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The question of whether you should wear your climbing shoes with or without socks is not easy to answer. Several factors play a role in the answer. Relevant questions are, for example, the type of climbing shoes, the place of climbing, the chosen material or certain circumstances that make the wearing of thin functional socks appear opportune.
In summary, it can be said that the majority of climbers wear their climbing shoes without socks.
However, there are also climbers who wear socks in their climbing shoes on certain occasions or with slightly widened climbing shoes. There are good arguments and understandable reasons for both.
Climbing Shoes: With or Without Socks?
If you look around the scene of the advanced climbers, the bare foot in the climbing shoe will inevitably attract the attention of most athletes. The reason for not wearing socks, according to comments, stems from the need to have as much feeling as possible in the toes and sole of the foot. When it comes to climbing, athletes need to feel the finest protrusions and the reliability of their foot muscles. In addition, the climbing shoes are intended to give the foot a better grip on the rock and to protect it from injuries.
Socks often hinder climbing. They sometimes make it difficult to get into the shoe when it is a slipper or too tightly cut. In addition, socks on thicker rubber soles reduce the feeling that the toes come into direct contact with the rock surface when they are felt at least. The flexible climbing shoe serves like a second, very durable skin layer to protect the feet. But thanks to a more or less soft rubber sole without profiling, the climbing shoe is also non-slip. This provides more safety against slipping when palpating the next accessible crevice.
Why do some Climbers wear Socks?
If a climber is wearing socks, this may indicate that he has already stretched his climbing shoes. The flexible material of the climbing shoes sometimes expands after prolonged use. This may be due to the effects of heat or the nature of the material. In this case, wearing thin socks could improve the fit of the climbing shoes. It would be fatal if they slipped or even fell off on the rock thanks to additional width at the foot. In reality, however, the latter is usually not a danger because most climbers buy their shoes a few sizes smaller. When tight climbing shoes expand, this is more desirable. It creates more comfort.
Another reason to wear socks in climbing shoes may be the chosen climbing region. In some cases, the alpine climbing fans climb icy rock faces in cold regions of the earth. In such areas, you also more often find climbers who wear socks in their climbing shoes. The reason for this is that if your toes are too cold, you will no longer have sufficient feeling for the underground. In addition, sweaty feet in thin climbing shoes can easily get frost damage. In tightly fitting climbing shoes there is also no heat buffer in the form of air. That’s why it makes sense to reach for well-fitting socks in cold climbing regions. The wearing of socks in climbing shoes is, therefore, a necessity for at least two groups of climbers under certain conditions.
A third group of climbers prefer to wear socks in their climbing shoes because they want to avoid sweaty feet. The undressed foot sweats in the tightly fitting climbing shoes as well as through the effort associated with climbing. Those who tend to sweat anyway usually find wearing climbing shoes without socks very uncomfortable. The wet foot could also be a danger. The unpleasant feeling of sweaty feet may distract you from concentrating on the next lead on the rock. But the foot also becomes more slippery with increased sweating. If the climbing shoes are not tight enough, it may slip back and forth in the shoe. In extreme cases, this can have fatal consequences. Sweaty feet also promote the development of athlete’s foot.
What defines good Climbing Shoes?
The choice of climbing shoes decides to a large extent whether socks are necessary or not. Good climbing shoes are characterized by stable and non-slip soles. The soles of climbing shoes must not only provide protection against foot injuries but also allow sufficient feeling for the ground. In addition, they must compensate for a deficit that evolution has given our feet: They lack sufficient tension and pressure. But this is necessary on the rock.
Climbing shoes ideally fit as tightly as a second skin. However, the advice that it was wise to buy these shoes one or two sizes too tight has now been refuted. A good fit should be given in any case, because otherwise climbing can become torture.
A piece of good advice is to choose a warm summer evening for the purchase of climbing shoes. By nature, your feet swell a little during the day when it’s warm. If you buy your climbing shoes in the evening, you will usually get a better fit. So you buy the climbing shoes exactly half the size larger, which later sits more comfortably on the foot.
The soles of climbing shoes consist of various rubber compounds. These can be softer or firmer, depending on the manufacturer. However, regardless of thickness and hardness, rubber promotes increased perspiration in the shoe. The harder rubber compounds allow more pressure. You save strength to find sufficient hold on narrow rock ridges. Softer rubber compounds are only advantageous for friction climbing indoors or bouldering.
Related: How to Choose Rock Climbing Shoes
Why do some Climbing Shoes stretch?
