I don't have any lace climbing shoes, but so far I know quite a few people who have Velcro shoes that have torn and the Velcro strap is no longer attached. My shoes are actually very close to tearing it seems as well.
I have never seen anyone whose lace shoes have torn though, but I'm sure it happens, I just don't know at what rate compared to Velcro shoes.
There may be some brands that have similar sizing, most likely by chance, but overall brands can have very different sizing to their shoes. Even different shoes from the same brand tend to have different sizing.
I believe he said in one of his recent videos, or just in a video he was in, that he downsizes his shoes a few sizes less than he used to a few years ago. I can't remember the reason why he said he does it.
I would say you should always try them on and see what works for you. The same principles apply to choosing neutral climbing shoes as they do to choosing aggressive climbing shoes - try them on and feel what feels best for you.
I would keep in mind the intended usage of the shoes though, since if you are getting neutral shoes, you may be climbing longer routes such as in sport and trad climbing, in which case, downsizing to something very tight may feel very painful and uncomfortable due to wearing the shoes for so long.
For me the fit of climbing shoes has always been the same based on the shoes. I haven't changed my shoe size since I started climbing a few years ago, even when I try on shoes I already have, like the Evolv Shaman 2, I still find that the best fit is the same size I got when I first bought them a few years ago.
I don't really think there is a general best length. For me personally, I cut them just enough to not be too short, but don't leave enough to hear the nails on the wall. If they are even a little bit longer than that, they tend to sometimes get bent backwards while grabbing the holds, which obviously is not very pleasant.
In my opinion, the problem is less about the actual hangboarding, and more about beginners not knowing when to stop and let their fingers rest. Since new climbers aren't usually used to the strain that climbing puts on their fingers and tendons, it's very easy to overtrain and to get injured.
This is true just by climbing alone. Add to that the element of hangboarding and you are in a very high risk of injury!
If a new climber can listen to their body, and also follow a strict program that will minimize the potential for finger injuries, even including hangboarding in the program could be fine. But, this will take a lot of self discipline that a lot of climbers don't seem to have.
Generally, I think that if you do things correctly, you could be fine doing finger specific training during your first year of climbing.
It for sure can if you wear the wrong shoes! It would also likely be a combination of other things such as wearing climbing shoes that are too small and landing badly, which could be bad regardless of the shoes, but wearing shoes that are not good for you would most likely increase the risk of bad landings.
Even without combining shoes and other factors, wearing climbing shoes that are not right for you, such as shoes that are too small, can cause damage by itself if you wear them for too long and if they are really too small.
Being well educated about how well sized climbing shoes should feel, mindful of if you got it wrong, and disciplined enough to listen to your body should help prevent damage to your feet though.
I kind of like the grading differences between climbing gyms. In some gyms a v4 could be as hard as a v6, and in some gyms a v8 can be as easy as a v6. It makes me sort of have to ignore the grades and just go for what ever route interests me and challenges me.
For me, after climbing for about a year, I noticed that my toes are more squished together, especially the tips of my toes. They have a sharper square shape rather than a round shape.
It sounds like either the shoes are not the right shape or fit, or there is a pressure point on your big toe. Or maybe you put too much weight on your big toe rather than spreading the weight across all of your toes?
Usually yes, but it should really be more of an uncomfortable feeling rather than actual pain. If you are used to climbing shoes, it may be fine, if not, you get used to it pretty quickly, assuming you didnt size down too much.
I understand the concept of soft grades, but, when it gets to the point where the grades are so soft that a v5 is actually a v3, shouldn't they just give it a v3-v4 grade instead of just calling it a soft v5?
All of the boulders in my gym are actually around 2 grades below their given grade, I don't understand why they give them the higher grades and not the actual lower grades. Is there a reason for it?
I like training static and slow movements for climbing. I feel it translates the best to actual climbing.
