Climbers Point

Climbing shoes can be comfortable! But, that is in comparison with other climbing shoes, and not with everyday shoes. I believe that climbing shoes will never be as comfortable as everyday shoes.

If you manage to find the right pair of shoes for your feet, though, they can be very comfortable, considering they are still climbing shoes.

For me, the best way to break them in faster and to make them less painful was to just wear them. The more I wore them, the softer they became. One thing that really helps is to heat them up a little bit before putting them on with a small heater or fan, just enough to soften the rubber a little bit, not too much though to not damage the shoes.

Another thing that really helps and that is very simple to do is to just bend, twist, and fold the shoes for a minute or two. This really softens up the rubber and makes it much easier to put on and less painful to wear.

I think this refers to the head forward and slightly hunched back posture climbers tend to have.

Of course, not all climbers have this posture, but many do, it has become a sort of stigma, giving it the name "climbers posture".

I have a fear of sports climbing. The moment i get a little bit too far from the ground, each clip becomes more and more nerve racking and stressful.

The more I do it though, the less stressful it becomes. After just a few sessions I get used to it and the fear goes away. But, the condition is that I do this often. If I sport climb once a month, the fear doesn't go away. If I do it at least once or twice a week, the fear goes away pretty quickly.

So what helps me control my fear is actually doing it more often.

It is very common for them to hurt, but, they are not "meant" to. They are meant to be very tight with no dead space, and this causes them to be painful. They don't always have to be painful though, it depends what you are aiming for with the shoes, what kind of climbing, what kind of routes, etc.