You start to want more advantages in your corner, so you can send that route, stick that crux and overall enhance your performance on the rock. Let’s look at footgear.

Rock shoes, or boots, come in three basic designs, each fabricated with a specific type of climbing in mind. When you’re first investigating shoes and aren’t really quite sure what you need, start by asking yourself what type of climbing are you going to do? Are you going to be edging out on a lot of small holds, climbing a steep, near vertical slab, working routes in a gym, crack-climbing, what?

As a beginner, you might want to start with a normal camber shoe. The camber is the curve of the arch of your foot. A normal camber will keep the arches raised just a hair and toes pointed upward. Think of a tennis shoe with a more pointed toe. This allows for comfort and usually gives starters an enhanced feeling of security and as we all know, climbing is as much a mind game as it is a workout.

A curved camber points the toes downwards and raises the arches, giving an increased edge on small holds and increasing your sensitivity, making this a more performance edged shoe. The cost of increased performance is decreased comfort and, as anyone who has worn climbing shoes can tell you, they’re not all that comfortable to begin with.

Another option is a stiff soled edging shoe, for use on small, crimpy holds that require a hard platform from which you can rest your weight. These shoes offer the advantage of taking some of the consternation out of your footwork.

A normal shoe sole is soft, an advantage when you have to smear, get more surface area on a hold, or are crack climbing. This type of sole will roll out on you if you bring all of your weight to bear on it while standing on a narrow hold. An edging shoe, however, will hold firm and steady, in the grand scheme of things, and allow for more reliable weight distribution on the sole.

Shoe selection can become complicated, what with lined or unlined lasts, slip-on or tie-in, high rand or low … remember, keep it simple. Get a comfortable shoe that you feel good in. It has to be tight, sometimes up to two sizes smaller than normal, but outside that, don’t worry about the rest.

As you progress in your climbing, you’ll come to understand the differences and nuances of the rock, and you will start to realize what you want from your shoe. Until then, stay easy, climb hard and enjoy yourself.