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Eric Beck
Sport climber
Bishop, California
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Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 5, 2018 - 12:08pm PT
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The August issue of Rock and Ice shows Tommy Caldwell on the Dawn Wall, captioned "the hardest move on the hardest route". This is a great picture, incidentally. If we look closely, we see that Tommy is wearing Sportiva Miuras. Miuras were introduced 20 years ago. Clearly, Tommy gets any shoe he wants, yet he chose these over a multitude of newer shoes.
Thoughts?
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TomKimbrough
Social climber
Salt Lake City
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Maybe I should get another pair
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Alan Rubin
climber
Amherst,MA.
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I don't have the picture in front of me, but are you sure he is wearing Miura's? In the Dawn Wall film--and in Free Solo as well, TC Pros (not surprisingly) seem to be the shoes of choice.
Responding to the question though, it seems that instead of being at an impasse, rock shoe design has become both increasingly competitive and increasingly specialized, resulting in a bewildering number of choices. How much actual increase in performance and/or comfort there is over past shoe designs is an open question, the answer to which seems very dependent on individual preferences and foot shape.
For me, I prefer the tried and true, especially with feet that have been distorted by decades of being crammed and twisted by climbing shoes. I have tried many different models, but keep returning to the Mythos (actually the Lady Mythos, as they don't seem to sell the male model for my small feet) as my day-to-day shoe of choice. But I have yet to find a shoe to equal (for me) the Mega as an edging machine---though I keep looking, trying out, and hoping.
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Bethesda
Trad climber
Bethesda
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I have a last treasured pair of Megas that I only bring out for special occasions. I don't think I could have learned to climb at Seneca without them.
Bring back the board-lasted shoe!
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Have feet changed? More like climbers are approaching the limits of human biomechanics in the same way a better running shoe is unlikely to help someone shave a significant amount of time off of the mile record...
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Bethesda
Trad climber
Bethesda
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Off topic a little bit.
Recently climbed Haystack at Lover's Leap for the first time, expecting an easy time. The crux almost kicked my butt. Can't imagine doing that climb in the shoes that were available in 1965, when the route was put up (I believe). Mythos were the trick for me. Megas would have been a disaster, given the slabby nature of the moves.
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Alan Rubin
climber
Amherst,MA.
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I don't know Bethesda, folks climbed some pretty hard slab--even smeary stuff, in Megas and even stiffer footwear and no sticky rubber---RRs, for example. You were used to the shoes, and made them work.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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In the Valley in the early 70’s nearly everyone wore EB’s....there was very little choice. Choices galore now and who knows what the future will serve up? No impasse that I can see.
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ron gomez
Trad climber
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I may stand corrected, but I think Jonny Woodward did some crux pitches on the Hall of Mirrors in EB’s long after they were no longer in vogue. The right tool for the right job. Good lord, we’re still stickin’ nuts in cracks, been a while since the basic design has changed. Still use mine from the 70’s, ridgid friends...from the late 70’s, figure eight knot, ATC’s, jumars. Lots of changes over the years, but knot really!
Peace
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Rudder
Trad climber
Costa Mesa, CA
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I have a last treasured pair of Megas that I only bring out for special occasions. I don't think I could have learned to climb at Seneca without them.
Bring back the board-lasted shoe!
Amen!
And, I wish I would have bought 100 pairs of Megas. At that point, around 1990, we had 30 years of improvements. No reason to think nothing as good would ever come down the pike again. :/
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Roots
Mountain climber
Redmond, Oregon
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I think rubber will improve.
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Bethesda
Trad climber
Bethesda
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Point taken, Mr. Rubin. I just know that on that particular climb I needed every bit of advantage the sticky rubber on those Mythos gave me.
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Bethesda
Trad climber
Bethesda
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Some years ago I came across a team that was leading a 5.8 at Cathedral Ledge in ski boots - they were practicing for a trip to the Alps.
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Matt's
climber
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Eric beck-- tommy caldwell didn't actually send the crux pitches in muiras. He wore TC pros. Same thing for kevin jorgeson-- despite being sponsored by 5.10, he did the crux pitches in tc pros.... I think adam ondra did the dawn wall in katanas.
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mongrel
Trad climber
Truckee, CA
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Caldwell is definitely wearing Miuras on the R&I cover, and my recollection is that in the movie, they were both wearing TC Pros mostly or always. Add me to the list of people with a pair of Megas stashed, but used only occasionally to preserve them.
IMHO, shoes that edge well are a definite advantage for most people in most situations on granite or quartzite or similar. But the manufacturers are apparently focused on plastic. Woodward or some other slab meister wrote an article for one of the rags years ago, when slippers were seriously the rage. He said, first thing, get yourself some good edging shoes, even if you're doing a lot of friction, because you can learn to friction in an edging shoe but not edge in a squishy slipper.
And high tops are far superior in cracks, but basically non-existent anymore. Even TCs are not really high tops, only barely cover the malleolus. We've been robbed of good shoes.
Some years ago I came across a team that was leading a 5.8 at Cathedral Ledge in ski boots - they were practicing for a trip to the Alps.
We did that too! Worse (better??), we went to Quincy Quarries with mountain boots, and actually, they worked really well. The rock is so damn slippery you might as well be front-pointing.
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skywalker1
Trad climber
co
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I think as long there are different footprints there will be different and new shoes.
Wish you could buy them as a single shoe. Fit comes to mind.
S...
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ground_up
Trad climber
mt. hood /baja
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The TC pro is the best shoe I have ever worn. before those I had Miuras.
Both were once "new" designs. As with alot of sport/athletic footwear it's
always changing and some stand out and become a good new design while most
break no new ground.
Might be time for the 2019 new version of the blue suede Robbins boot.
Dang those were the good ol' days.
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Lynne Leichtfuss
Sport climber
moving thru
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Perhaps an impasse for today, certainly not for the future.
Roots says, "rubber will improve." With the amount of research going on today, rubber may someday be a thing of the past.
My favs are TC's and Mythos. For what it's worth from a fringe climber. :)
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COT
climber
Door Number 3
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I don't know this for a fact, but I have been told many sponsored climbers have their shoe sponsor make custom lasts from a mold/cast of their individual feet. This does not answer the OP question, but any shoe that fits like a glove is going to perform really well.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Keep in mind that it was Tommy, Kevin and Adam doing the climbing...not their shoes.
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