The reason why some climbing shoes stretch after some time is mostly due to the upper material. But the climate can also be an influencer. For reasons of a better foot climate, climbing shoes are made of artificial leather or genuine leather on the top. By nature, genuine leather tends to expand a little over time. Hence the advice to buy such climbing shoes one or two numbers smaller. However, this advice applies above all to the non-adaptable slipper form.
Artificial leather surfaces on climbing shoes are less favorable from a climatic point of view. You’re sweatier. However, artificial leather climbing shoes remain more dimensionally stable than genuine leather. Socks are therefore more likely to be found in climbing shoes with already widened genuine leather surfaces than in artificial leather climbing shoes – except where there is a pronounced tendency to sweaty feet, which is more likely to affect artificial leather climbing shoes.
Related: How to stretch Rock Climbing Shoes
The Question of Closure is also relevant
Beginners are spoilt for choice when it comes to the shape of the climbing shoes or their fastening. You have to deal with terms like “downturn”, “pre-tension” and different last shapes to find the right climbing shoes. Irrespective of the choice between Velcro fasteners, lacings or simply slippers to be slid over, the question occasionally arises as to which of these fastening options are best compatible with socks.
This question may become important for some climbers, although most experienced climbers do not consider it important from the outset. Beginners should rather start with well-fitted climbing shoes that have a normal last. It makes them more comfortable. With such shoes, everyone can first train on climbing walls in the gym.
Since the shoes are put on and taken off several times, Velcro fasteners are the best type of closure. Due to the nature of the draw frames, thin socks may be worn if this appears necessary for hygienic or other reasons.
The climbing shoe should be bought by newcomers matching the foot, whereby the problem of the widening genuine leather should be considered. If you have a pronounced tendency to sweat, it is best to try on the climbing shoes with thin functional socks straight away. It is not recommended for beginners to buy the first climbing shoes several numbers smaller. In addition, people with pronounced sweaty feet should not choose climbing shoes with artificial leather.
Climbing Shoes are designed to be worn without Socks
Professionals and experienced climbers rarely wear socks in their climbing shoes. They climb steep walls where the foot must find optimal support.
In this respect, even thin socks prove to be more of a hindrance due to the restriction of the sense of touch. In addition, the climbing shoes of experienced climbers are significantly more equipped with a downturn and pretension. The layman recognizes both by their banana-like curved form.
Those who already have more experience in climbing have already gained knowledge about which materials, rubber compounds, and shoe sizes are suitable for them. In general, Velcro fasteners are not as adaptable as lace-up fasteners. The lacing should, however, cover the entire forefoot up to the toe area. Because of the lack of adaptability, slippers are the climbing shoes that are often bought far too small. You’re not doing yourself a favor.
Either way, a high-quality climbing shoe fits tightly even with a good fit. This puts tension on the foot. That way you are able to climb the climbing wall with more pressure and tension. When worn frequently, the tight climbing shoe becomes somewhat more comfortable because it adapts increasingly to the shape of the foot. In addition, the material expands by nature through the supply of heat. But it contracts again when you take off your climbing shoes. Socks are also to be regarded as heat donors. That’s why they’re often shunned. However, stockings can also cause rubbing or pressure marks, which can be very unpleasant.
Related: How are Rock Climbing Shoes supposed to fit?
A professional is characterized by the fact that he knows exactly which type of climbing shoes he can use to climb which climbing routes. He knows that on multi-pitch tours he does not need a strongly prestressed and too tight climbing shoe. For an ambitious climber, loaded feet are unnecessary. Nevertheless, ambitious climbers often suffer from bruising under the toenails, nail bed infections due to too short trimming of the toenails or arthrosis in the toes and forefeet due to too frequent pressure loads.
In addition, the danger of an athlete’s foot lurks if the foot sweats too much. If there is a tendency to increased sweating, there are some arguments in favor of wearing thin functional socks.
Nevertheless, socks are considered a No-Go among climbers. One of the reasons is that climbing shoes for beginners have relatively thick soles. If these are worn with socks, the feeling for the ground is further minimized. At the climbing wall in the gym, the difference to barefoot climbing may not make so much difference. However, it is crucial for later outdoor climbing tours with higher degrees of difficulty to be able to feel the ground as well as possible.
If someone nevertheless has to or wants to wear socks, they should be as thin as possible nylon socks. These make it easier to put on the climbing shoes because they make the foot slightly more slippery.
However, this can also prove to be disadvantageous later on. Because even in climbing shoes there is a greater tendency to slip when feet become wet – especially if the shoes have already widened due to heat or prolonged wearing. The conscious refusal of socks, therefore, makes sense for many climbing fans.
