Hacker News Reader

Comment by necubi | Hacker News Reader

My primary shoe for bouldering is the Scarpa Drago, which has 2.5mm rubber. The toe rubber wears out after ~3 months. That's pretty fast for a $200 shoe, but it can be resoled several times (~$40 for a pair) for a total cost of ~$320/year. To me, that's worth it for the comfort and performance.

But I'm not sure this is really a trend overall; there are still plenty of high-end shoes from Scarpa, La Sportiva, etc. with thicker rubber.

Definitely great to see all of the new entrants though. It's amazing how much climbing shoes have evolved even in just the past decade.

View on HN

That's still pretty cheap for a sport. Compare it to what your skier friends blow through for the handful of days they make it out to the mountain each year.

I go through 2 pairs of shoes per year, being heavy and climbing a lot. I don't sweat the cost at all, and tend to just buy 3-4 pairs whenever I notice them go on sale at barrabes or wherever.

All in, climbing is just about the cheapest sport you could ask for. Especially as a boulderer. Add in $8/month for a giant sack of chalk and $300 every 10 years for a new giant pad and you're set.

If you want the absolute best to win the climbing competition, that's a viable strategy and totally worth the money for.

But for a casual climber like me whose best grade is 3級(Japanese grade standard, equivalent of 6a+/6b or V3) and climb once per week in a indoor gym, it's a diminishing return.

I want my shoes to be durable enough for at least 9 months. The resole is cheaper but necessary effort for the resole(bring shoes to the resole service, negotiating how I would like to be resoled) is a quite hassle for me. So I'd rather buy a new shoes.

Think you're putting too much focus on the shoe. I've had a $40 pair of shoes for nearly 8 years without a resole for when I want comfort. Climbing V6 without issues (at least not because of my feet).

My second pair was a $200 Shaman, and they were great, unfortunately I was using them when I had limited knowledge and experience, I got them resoled once, and while worth it, I purchased a low end pair ($100) as my secondary, and have found them 90% functional compared to the high end pairs, and have been sticking with them over the high performance shoes.

They're great, but like yourself, I'm not a pro, or a prospective pro, I do it for fun, and health. I'm not going to pay $200 every 4 months for a new pair, or even resole.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com