Day 271 - The News

new shoes

There are some illusory elements to this photo...but not related to the relative size of these shoes, which is accurately presented here.

Those diagonal lines on the wooden decking outside really give the impression that the photo is leaning drunkenly to the right...but it isn't!

It's just an illusion (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, aa-ah).

(little shout out to any 80's kids there...) ;-)

The point is (yeah, there is one!) that climbing shoe sizes are a nightmare.

These two shoes are from the same manufacturer, Scarpa.  They're built for slightly different purposes - the green for comfort and the blue for speed...otherwise they're in many ways a simple variation on a style.

The green pair are Anna's day to day rock shoes (albeit a brand new pair that haven't been worn yet).  Anna has another pair of these in the same size (Euro 38) that are wearing out after a year's heavy use.  They're a little bit big for Anna, which, whilst making them comfortable, sometimes impacts performance as the foot moves within the shoe.   Anna has another identical pair in one Euro size less - 37 rather than the 38 of the one in the photo, but they're a little tight.

So Anna wanted some slightly smaller ones, and was also interested in stepping up a notch performance wise.  Consequently, in the interests of caution, we ordered the blue pair in size 37.5, figuring same make, very similar model, similar construction and materials...  

Yep, the two shoes in the photo are supposedly only half a size different, 37.5 and 38.

Whilst the 38 is slightly loose, Anna can hardly get the 37.5 on her foot...

Of course it's impossible to ever find a shop with a wide enough size range of a wide enough range of shoes from a variety of manufacturer, and more so if you're a woman...

So we always end up having to take a risk and buying on spec over the net...which usually works out ok, but sometimes, frustratingly it doesn't - and then you have all the hassle of returns to go through.  

Ah well, Font in 32 hours or so...woohoo!

Speaking of new things, I have a new job!

Somewhat momentously, I handed in my notice at work earlier this week...in 8 weeks time, I shall be changing career and going off to work for my bro' (that's my actual bro', not, like, my homes, feel me, brah-bro).  

He owns a successful and growing internet retail business, and has invited me to join him, to help grow it further.

It's a brilliant opportunity that I couldn't possibly overlook!

So these rock shoes aren't the only new things in my life at the moment...

I'm starting a new job and a new career, we're looking for a new house, and we're also itching to find a new dog (or dogs).  We've planted new trees for Jazz, and we both have new rock shoes.

I need a new phone, and this time we're taking our new camera to Font.  I'm newly debt-free, so I might even buy a new car at some point in the next few months.

One way or another, the times, they are a'changin'!

It's liberating!

B-)

Day 264 - Feel the Forces

shoepile

At first glance, you could be forgiven for thinking that this is just a heap of old, identical climbing shoes...but wait!

Upon closer inspection, each shoe (or at least, each pair) has its own story...(surely you can't believe that I just randomly buy too much climbing gear for no good reason?!)...

These shoes are Scarpa Forces.  They are a beginner to intermediate all round climbing shoe, well made using high quality materials - suede uppers and vibram rubber soles. 

High performance rock shoes often feature a heavily down-turned toe, and many climbers wear them very small - up to 3 sizes smaller than their normal street shoe size...the thinking behind this is that the tighter the shoe fits, the more it's like a second skin, and the smaller the holds you can stand on...so climbers often wear shoes that require their toes to be scrunched up in the end of the shoe, allowing the application of greater force through the big toe.

Whilst this is all great in theory, in practice it hurts like a bastard!  

Hence my approach is to wear shoes of a size that means my feet are flat, my toes aren't scrunched up, and I can wear them all day without discomfort.  I figure that the occasions where the reason I'm failing on a climb is because my shoes are too loose can be counted on one hand over the year. 

The vast majority of the time, it matters not a jot...so I always choose comfort over performance. 

So this first pair of Forces I bought were generously sized at Eu46, which is around UK11, against my normal shoe size of UK10.

small forces

I picked these up in late 2011 for the bargain price of £56, against a manufacturer's RRP of £100.

However, although I really liked everything about the look, feel and quality of the shoes, and shape-wise they're a good fit, my big toes were a little squashed in the end of the shoe, and I found them very uncomfortable to wear for more than 20 minutes or so.  I think they might break in a bit better, given time, but I only wear them very occasionally now, when I'm struggling with footwork on tiny (or non-existent) holds.

Because I liked them so much, in August 2012 I bought another pair in a size Eu47, which is UK12...

old forces

These weren't such a bargain price, at £65, but they have been my favourite shoes ever since.  My toes are not squashed at all, and I can indeed wear them all day with no issues.  

Sure, they're a little big sometimes, and small holds can be a bit tricky, but I can counter that to some extent at least with good and careful foot placement.

