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Garmont Sticky Cloud Shoes
Approach shoes tend to be either very close to a climbing shoe – climbing performance over comfort – or very close to a hiking shoe – comfort over climbing performance. The Garmont Sticky Cloud is definitely the latter, and for those looking for a bombproof shoe for via ferrata or long grueling approaches, it excels.…
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La Sportiva Miura rock shoe
What do I have in common with Tommy Caldwell and other top climbers? Unfortunately only my La Sportiva Miura rock shoes, because I get kicked off their walk-up routes faster than the French can surrender. Years after the Miura was introduced it still shows up on the hardest lines. These little lace-up slot cars are…
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La Sportiva Arco rock shoes
La Sportiva hand crafts the highest quality footwear in Northern Italy, and even finds time to throw a bone to the weekend warriors out there who don't need the entire force of the universe transmitted through their big toe (we're talking about you, Miura!). The La Sportiva Arco is a beginner's shoe, but the flat fit built…
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Mad Rock Fanatic approach shoe
The holy grail of shoe design is, of course, a flip flop that comfortably climbs 5.10. I wouldn’t be surprised if the mad docs at Mad Rock are working on just that, but in the meantime they’ve given us the Fanatic approach shoe. If you’re looking for a hiking shoe that climbs look at Mad…
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Mad Rock Flash climbing shoes
These award-winning shoes are good performers at a great price. Mad Rock’s line of climbing shoes is competitive with those of other major manufacturers, and they appear to not be adverse to buying market share; their shoes are smokin’ good deals that often undercut the competition. I wore these shoes for last year’s climbing season…