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Click here for the best women’s climbing shoes for wide feet.
| Climbing Shoe |
|---|
| Top Pick: Evolv Shaman |
| La Sportiva Option: La Sportiva Miura VS |
| Sport Climbing Powerhouse: Five Ten Anasazi VCS |
| Performance + Comfort: Scarpa Boostic |
| Budget Buy: Five Ten Anasazi Moccasym |
Buying new climbing shoes can be hard. And stressful. And time-consuming. Let’s face it — overall it’s a tough process.
And for people with wide feet, buying climbing shoes can be even more difficult. You want the best fit to help you send your project or redpoint, but many climbing shoes are narrow and uncomfortable.
So, just for you, here is a list of the best rock climbing shoes for wide feet.
Top Pick: Evolv Shaman
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The Evolv Shaman gets our pick as the best wide climbing shoe, and we’re not the only ones speaking highly of it. Designed from the ground up by Chris Sharma, the Shaman won Climbing magazine’s Editor’s Choice award in 2012. What’s more, climbing prodigy Kai Lightner climbs his hardest stuff in the Shaman.
The Shaman is comfortable given its aggressive nature and the Velcro closure system is well designed for a secure fit. There is also a generous patch of rubber over the toes which helps when pulling toe hooks, and the shoe edges well on overhung terrain.
The main cons of the shoe are that it lacks sensitivity and can be smelly (however, some climbers prefer the lack of sensitivity since it gives their toes more protection). Overall, the Shaman is great for bouldering, gym climbing, and hard sport climbing.
Since Evolv shoes are made out of synthetic leather, we recommend you get the shoe your street shoe size or half a size below since it won’t stretch lengthwise, though it will conform better to the shape of your foot over time.
La Sportiva Option: La Sportiva Miura VS
La Sportiva is consistently ranked as one of the top climbing shoe brands. However, it is also known for having narrow shoes. Nonetheless, there are a few La Sportiva shoes which accommodate moderately wide feet, and the Miura VS is one of those shoes.
In our review of the Miura VS, we gave it a 4.5 / 5 star rating. This shoe does virtually everything well. It edges, smears, and heel hooks as well as any shoe on the market. The only con we could find is that it isn’t the best at toe hooking. It is great for sport climbing and bouldering.
If you tried on the original Miura and it didn’t fit your feet well, don’t be so quick to discount the Miura VS. Though the two shoes share a similar name, they aren’t the same shoe and they fit quite differently.
For sizing, we recommend you get the shoe 1-1.5 sizes below your street shoe size (in US sizes). It is made out of leather so it will stretch.
Sport Climbing Powerhouse: Five Ten Anasazi VCS
The Five Ten Anasazi VCS is a powerhouse of a sport climbing shoe for people with wide feet. It does virtually every type of sport climbing well — from cracks to faces. Five Ten shoes in general tend to run a little wider in the toe box and the Anasazi VCS is one of the top shoes in the Five Ten line.
When we reviewed the Five Ten Anasazi VCS we found it to be great at edging and smearing. It also has a flat sole which makes it comfortable for how high-performing it is and a top climbing shoe for wide, flat feet. Like the Miura VS, it only lacks real performance when it comes to toe hooking. Overall, it’s a great sport climbing shoe.
The shoe won’t stretch lengthwise so we recommend you get your pair the same size as your street shoe size or half a size below it.
Performance + Comfort: Scarpa Boostic
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The Boostic by Scarpa is a top climbing shoe for people with wide feet. What’s more, it’s also incredibly comfortable by climbing shoes standards. Despite being a classically built aggressive shoe designed by the famed Heinz Mariacher with performance in mind, the Boostic will be one of the comfiest climbing shoes you’ve worn after it breaks in.
This Velcro shoe is best at edging and smearing. The asymmetrical toe box lets you get a foot on the tiniest of nubs, and the shoe’s rand helps maintain the downturned build even after countless smears. The shoe used to have a large heel cup which caused problems for many people, but the problem has since been fixed and now many wearers find the heel to fit perfectly.
Like other aggressive shoes, the Scarpa Boostic is best for bouldering and hard sport climbing. We don’t recommend it for crack climbing. For sizing, know that it is made out of a synthetic leather so get your street shoe size or half a size below it and don’t expect them to stretch.
Budget Buy: Five Ten Anasazi Moccasym
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This classic slip-on from Five Ten is best option for the climber on a budget. The shoe has a wide toe box which, as you might expect, can accommodate wide feet well. Also, as mentioned above, Five Ten is also a brand known to have shoes which fit well on wider feet.
The Moccasym is known for being highly comfortable and forgiving in its stretchiness. Since it is a slip-on the shoe is easily removed. The shoe excels at crack climbing but isn’t the best at edging or face climbing.
If you’re sizing these shoes for performance then you might need to go a full size or more below your street shoe size (in US sizes). They will be uncomfortable for what might seem like a long break-in period, but they will stretch out a surprising amount over their life.
Climbing Shoes for Women with Wide Feet
Some of the shoes listed above are male shoes. This begs the question: what if you’re a woman with wide feet? For starters, you could look at the women’s versions of the above shoes as they will also run wide:
- Evolv Shaman LV (LV = low volume)
- La Sportiva Miura VS Women’s
- Five Ten Anasazi LV
- Unisex shoes: Scarpa Boostic and Five Ten Anasazi Moccasym
In addition to purchasing the women’s version of a wide-fit climbing shoe, you can also buy the male version of your preferred climbing shoe. One of the main differences between male and female versions of climbing shoes is that female climbing shoes run narrower than their male counterparts. So, if there is a shoe that you are eager to try out but the female version is too narrow for your foot, try the male version of the shoe. It will be wider and should fit your foot better.
Climbing Shoe Brands for Wide Feet
Each climbing shoe brand has a different general fit style. This means some shoe brands might not fit your feet well while others will. For example, La Sportiva shoes tend to run narrower and are meant to have a glove-like tightness for maximum performance. On the other hand, here are some climbing shoe brands which make shoes that typically fit wider feet well:
- Five Ten
- Evolv
- Scarpa
- Boreal
If you are looking for climbing shoes for wide feet, these brands are great starting places.
FAQ
Which wide climbing shoe is best for bouldering? We couldn’t narrow it down to just one, so we picked two: the La Sportiva Miura VS and the Evolv Shaman.
What is the best all-around climbing shoe for wide feet? The Evolv Shaman gets our pick as the best all-around climbing shoe for the wide-footed climber. It does everything well and can accommodate some of the broadest feet sizes.
