Climbing shoes

I wear pfanner chainsaw boots as the last they use seems to fit my feet perfectly - zermatts for climbing and Tirol for working in the woods.
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I was pretty bummed when I picked out new Carolina AND Georgia loggers from the Grainger catalog at work, and learned they don’t use Vibram soles anymore. Cheap bastards.So far the Carolinas are holding up ok, and I haven’t worn these Georgias yet. The Vibram logger soles are pretty much the standard for logger boots.
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I wear nicks, hand stiched in kevlar so they don't burn up. Vibram soles and vibram soles when you resole them. Best money I've ever spent on work boots, wear them both for construction and trees.
 
Got some Hathorne (Whites) wild land firefighter loggers, LeHigh loggers that are really nice but still hard to break in, Georgia, Carolinas, La Sportiva Makalus, La Sportiva Makalu GTX, La Sportiva Karakorams, Pac lineman boots by Whites for severe cold, the Merrell Moab II, and a pair of Keens, I think the Mount Vernon.

Between free boots from work once or twice a year and occasional shopping on eBay over the last 20 years, the boot collection has kinda spiraled out of control. Few pairs of Doc Martens and Doc Marten Industrials too, the Industrial aren’t bad at all for climbing, just a bit heavy for a 6” high boot. Still got my hot and cold weather Army issued desert boots too, Belleville, they’re nice. The hot weather ones feel like sneakers, pretty sure the soles are made by Vibram on both those pairs too.

Any of the loggers with steel shank are great for spur climbing, and I guess I’d choose the Keens for SRT or other spur less climbing. Never tried the spikes with the Keens. The Makalu are comfy for any climbing, but the durability is a bit poor I think. Gotta go over all of those with the shoe goo.
 
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Diggin this thread. Gonna look for Vibram sole and rubber rand. Gonna have to do it soon before the $25 Goodyear boots fall apart 😁
 
Rubber rand is a must for longevity.

Check out the Aku range. The cresta model I posted is no longer made sadly. My first pair are still going 8 years onS. I picked up another pair at an arb show for a hundred quid on sale,old stock.
 
I can not speak for the durability or longevity of these shoes as I have only had them for a short time. But for the short time I have really grown to love the Lowa zephyr mid tf. I think I would probably like the highs better but they do not carry them at the store I got them at. Full disclosure they are not water proof boots which is what made my search so hard for a good boot. In the desert there is no need for that silliness. They have a 3/4 shank that I find gives the support I need with offering a little flexibility as well. The outsole is soft enough to not damage bark. I have found the longer I wear them the more I like them, they offer great support for hauling brush and while standing on branches.

The second most important part of the boot is the socks you wear. I have been sold on these socks made out of merino wool made by Darn tough. They are 100% unconditionally guaranteed for life which makes the $25 price tag easier to swallow. I bought a couple different types of there socks and other makes of socks and found thier hiking micro crew light weight with cushion to be the best for me, so far. They make a cool max sock that I'm going to have to try and also a lightweight work sock too. With the weather starting to heat up, the week before I got these socks I was already bringing another pair of socks to change out half way through the job and with these socks I have stopped having to change socks, so far. We will see how they do once it get over 100. But in the 90 they are doing better than any other sock I have tried. Full disclosure I haven't tried that many socks, just some cotton socks and a couple of different synthetic socks.


Ps that's right I have a ripped log in my house, cats love it and I use it as a perch some times
 

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Wool's the only way to go for socks. Aside from the occasional one-off, it's all I've worn since ~1990
 
What's your definition of hot weather? I get that wool breathes, but a thicker sock is going to be hotter no matter what. I've got wool socks too, and they are hotter than my cheap fruit of the loom cotton blend ones.
 
I wear wool socks in all weather, hot as it gets...even triple digits. Assuming I need to be in boots or shoes :).
 
darn tough makes different weights of socks, i use the lightest weight socks they have and they are like a regular synthetic sock, but i got the hiker model witch had cushion on the bottom of the sock and around the heal and over the toes and in the 90 degree weather we have had the past couple of weeks i could tell that it was already a big improvement over the cotton and other synthetic socks, like the ones under armor makes. my foot has been less wet and i haven't had to change out socks since i got the merino wool socks. if you are contemplating getting a pair, i would recommend darn tough brand, first off they are the best feeling socks i have plus the sweat thing and they have a life time unconditional warranty that you dont need the receipt just the socks and you send them into the company and they give you a code to order free ones off their website. they have a bunch of different models with different cushion patterns around the sock that uses terry loops that are super comftorble. i wood suggest their hiking, working or tactical activity of socks. in a few weeks i will let you know how the socks feel in 100 degree weather, its supposed to be 98 with in a week.

these are the ones i have

these are the next ones im going to get


if you are looking at socks at darn tough pay attention to the cushion details on the page, the cushion is where the terry loops are
 
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