Anyway, these shoes have been my go-to shoes ever since...I've climbed in them all over the Peak District in all weathers, on Dartmoor in the wind and rain, in Snowdonia in the snow and Anglesey in the cold, in Pembrokeshire and the Lake District in blazing sun, and of course not forgetting the hot and dry Costa Blanca, and the beautiful and atmospheric Fontainebleau. 

All of my significant outdoor adventure climbing has been done in these shoes.  By winter 2013, they'd become very worn, so I got them re-soled, intending to use them solely(!) for indoor use...but still I find they're my #1 pick, wherever I'm going and whatever sort of climbing I'm doing. 

That said, recently they've become very worn again, the soles have thinned and they're less supportive.

In Summer 2013, Scarpa announced the end of the line for this model of the Force, and I really wasn't impressed with the new version...it had turned into a dumbed down beginner's shoe, so far as I could see.   I started looking to buy a spare pair for the future.  However, I couldn't find anywhere that had the somewhat unusual size of 47 in stock.  I'd almost given up hope, when late August last year I found that Newcastle Climbing Centre had a pair in stock for £71...

So despite them apparently getting more expensive as time went on, I had to purchase them, and I've been saving them to transition to these newer ones (below), from the older ones (above).

new forces

I've worn these quite a bit now, outdoors on occasion and whilst the older ones were being resoled.   For all of this year, I've found myself saving them for Font...and now the older ones are really wearing out, I'm looking forward to moving to these.

Then, earlier this week, I noticed a post on the UK Climbing website forum:

FS Scarpa Force size 47, only worn twice.

I opened the thread to find that they'd been on sale for a couple of weeks already, with no interest, and the price had reduced from £45 plus delivery, to £40 including postage!

bonus forces

Of course I couldn't pass up this opportunity, and now I have a virtually new pair to act as standby...I'm sorted for the next couple of years at least.

may the forces be with you

Now I just have to decide how many of these are coming to Font with me...I'm thinking the three newer pairs, but maybe I'll take all of them so none are left out.

In other news, following last night's deadmau5 drama, tonight I got to stem the tide of death, a little at least.

As I made my way through to the lounge, I noticed a tiny wood mouse in a little ball at the bottom of the stairs.  Sighing and swearing under my breath at Loz, I put my bags down and went to investigate...only to find the mouse sitting up and Maisie looking at it with interest...

I put my hand down to pick the tiny thing up, and he ran into my palm, before dashing out again and rushing off into a corner. 

Of course all the skittering activity really caught Maisie's attention, and I had to shoo her away with one hand whilst trying to herd the mouse into the other. 

Luckily, the little fella ran into the slackline sack which was sitting next to the front door.  So I took him over to the hedgerow and encouraged him out, and he ran straight off into the undergrowth.

Take that Loz, you Killer Queen...

Today you lose!

B-)

Day 129 - Walked One Mile...

...in my own shoes

Now we have a new camera on the way, I need to lower the bar considerably, in order to give the illusion of greater improvement.  This will justify our purchase, and prove that we were absolutely right to spend all that cash on something we really don't need at all...

So here we are with today's exciting, substandard photo - a pair of approach shoes!

Ooooh, I hear you, erm, ooh...

They are actually noteworthy for a couple of reasons...

Firstly, it's taken over a month to get hold of them.  The first delivery attempts went so horribly, repeatedly wrong, that I can't even bring myself to talk about it...suffice to say, the bottom line is, they arrived today, at long last!

Secondly, they were only £17...down from a (presumably artificially high) recommended retail price of about £50!   A veritable bargain, I'm sure you'll agree.

I bought a pair of these (in a slightly different colour) two years ago, and a half size larger. 

As mentioned earlier, I use them as approach shoes.  This is a category of shoe that I think is specific to climbers.  They're walking shoes, used to walk and scramble up to the crag before climbing.   

Lightweight and grippy, they can easily be carried up a climb, and are comfortable and effective to scramble and even climb in.

I'm not sure if anything differentiates a lightweight walking shoe from an approach shoe, other than the way it's marketed.  As it happens, these aren't marketed as approach shoes, yet that's what I use them for...go figure!

Anyway, the point is, since buying a pair for £15 two years ago, they've accompanied me on all of my climbing adventures. 

They've been all over the Peak District...carried me from Snowdonia in North Wales to Pembrokeshire in South Wales...tramped through la Forêt de Trois Pignons en Fontainebleau, to Orihuela en la Costa Blanca with me...

I've driven thousands of miles wearing them...I've even worn them to work a few times!

I've found them really comfortable, light and easy to wear, grippy on rock, nice to drive in...all in all I've been really happy with them, even though they're a fairly basic outdoor shoe.

Lately, though, they've started to feel a little loose and baggy, especially walking downhill...which I seem to do quite a lot.

So I've gone mad and bought myself a new pair, a half size smaller for a snugger fit.  

(snugger - there's a word you don't hear every day!)

Also, look closely...they have red bits!

B-)