Climbing to the top

Investigating the development and design of specialised rock-climbing shoes.

by Stuart Morgan

A good head for heights is obviously essential for anyone climbing a sheer rock face, but the correct footwear is also deemed vital for success. The pioneers of rock climbing often wore heavily soled mountaineering boots, which were studded with metal cleats and hobnails in an effort to achieve better grip.

In the 1930s, Vibram introduced soles with a pattern of rubber studs, and after the Second World War, a new generation of climbers began to attempt harder routes wearing canvas plimsolls with rubber soles, and, according to some reports, occasionally with woollen socks pulled over them in an effort to improve grip.

Hard composite rubber-soled canvas boots became available to climbers in the fifties, and footwear with softer rubber soles became very popular during the following two decades. In the early 1980s, the introduction of specialised ‘sticky rubber’ compounds transformed climbing-shoe performance.

With progress in design and material, as well as the development of the market for dedicated rock-climbing shoes, a very specific style of footwear has developed in recent decades.

Design and materials

In order to increase the ability of the foot to grip by friction on a rock face (or the increasingly popular climbing wall), shoes often rely heavily on specially formulated vulcanised rubber solings. These are available in varying levels of ‘stickiness’ and stiffness, depending on the particular climbing challenge being faced.

As the ability to feel every crack, bump and ridge is necessary, the soles of rock-climbing shoes are normally just a few millimetres thick, featuring a lack of lining material over certain parts of the sole, little (if any) padding, and a very snug fit on the foot. Both lacings and hook-and-loop fastenings are popular, with most major manufacturers offering both to meet the climber’s personal choice. Climbing shoes are not suitable for walking and hiking, so they are typically put on at the base of a climbing face.

Manufacturers of modern climbing shoes often use multi-piece patterns so that their shoes conform very closely to the wearer’s feet. Leather remains widely used for uppers, although synthetic and hybrid materials are increasingly common.

A common design of climbing shoe features a downward-pointing toe box. This improves the wearer’s ability to stand on small footholds, although highly downturned shoes are generally less effective for ‘smearing’ than flatter designs (a technique in which the climber presses the sole or rubber of the climbing shoe directly against the rock surface, rather than standing on a distinct foothold).

Unique designs

Modern climbing footwear is often designed around specific disciplines, including ‘indoor bouldering’, ‘sport climbing’ and ‘traditional climbing’, each of which places slightly different demands on grip, support, sensitivity and durability.

Indoor bouldering: A form of climbing carried out on relatively low artificial walls, typically no more than four to five metres high, without ropes. Climbers attempt to complete short, technically demanding routes known as ‘problems’ with padded matting used to protect against falls.

Sport climbing: Climbing outside on natural rock or indoors on artificial walls using fixed anchor points that have been permanently installed in the rock or structure. Climbers clip their rope into these anchors as they ascend, allowing them to tackle challenging routes with a relatively high degree of protection.

Traditional climbing: Often referred to as ‘trad climbing’, this involves ascending natural rock faces while placing removable protection devices such as cams, nuts and chocks into cracks and fissures. Unlike sport climbing, there are no permanent protection bolts, and the climber removes the equipment after completing the route.

Although not strictly a separate discipline in the same sense as ‘indoor bouldering’, ‘sport’ and ‘traditional’ climbing, ‘multi-pitch’ climbing is a style of route that is too long to be completed in a single rope length and is therefore divided into a series of sections, or ‘pitches’. Climbers progress from one belay station to the next, often spending several hours, or even an entire day, on the route.

Rather than one all-purpose shoe, many serious climbers now own separate shoes for indoor bouldering, sport climbing, traditional climbing and multi-pitch climbing.

Shoes for rock face climbs

With something as natural as a rock face, there are many different kinds of surfaces faced by the ardent climber, including the following.

Slab climbing often involves tackling a smooth rock face. This requires the friction provided by a soft-soled shoe that allows for smearing, and a flatter sole that allows greater surface contact between the shoe and the rock.

Vertical climbing routes tend to have small foot and handholds, so a stiffer shoe is often selected so the climber can put weight onto the smallest holds. Specialist edging shoes often combine supportive construction with firmer rubber compounds to create more stable footing on small holds.

Overhang climbing, where the rock face leans in towards the climber, typically requires aggressively downturned shoes with substantial rubber coverage over the toe and forefoot. Depending on the route, climbers often favour softer shoes that maximise sensitivity and grip.

Shoes used for crack climbing are often relatively stiff and flat-lasted, as the climber must often wedge a foot into a crack and then be able to stand without having any rock underneath the shoe. Soles are usually flat rather than aggressively downturned.

Durability issues

A problem faced by all rock climbers is the durability of their shoes. Soft rubber soles provide excellent grip for when it is needed, but they can wear rapidly. Although climbing footwear can be re-soled, some climbers choose a slightly stiffer rubber than perhaps they normally would, to avoid resorting to this remedy too often. Others opt to simply replace shoes than to repair them.

Manufacturers have continued to refine rubber formulations, with greater emphasis on matching rubber hardness and thickness to particular climbing disciplines. New compounds focus on balancing friction, edging support and durability, giving climbers more discipline-specific options than in the past.

Indoor climbing influencing shoe design

Sport climbing made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Games. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic they were postponed and actually took place in 2021.

The inclusion of sport climbing in these Olympic Games and continuing growth in commercial climbing walls has increased demand for shoes optimised for indoor competition climbing and bouldering. Manufacturers have introduced softer, more flexible shoes with extensive rubber coverage over the toe and instep to improve ‘toe-hooking’ and sensitivity on large, modern climbing walls.

This means that, compared with the beginning of the decade, there is now a clearer distinction between traditional rock-climbing shoes and those aimed specifically at modern indoor competition climbing.

Custom-fit and 3D-printed footwear

Footwear producers have invested heavily in fit-specific designs. Rather than simply offering men’s and women’s versions with different colours, many brands now create separate lasts and volume profiles for different foot shapes, including low-volume and high-volume variants. This has improved comfort and precision for a wider range of climbers.

Foot scanning and additive manufacturing technologies are also beginning to appear in climbing footwear. Although still a niche area, custom fit manufacturing could offer opportunities for improved fit and reduced material waste in future generations of climbing shoes.

Most climbers do not wear socks in order to achieve the most precise fit possible. Although modern climbing shoes need not be painfully tight, performance-oriented models are typically fitted very snugly, which can make them less comfortable than conventional footwear.

Advances in upper construction

While leather remains important, modern synthetic materials have improved considerably. Many newer shoes use engineered synthetic uppers that stretch less than leather, helping them retain their original shape and performance for longer. Knit and hybrid constructions have also appeared in some models to improve breathability without sacrificing fit.

Publishing Data

This article was originally published on page 14 of the October 2026 issue of SATRA Bulletin.

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