I usually find a pull up bar and just do a lot of different grip width variations. Some narrow grip, some shoulder width, and some as wide as I can. All of them are done slowly and controlled, so I don't jerk myself up. I start from a complete dead hang position, slowly pull myself up, and even more slowly lower myself back down.
I also try to pull myself further up, so that I am in between a regular pull up and muscle up.
Training one arms is probably my favorite though, it also really requires very minimal gear, basically just a pull up bar.
Anything body weight and slow movement helps me, so pull ups, push ups, handstands, etc.
I put a vitamin E cream on my hands before I fall asleep. I feel it really helps after sessions that leave me with pulsating red fingertips with little to no skin. The one I use is from Jason, its a 25,000 IU cream, but there are also oils with 75,000 IU, I haven't tried that yet though.
Leaving the cream on overnight does help quite noticeably. It doesn't completely heal the skin after one night, but usually after a second night of doing this I can climb again the next day.
As long as you feel that they are the right fit for you, then yes. I remember when I bought my first real pair of climbing shoes after my beginner shoes, I tried downsizing as everyone had told me I have to, but even the salesman asked me to not downsize because the it just didn't fit me properly. What ended up being a "performance" fit for me was actually my street shoe size. This is in spite of everyone telling me I have to downsize to the smallest size that I can stick my feet in, regardless of the pain. So as long as you don't listen to that advice and you get what ever you can climb in without terrible pain, or without any pain at all, it should be fine.
Slightly, but not too much! Though, many climbers may say its just a matter of how comfortable you are with curled toes. If its not painful and it doesnt negatively impact performance, maybe its ok.
Honestly, getting the right size and just wearing them will really get the job done.
If your shoes are just not the right size though, then it maybe either not get better, or it may be a very long process. Not being the right size also includes shoes that are too big, so keep that in mind.
One thing I like to do is to bend then around and scrunch them up before putting them on. I do this for about a minute and it really helps soften then up and makes them much less painful.
There isnt a rule that says you need one, but, if you are going to use chalk then I would say yes, you do.
You could put your chalk in plastic containers like many new climbers do, but this is really not efficient, and its very easy for the chalk to spill and get knocked over.
Flexibility in my opinion is extremely underrated. I think being flexible can be one of the greatest tools in climbing.
I myself am not flexible at all, but my friends are, and the difference between how we climb is so noticeable. Moves that are so difficult for me are just easy to them.
You dont have to be flexible to climb, but, it would make a huge difference if you were.
It can equal stronger climbing, but not necessarily better climbing.
The problem with being very strong is that you start to neglect technique, because if you can just power yourself to the next hold or through the move, why would you do it in a more technical way? Even if you try to be more technical, it can be very hard to get rid of the habit of powering through moves. This is something many climbers struggle with, including myself.
On the other hand, if you are a technical climber, but are weak in terms of physical strength, training your forearms can help quite a lot by balancing you out a little bit. So you would still have the technique that you have developed until now, and you would also just be physically stronger.
So I would say that it just depends on your current situation. Are you more technical, or are you more powerful?
This is a very general question. Is it for bouldering? Sport climbing?
There is too much missing information in the question to be able to actually answer it accurately, but, in any case, it would most likely depend on your experience, technique, strength, and how determined you are.
What really helped me get better at sit starts was climbing on a moon board, and either finding boulders that have sit starts, or building new boulders with sit starts.
I was pretty bad at sit starts since they are very compressed for me, something I am fairly weak at. But after climbing for about a month almost only on the moon board, I really saw the improvement, and it was very noticeable.
I still work quite often on the moon board, and I can really see the difference from before and after. I try to do the most disgusting sit starts possible on the moon board, and I can do all of the sit starts on the regular route setting walls.
The moon board in my gym is a 30 degree angle I believe. If you don't have a moon board, I think you can probably do the same on any other system board.
Try to find the next best thing that you do have. Do you have a spray wall? If not, do you have an overhanging wall that you can make up boulders on using the existing holds?
Otherwise, I would just make up boulders anywhere in the gym and try to make them system-board-like.
