The 10 Best Bouldering Shoes for Beginners

MY TOP PICK

Scarpa Vapor V

 If your vertical adventures go higher than a 6-foot boulder, then you might want to think about a shoe that can handle a range of climbing styles. In my option, the Vapour V represents the ultimate ‘quiver of one’ shoe and one of the best climbing shoes for beginners on the market right now.

Of course, the Vapour V is more than capable of helping on those tricky boulder projects. The medium-stiff profile created by the 4m of Vibram XS Edge is great for those tiny chips and techie problems, while the split sole helps hike up big volumes with ease. The heel is also similar to the design found on the Scarpa Instinct models, so cranking hard on a heel hook is a breeze. The clever Scarpa tension systems help keep the shoe suctioned to your foot, while the paddle split tongue and velcro straps help keep the shoe feeling nice and comfortable.

Features like these (and many others) make this shoe capable of so much more than just wrestling boulders. The Vapor V is perfect for single-pitch top-roping and sport climbing as well as dabbling with the world of multi-pitch climbing. In my books, this is a ‘do it all’ shoe with solid all around capabilities.

The Vapor V might be a little more performance-oriented than most of my other shortlist suggestions but this is a shoe that will remain in your collection long after you leave the beginner walls behind.

BEST INDOOR BOULDERING SHOE

Scarpa Veloce

My favorite indoor bouldering shoe for beginners challenges the common conception that new climbers need a stiff and clunky shoe. In fact, the Veloce goes in the complete opposite direction; it’s extremely soft, sensitive, and ridiculously comfortable.

There’s a good reason why Scarpa chose to do this. If you are spending most of your time bouldering indoors, you will undoubtedly benefit from a softer shoe. Soft shoes work particularly well for gym climbing because the holds are generally larger and more rounded. This means your foot usually has more surface area contact with the wall, so you a shoe that can conform and mold its sticky rubber around holds is a huge benefit.

While the Veloce is brilliant for smearing, overhangs, and slabby problems, If you are completely new to climbing, this might not be the right shoe for you just yet. Brand new climbers will most likely get more of benefit from a shoe that has a stiffer platform as this will nurture better footwork technique. This also allows you to get used to holding your body weight on your toes, something the Veloce struggles with when it comes to smaller edges.

That said, if you have a bit of gym experience under your belt and are ready for something a bit softer, the Veloce is a brilliant bouldering gym workhorse.

The semi-supportive platform makes this ideal for intermediates crushing in the gym on a regular basis. They are a solid pair of training shoes to help you develop your abilities, and the rounded toe box puts less strain on your toes (it’s also great for Roman-footed climbers!)

BEST OUTDOOR BOULDERING SHOE

La Sportiva Miura VS

If you are doing a lot of bouldering outside, stiffer climbing shoe is a good choice. Footholds are generally a lot smaller and sharper than in a gym, so you are going to need a shoe that can handle these small points of contact.

Side note: There are exceptions to this rule. For example, if you’re going to be climbing on a lot of soft rock or polished limestone in tropical temperatures, then you are probably going to want a softer shoe. Don’t worry about this too much though – you’re still a beginner after all!

While its not strictly a beginner shoe, the Miura VS is more than capable of helping you find your feet on the boulders and so much more. The aggressive downturn lends this shoe to the vertically challenging boulders, while it’s profile gives you confidence standing on the smallest of flakes and crystals. These shoes are no slouch in the gym either, the Miura has no problem crushing a crimpy V7 at your local gym.

The Miura is hugely versatile, with the male and female variations having both a lace and velcro option. Both styles are great but the velcro version is slightly higher volume so lends its self slightly better to wide-footed climber and will also stretch slightly more as it only uses a partly lined upper. The simple ease  of a Velcro closure is also an undeniable benefit for both indoor and outdoor climbing.

Our team has spent hundreds of hours climbing in the Miura models and it is up there as one of our favorite all-round climbing shoes.

BEST FOR BUDGETS

La Sportiva Tarantula

The Tarantula is a tried and tested beginner climbing shoe. This shoe has been one of La Sportiva’s best sellers for over a decade thanks to its beginner-friendly features, long life span, and attractive price tag.

For the climbers on a budget that are looking for a shoe that will outlast their footwork, the Tarantula is a worthy choice. Though designed with comfort in mind, this shoe still delivers a respectable level of performance. The updated 2021 model looks great but included some important upgrades that give the shoe a little performance boost too. 

The recent upgrades to the shoes mean that the Tarantula now come with an improved heel cup and rand design, which helps create a suction-like fit whilst improve heel hooking ability. The tongue is also now made of a breathable mesh, allowing for better breathability and temperature regulation.

The Tarantula has a flat and stiff profile, providing bags of support on slabby and vertical walls. The slight asymmetrical shape also gives this shoe a more precise edge compared to other beginner models. They’ll leave you comfortably balancing on all but the smallest footholds.

The trade-off to these shoes’ durability is the lack of sensitivity. The Tarantula uses 4mm of FriXion rubber, which is seriously durable stuff, but lacks the ability to feel the variation in holds or small edges. 

