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blahblah
Gym climber
Boulder
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Feb 21, 2018 - 02:10pm PT
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Climbing shoes in the early 90s were about $100 for the cheapest (things like 5.10 Summits), high end shoes (more equivalent to Maestro) were closer to $150.
And now it is very easy to get %20 coupons and avoid sales tax. In the pre-Internet days, you went to your local climbing shop (in Boulder, in that era, it was Neptunes, Boulder Mountaineer, and Mountain Sports), and paid full MSRP plus tax.
Perhaps the difference in real terms was not as great as I wrote--instead of shoes being "much cheaper" now, I probably should have just wrote "cheaper." (Although, if you look at the entire price range and not just the most expensive shoes, "much cheaper" is probably accurate.)
My main point was to rebut any notion that climbing equipment is getting more expensive. That could possibly be true if you cherry pick your items and your start dates, but I gotta say, across the board, climbing gear is a better deal now than in the past. Probably a combination of Internet retailing and a growing participation base leading to economies of scale.
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skitch
Gym climber
Bend Or
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 21, 2018 - 02:23pm PT
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According to the inflation calculator $150 pair of shoes should be around $285 in todays money!!! It seems like ropes have cost about the same in the last 18 years that I've been climbing as well. . . harnesses seem to be creeping up much more than in the past ($100 plus harnesses are really common) but overall I believe you are correct, climbing is getting overall less expensive. . . even cheaper for those that only boulder/sport climb!
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Feb 21, 2018 - 03:12pm PT
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Still too rich for my blood. I would not buy them for half off. Just went back to using a pair of purple mythos I had resoled about a decade ago and never used after resoling. BTW the purple ones have much better leather than the new orange ones. I have bought two new pairs and have ripped out lace eyelets on both.
How come are salaries haven't gone up like you say the price of shoes should?
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blahblah
Gym climber
Boulder
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Feb 21, 2018 - 03:54pm PT
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Still too rich for my blood. I would not buy them for half off. Just went back to using a pair of purple mythos I had resoled about a decade ago and never used after resoling. BTW the purple ones have much better leather than the new orange ones. I have bought two new pairs and have ripped out lace eyelets on both.
How come are salaries haven't gone up like you say the price of shoes should?
How much did you pay for the Mythos when you bought them? How much do they cost now?
As for salaries--I believe they have gone up, on average, as much as the inflation number provided. The key is "on average." As everyone knows, there have been winners and losers as the economy chugs along. If someone happens to be a "loser" (I mean that strictly in terms of salary, nothing else), it would may be easy to guess there are fewer winners than there really are.
Spend sometime in upscale places (for me, that's Boulder/Denver), and it's quite obvious there's no shortage of "winners" (again, just in economic terms).
By the way, climbing does not seem to me to be an expensive sport at all, especially bouldering and sport climbing, with one caveat: it helps to have a pretty good amount of free time, which you may not have if you're really near the edge of survival.
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skitch
Gym climber
Bend Or
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 22, 2018 - 09:55am PT
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Life is getting too expensive. . . thankfully i don't have to buy new climbing shoes more than 1-2 times per year. . . but maybe I should be climbing more???
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Feb 22, 2018 - 10:15am PT
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I mostly climb in TC's,(& Miura's and Mocasyms, and gandas) but do have two pair of purple mythos in the rotation.....
Now, btw, what about stealth/ c4 rubber soon to be unavailable for resoles? Anyone have a plan for that?
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Feb 22, 2018 - 10:24am PT
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FML if C4 is gone.
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skitch
Gym climber
Bend Or
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 22, 2018 - 10:26am PT
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I must be too heavy for C4, that sh#t rolls on me if it has a nice edge. . .
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Feb 22, 2018 - 11:04am PT
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It's the only, rubber!
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skitch
Gym climber
Bend Or
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 22, 2018 - 01:34pm PT
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I googled Positive Resoles and this came up, is this stealth rubber?
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Feb 22, 2018 - 01:53pm PT
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You cheapskates on this thread can take a cue from Dresden climbers who didn’t think fancy footwear was necessary....try some of those climbs with modern shoes and report back.
190 bucks sounds really cheap when compared to the big bucks people pay for ice tools that they think will give them an edge....and then consider skis, golf clubs and guitars and what people will throw down for “perceived” incremental performance enhancements.
First world problems one and all....deal.
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skitch
Gym climber
Bend Or
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 22, 2018 - 02:03pm PT
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Jim: Do you pay full retail for climbing gear?
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Feb 22, 2018 - 02:06pm PT
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Well, as a matter of fact, no.
I do pay full retail for other things that I use...fishing gear, pack rafts etc.
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blahblah
Gym climber
Boulder
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Feb 22, 2018 - 02:55pm PT
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Here's another way to look at it:
How many climbs (a rough measure, to be sure) do you get from those $190 shoes (including resoles, and the costs associated therewith)?
I assume the cost per "climb" (pitch, whatever) is well under $1.
If you really can't afford that, I feel for you, but in that case you've got much bigger economic problems than the cost of shoes, and you should probably take a break from climbing until you can get those figured out . . .
Otherwise, if you like the shoes, just sack up and buy them and have fun, simple as that.
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Pennsylenvy
Gym climber
A dingy corner in your refrigerator
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Feb 22, 2018 - 04:17pm PT
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^^^^^^^Not everyone's economic scene is the same. I know a kid who climbs so much he goes thru shoes like crazy. Cost is relative to how mush $$$ one has. Easier for some to brush of higher shoe prices. The rest will make due. I've seen my bud blow out the back of his shoe and still send .....in the rain!!!!!!
And just because someone doesn't have a lot of coin doesn't make them a bad person/cheap eh? Keep it real , that's why I like climbing.
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skitch
Gym climber
Bend Or
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Topic Author's Reply - May 18, 2018 - 06:37am PT
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Anyone had a chance to try these out yet? I'm thinking of ordering a pair, but want to know how they fit relative to the TC Pro. . .
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jeff constine
Trad climber
Ao Namao
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May 18, 2018 - 08:05am PT
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lol what shoe you wear does not matter. The Climber makes up the difference.
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BrassNuts
Trad climber
Save your a_s, reach for the brass...
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May 18, 2018 - 01:41pm PT
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I picked up a pair of these about 2 weeks ago and have about 20 pitches on them so far - I'm very impressed! For me, the less asymmetric last, softer mid sole and more rand wrap on the Maestro address the 3 design elements of the TC pros that I'm not keen on. Out of the box I trusted them fairly well on a wide range of Eldo and BoCan holds, something that wouldn't be the case with a brand new pair of TC Pros. More use and time will tell if they are the ticket, but they are looking good!
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skitch
Gym climber
Bend Or
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Topic Author's Reply - May 18, 2018 - 05:06pm PT
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Brassnuts: i almost ordered a pair this morning, but read some horrible reviews on mtnproject here which made me change my mind.
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DanaB
climber
CO
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May 18, 2018 - 06:43pm PT
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Shoe reviews are essentially meaningless. One of the posters on MP wrote that the Maestro would only be suitable for people who have very wide feet and need a EEEE width shoe - I wear a AAA and the Maestros fits me fine. That comment may be true for whoever wrote it, but you have to try shoes for yourself.
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