An interesting look at relevant Online Forums
The question of whether you should climb with or without socks seems to move many other people as well. Some climbing fans – and not just those who should call themselves beginners – have used socks from the very beginning.
There are several arguments in favor of such people wearing thin socks in climbing shoes. More problematic than answering this question is apparently finding suitable climbing socks at all.
Some comments in forums suggest that wearing climbing socks could prolong the life of climbing shoes. Special functional socks* are recommended as suitable. Corresponding comments point out that multiple worn climbing shoes form an unsightly and unpleasant smelling layer of dirt and sweat particles. This is largely prevented by wearing socks because the sweat is released by the breathable socks.
That’s why especially sporty women prefer to wear climbing socks in their shoes. They argue that the welding layer damages the shoe material in the long run – apart from the hygienic aspects. It is also said that many climbing fans who wear socks have a better grip in their climbing shoes. However, it is important that the socks fit perfectly. But, socks can wrinkle when you enter slippery climbing shoes. Therefore, Velcro fasteners or long lacings are recommended when wearing climbing shoes with socks.
In some places the nimbus is cleared up, barefoot climbing is the real Jakob. Interestingly, all the commentators who take this position are women. They say they climb neither better nor worse when they wear thin functional socks. From their point of view, these would not hinder the important ability of the feet to feel small projections. The performance of normal climbing tours is exactly the same as without socks. However, the fit of the climbing shoes and hygiene were clearly improved.
A forum member describes herself as a convinced barefoot climber – until she had a little accident. According to her, the cause of the accident was sweaty feet, which had too little grip in the climbing shoes. The climbing shoes were also dirty. In addition, this woman found the discoloration of her climbing shoes unpleasant. Therefore she tried wearing socks in the following – and stayed with them. As advantages, this forum member mentioned hygienic aspects, an easier entrance into the shoes, and better hold in the climbing shoe with sweaty feet
If you’re wearing Socks, which ones do you wear?
Finding the right sock for the climbing shoes seems to be a bit complicated. Cotton socks are an absolute no-go, all forum users say unanimously. They have to be functional socks. However, they must not have padded plush soles.
They must be wafer-thin and effective when it comes to moisture transport. Whether these are short sneaker socks or traditional socks is a matter of taste.
Sneaker socks that are cut too tight have the disadvantage that they can slip over the heel into the shoe due to the strain of climbing in the toe area. You can also find sneaker socks with a slightly higher cut that are suitable for climbing.
What to do with sweaty climbing shoes?
Unpleasant fragrances in climbing shoes can be removed with so-called “boot bananas”*. These are scented deodorant cushions in the form of two fabric bananas. These are pushed into the shoes by climbers in order to make them odorless.
Odor control is achieved on the one hand with the components salt, which absorbs moisture from the climbing shoe, and with similarly acting minerals. In addition, however, unpleasant smells are superimposed by the boot bananas – namely by means of lavender, citrus oil, tea tree oil and patchouli scent. The tea tree oil it contains is also a natural fungicide or pesticide that is also effective against athlete’s foot.
The used boot bananas should be dried regularly in the sun or on the heating. The longer you use the scented bananas, the browner they get. They thus indicate that they are saturated with removed substances and should be renewed. With boot bananas, which are used in frequently worn climbing shoes, you can expect a service life of about half a year. If they are not used for a long time, the boot bananas should be stored in an airtight bag after drying.
Otherwise, the following tips are helpful against unpleasant smells in climbing shoes:
- Reduce bacterial growth through thorough aeration and drying
- Good foot hygiene before and after climbing
- Dry your feet carefully after each wash
- After washing, apply deodorizing foot balm* to the feet, as they sweat less quickly.
- Alternatively, use a foot powder*.
- Wash your climbing shoes in a bucket with soapy water.
- Pour a pack of natron* into the shoe and leave it in the climbing shoes overnight.
Bottom Line
The initial question of whether you should climb with or without socks was answered with yes and no if you take it exactly. That’s the question that divides the spirits. The majority of male climbers see a disadvantage in wearing climbing shoes with socks. Whether this also applies to ambitious female climbing fans cannot be determined without a survey of a large number of persons.
Climbing women may be more inclined to reach for socks than men. However, no one can derive a reliable statistical value from the evaluated forum entries. The only fair answer we have is: Every climbing fan has to find an answer to this question himself. In an emergency, a comparison on the climbing wall will help.
Attention: You have to take care of your safety when climbing! The information on climbtheearth.com only helps you to learn. Before you climb, you should make sure that you have been properly instructed by an expert and that you follow all safety precautions.
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