HI,

I have a pair of Evolve shoes ( They are quite new I have only used them twice), they fit fine except my big toes get quite sore when I ware them. They are an 11 which is my regular size. A friend of mine said I should soak them in hot water then put them on to mold them better to my feet. Is this a good idea? With they fit better naturally over time? Comments?

Have you looked at their website: http://www.evolvesports.com/service-sizing.htm

Seems they scale the shoes so that your usual street size should be the right size. U.S size 11 equal: 270 mm foot length. How long have you been climbing? Perhaps your feet will adjust. I've tried to stretch shoes before using water etc. Didn't seem to work.

The leather in the shoes will stretch over time but not by much. I new pair of shoes take a little to wear in just like a a good pair of hiking boot.

How many hours have you sent in them?
Personally i would not do anything until you have spent a good few hours in then (my new shoes took about 8 hours of climbing in them to wear in)

Evolv shoes have Synthetic leather, so they wont stretch with a size or two but they will mold to the shape of your foot. But when your shoes molded your climbing shoes will be a half a size bigger. Give it a week or so for them to mold. Soon they will be comfortable and perfect for those hard ascents.

Rather than putting shoes into water, (I would not put mine into hot water for fear of the rubber peeling!) put the shoes on before a session and rub water onto them, then spend as much time climbing in them (wet again when necessary).
As mentioned leather will stretch more than synthetic (bare this in mind before choosing your size.

_________________
Climb ZA - Administrator

Thanx for the replies.
@PaulB I have just started climbing again after a 7 year break when I was at junior school.

@Gripit These are the first pair of shoes I have ever bought. I have only climbed in them twice, probably making a total of 1 hour wearing them.

I think will give them a good +-8 hour’s use (God help my toes) and see how they feel after that. Maybe it IS a bit soon to start worrying about fit??

Hey man! you should definitely be wary of heating your shoes in hot water to get them to fit! most climbing shoes these days are made using a heat activated glue as it enables faster production times. the tolerance of that glue is only about 40 degrees celsius so it is possible to re-activate your glue if you leave your shoes in a hot car. which results in falling apart shoes

probably one of the best bets is to let your shoes get warm (not hot) but warm as that enables synthetics to stretch a good 10-15% and improves the performance of the rubber.