Got some new climbing shoes today, Mad Rock Mugens
For those that have seen me around the gym, it was time to get some new shoes. Being a new climber I quickly blue out the toe on my La Sportiva Mythos. Most likely the blowout was from inferior toeing on texture, and even more likely from jumping off the top of the wall with that No Fear attitude that gets new climbers into so much trouble.
I have to say that I'm not going to stop jumping from the top of the wall. It is quite a bit of fun, and often the only way to get down off of difficult problems. I also love to dyno and you more often than not end up landing in gravel than snagging your target hold (especially on the really good dynos). So I went with the Mad Rock shoes this time. They are quite a bit cheaper than the Mythos that I got before (nearly half the price), and I have to say they have a much better edge.
Mythos tend to be a good all-around shoe allowing the wearer extended usage periods without foot fatigue. Great for climbing endurance routes or multi-pitch since I've been in my Mythos for over 5 hours without having to take them off. They have some soft rubber so your foot can really feel the underlying rock, but the soft rubber is what burst so quickly. They were also inferior at holding onto an edge, at least on the feet of a new climber.
The Mad Rock Mugens are a bit better. They offer an extremely comfortable and tight fit with only the slightest amount of foot pain (foot pain is good). They don't have too much of a banana curve, so they don't give your feet the arch that enables you to do better on overhanging walls, but tends to force you off of more vertical routes where toe friction is really important and you can't get your full toe onto the wall because of the extreme banana like foot angle. They are also velcro, so you don't have to lace up and delace as you are moving from climbing area to climbing area. If your feet do start to hurt you can quickly take them off.
I got a chance to try my new Mugens over at the REI wall in Redmond. Not a very fun wall I have to say, but there is a nice hidden edge on the back side next to the outside windows. A good friend of mine working over at REI pointed it out, Michael Johnson, while I was trying on various pairs of shoes, and I have to say I'm very glad he did. Otherwise I would have been stuck testing shoes on lame texture, and I probably would have picked a different pair based on performance on those other surfaces. I need to break these guys in before Wednesday and Squamish, so I'll be at V-World tomorrow (today, Sunday), and probably Monday as well.