Why stiff, rigid boot soles

Hales Smut

Well-Known Member
The extra rigid sole unit prevents the boots from flexing excessively across the toes, the common point for other boots to fail.

This is what a website says about a certain type of boot. My personal experience is the inverse. A boot which has a more flexible sole lets you feel a small stick before it breaks, lets you feel rocks when you climb them and most of all, more flex seems to keep your toes warmer. My impression is that toes get cold quicker in stiff boots.

Opinions please.
 
It's horses for courses, the stiff ones allow you to use the edge to support you on very steep slopes. On really cutting sharp rock soft soles are very hard on your feet.

David.
 
It's horses for courses, the stiff ones allow you to use the edge to support you on very steep slopes.
David.
What puzzles me is that people climbing those very steep rocks with very little gear use those tiny shoes just to have better feeling of the slightest edge.
 
Boots come in different stiffness for support. As stated above, you want a stiff sole if you are carrying a backpack and walking on rocks. You don't want to feel any rocks. If you are just hiking on grass and leaves, with a day pack, you want a lighter boot and more flexible sole. If you look at catalogs from real boot makers, like Danner, Asolo, Vasque, Meindl, you will see how they are divided into grades.
 
The original pure rock climbing boots were called kletterschuhs - we used to call them kletts for short. They were like heavy duty plimsoles - great for technical rock climbing on bare rocks but terrible for anything else. Too tight with smooth rubber soles.- A nightmare anywhere else other than on clean rock.
Proper mountain climbing boots are designed to protect the climber in many different environments i.e. the real world. They are heavier, bigger & come with vibram type soles & obviously not quite as good for pure rock climbing. Horses for courses. It is important to match the boot to the application & environment - there is no single design that does it all.

Ian
 
What puzzles me is that people climbing those very steep rocks with very little gear use those tiny shoes just to have better feeling of the slightest edge.


those climbing shoes only bend one way
the side to side pliability is almost zero so they can edge
the soles are flexible and have very soft rubber so they can smear the rock and use physical grip from the soft sole rather than mechanical grip from a contour

not really a good comparison

I have some 4 season boots capable of taking crampons with a rigid sole, I use them on the hill
takes a while to figure out you have to alter your foot placement as you walk but easy once you get used to them
also very good to digging toes in and using them like a crampon in soft steep hills

the twig thing isn't a problem as it is mainly heather and hill
 
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