Navigate your way up the 5.9 slabs and you should find yourself at the bottom of the aided bolt pitch, 5.10c or A0. Quickdraws to aid should suffice. Just grab the bone and pull up. This is the crux pitch, freak out on it and cruise up the last 2 pitches.
GETTING DOWN
There are about 8 rappel anchors on top of Insubong that allows a quick descent. With the amount of teams up there though, getting down is a battle, mainly fighting for an anchor. You’ll need 2x 60m ropes. If you’re only stuck with one rope, like how we usually are, there are anchors at the 15m point to tie in again. There is a 7 meter over hang on the anchors to the mid and climbers left of the face. In the late afternoons, around 3 or 4, it gets windy.
GETTING THERE
To get to Insubong, get out of Suyu Station (line 4), exit #3. Get onto the bus island and take the 120 bus to the last stop, which is a small bus terminal. Hop on a taxi in front of the area where the bus for the temple picks up people, which is located across from the small bus terminal. The taxis usually shuttle people up and down for a flat rate of 2,000kw per person. This area also has a lot of small little stores with hiking and climbing clothes you can brows
Or, alternatively, catch a taxi from Suyu station and tell them “Doe Sun Sa”, which takes you to the rotary. It shouldn’t cost more than 10,000 kw (~10 USD).
You’ll arrive at the rotary and the trail head. Enjoy the view of the Koreans decked out in their finest Sunday climbing clothes. From here, start up the trail. The approach takes about an hour. Once you reach the campsite (about 40 minute hike in) look for campsite 11. From campsite 11 you’ll see the a trail that leads up. Follow it, but keep in mind your navigation toward Insubong.
MORE INFORMATION
If you’re a well established climber, you can search for more routes here on Korea On The Rocks (KOTR). This site gives you a lot of beta and different climbs; bouldering gyms, climbing gyms, and artificial outdoor walls. KOTRI (KOTR Initatives) recently just came out with a guide book “Climb”, you can find here. Rock climbing in Korea continues to change and evolve. So at the time of writing, this is the information provided. There would be updated routes and recommend to check as it is user generated content and updates: https://www.thecrag.com/climbing/south-korea/insubong
Suggest consulting this page: https://explorationsevo.com/outdoor-gear-shop-explorations/#rock-climbing-gear-shop for ideal shoes for rock climbing in Korea, especially for trade and slab. There is sport and ice climbing as well, but extends beyond the scope of this article.
If you’re not a well established climber but want to head out on the mountain anyway, there’s a great guide company called SAN. They offer various beginner and intermediate rock climbing courses, rescue courses, ice climbing, guided climbs, and programs, a great way to get started in climbing! It’s all conducted in English. They’re also great for satisfying your outdoor travel adventure junkie inside you! That’s actually where we started climbing. SAN also helped sponsor the Reel Rock Tour film festival in Seoul. Check out more of the Reel Rock Tour here. So that’s the gist of it, rock climbing in Korea! Hope it was helpful!