That was the other thing I was going to say: Keith sent me a mail the other day, where he was on about punters putting too much faith in what shoes they buy and whether they are the best ones for climbing 9a. Whilst there is a lot of boring discussion on "which boots will get me up 8a" on the internet, (probably most of it from people who will never climb 8a), Keith went on to say that whilst I was climbing in Twins it didnt stop me - well actually, it did! When I went to the jura, I tried and tried in Twins but when I redpointed the 8's I did out there, I did so in Buzz' 5.10s! Everything hard I have ever done, I have done in precise well fitting footwear that gave me confidence to succeed.
So, whilst Keith is right - footwear isnt everything, and it certainly wont MAKE you climb 8a, it does make a difference. Perhaps up to 40% of the percieved gain may be psychosomatic. If I think I have got great shoes on, I use my feet well. I think I have got rubbish ones on I don't, I make silly mistakes. The point to take from all this rambling is that no piece of equipment alone will enable you to climb 8a unless you were already capable. But the mental boost to be gained from thinking you have an advantage may help you try that little bit harder.
2 comments:
you can see where he's coming from with all these topics over on UKB about shoes.
There seems to be an ever increasing level of bollocks on that site, especially regarding training and esoteric peak limestone.
I have been misquoted! You'll be hearing from my lawyers.
Seriously though, my original point is that you can climb 90% of your limit in any shoes THAT FIT. My experience was forgetting all my kit and borrowing an old pair of Quecha (decathlon's own) slippers. They were a very tight fit and I was still able to climb 7C/+, so my conclusion was that for most things any well fitting boot will work for you. Perhaps this is different at 8C level (but I doubt it 8C has been climbed in 5.10, Sportiva, Boreal, Mad Rock, and probably more).
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