Often I here climbers prophesying about what enhances climbing performance - climbing shoes, conditions, diet, etc. In over 20 years of repairing climbing shoes, I have only known a handful of climbers that even considered maintaining their rock climbing shoes for increased performance and wear - these were mostly climbers I have lived with and worked with.
Your shoes will assist you up a free climb. All other equipment is not really performance enhancing, it functions as the safety net. Maintaining your rock climbing shoes is worthwhile and easy.
What is maintaining your climbing shoes?
Apart from general maintenance, which I will detail in a later blog, it is the condition of your rubber that can make a huge difference to how your shoes perform and last.
In a nutshell, when you climb your sole rubber deforms/depresses around the rock grains. One measure of a rubbers durability is its ability to rebound or spring back to shape from this. The quicker the rubber rebounds, the better. Inevitability the rubber will drag, tear and wear leaving scalloping - see below photo. Scalloping is the resulting wear marks on the rubber, which if left unattended, results in poor friction and accelerated rubber wear – sometimes described as rolling when it is occuring. This damage can be seen on the rand rubber* but, more commonly on the soles. Super sticky rubbers are more prone as they are softer. Coarse rock or twisting on plastic holds also increases this type of wear.
This photo shows typically worn rubber - scalloping on both sole and rand
Nearly 100% of all repairs we get show scalloping. BJR has estimated that the life of a shoe can be prolonged up to 35% by periodic removal of scalloping. Removing this damaged rubber is easy for an expert using super fine sand paper – removing this damaged rubber will make your shoes last longer and perform better. It is what I call “Rock shoe tuning” and it is a free service available at BJR.
Shoe before tuning
The same shoe after tuning
The performance difference to your shoes will be immediately noticeable - better friction and edging. Competition climbers that have had one shoe tuned in this way and commented on the massive difference between the tuned and unturned shoe.
Before you try to tick your next project, check your climbing shoes are tuned to the task.
Rand rubber* the thin side wall rubber of a climbing shoe.
Awesome post John but in future can we have a bit more celebrity gossip.
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