5 tips for taking care of your rock climbing shoes
Personally, I am a bit obsessive about the care of my rock gear, especially my shoes. I spent too much money to let them rot. Here's a couple of tips to help keep them as good as new.
1. Wear a thin liner sock while climbing. I personally don't because my shoes would not fit the way I like them, but my buddy does it to keep the smell out. Wearing socks also helps keep the dirt out of the shoes.
2. Brush your shoe rubber with a toothbrush. When done climbing, take a toothbrush, probably one you are not using for your teeth, and dry brush the bottoms and tops of your shoes rubber. After I dry brush them, I'll lightly wet the brush and brush off the rubber then dry with a towel. IMPORTANT: Make sure to brush from toe to heel and do not put too much muscle into it or you will ruin the rubber.
3. Hang them, to get the smell out I clip them together with a biner and hang them from a line to let the smell sulck out. If you open the laces/velcro all the way you'll get more air circulation in there. I have read other climbers using odor eater sprays as well.
4. Put dryer sheets in shoes When hanging your shoes to dry, put dryer sheets in them. The sheets will actually dry out your shoes much faster then if you just let them dry on their own, plus it helps them smell fresh when stored in a bag.
5. Most importantly, do not store in sunlight/hot places It'll weaken the overall shoe/rubber.
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Meet the Author:
Steve
W Weiss: Snowboarder, Climber, Beer drinker...oh and Blogger.
Cleveland-native who moved West to Utah to fulfill a life of mountain
fun. Keep up with me on my Twitter or Facebook!
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