Though certainly no technical wiz or overhang-crushing phenomenon, most beginners find the Tarantulas are more than suitable enough as their first pair of shoes.  And once you are ready to move on to the harder stuff, these are still a great pair of trad climbing shoes.

This shoe is available in both a lace-up and velcro version in both the women’s and men’s lines, so chances are you should be able to find a version that fits your foot. We recommend sizing down about one size down from street shoe size.

BEST FOR ALL TERRAIN

Five Ten NIAD VCS

If you are new to climbing, you are probably unaware of how popular Five Ten shoes were in the 90s and early 2000s. This American-made company was killing it back then. Their Stealth rubber was seriously ground-breaking stuff, and Five Ten were consistently ahead of the game when it came to introducing revolutionary shoe tech.

Of all their great shoes, one of their most popular lines was the Anasazi range; a collection that were the shoes of choice of all the crushers of the day. However, after Five Ten was bought over by Adidas in 2011, many fans started to question the build quality and performance of the company’s shoes. 

Fast forward to 2021, and Five Ten has released the next-generation version of this shoe, the NIAD range, consisting of three new shoes; the VCS, Lace, and Moccasym.

After putting all three through their paces, I think these shoes have managed to shake off many of the problems that plagued some of the Anasazi models in latter years. The NIAD VCS was the standout model which I think is an ideal beginner climbing shoe. 

Its flat last and medium-stiff profile offers a comfort level and foot position that beginners will appreciate, yet the shoe still packs a punch when it comes to on-wall performance. The upgraded 3D heel is extremely comfortable and offers a great induction into the world of hooking, as does the new toe patch. 

The Stealth rubber offers bucket loads of friction on both rock and plastic, yet is durable enough to forgive the clumsy technique of beginners.

BEST OF THE REST

La Sportiva Zenit

A recent addition to the La Sportiva line, the Zenit was created especially for beginner gym rats looking to bridge the gap between beginner and performance shoes. For this shoe, La Sportiva opted for something a pretty different from their usual signature style of construction. 

For starters, the design team decided to use a synthetic knit for the upper and tongue. Using this material might seem like an odd move for the Italian shoemakers, but any climbers who spend multiple days a week in a hot and sticky gym will appreciate the amazing breathability this material brings to the table.  It also helps keep the shoe extremely comfortable and allows it to easily adapt to the width and volume of your forefoot. 

The injection moulded heel is another unique feature that might seem a bit out of place in the LS shoe line, but seems to make perfect sense for the Zenit. The 3D shape allows for superior fitting heel cup and extends down the forefoot which offers support when standing on smaller footholds.  

You might be wondering what is the difference between the Zenit and the Tarantula. One of the main differences (aside from the knit upper and heel design) is the Vibram XS Grip half sole on the Zenit, which offers far superior friction than the FriXion rubber of the Tarantula.

BEST OF THE REST

Boreal Joker

Boreal was another prominent name in the pre-2000 climbing scene. They are frequently credited with creating, what many consider, the first modern climbing shoe. For decades they were leading the charge when it came to shoes that could crush hard, favored by climbing royalty like Lynn Hill, John Bachar, and Wolfgang Güllich.

While Boreal’s marketing effort and general awareness might have taken a back seat in the last few decades, the company still creates a wide range of hugely underrated climbing shoes.

One model the beginner boulders will appreciate is the Boreal Joker. The Joker has been a staple of the Boreal line for well over 15 years, and is an ideal beginner bouldering shoe for those on a tight budget. It’s one of the cheapest climbing shoes around and is surprisingly high-quality given the price tag.

The latest generation model has received a few modern upgrades. One of the most unique features of the Joker is the cushioned heel, designed to absorb impact when jumping off a boulder, taking a wall collision, or just walking between boulders.

Another cool feature is the active randing system, which helps keep its shape over time, whilst helping keep the shoe precise and suction tightly around the foot. 

Be warned though, once you start pushing harder grades, you will probably find that the Joker will hit its limit as a bouldering shoe pretty quick. However, the benefit to buying a quality beginner bouldering like this is that, once you graduate to a more performance-oriented model, you can keep the Jokers in your collection for those all-day multi-pitching adventures or gym training days.

BEST OF THE REST

Evolv Defy

The Defy is one of the OG’s of the Evolv line and is the company’s answer to similar entry-level models like the Tarantula and the Joker. 

Being the cheapest shoe in the American climbing companies line, the Defy has a no-frills approach to shoe construction, don’t expect world-class crushing performance from them. There’s no toe patch, so don’t expect to be doing any bat hangs, and the heel isn’t exactly highly tensioned, so isn’t great for hooking. 

Where they do exel, however, is helping beginner climbers build their confidence on the wall without breaking the bank. The Defy are very comfortable, thanks to their lined uppers, padded tongue, and neutral shape. The full length midsole provides all the support you need to balance on those little edges all day while the TRAX SAS rubber will have you strolling up the slabby boulder problems with ease. 

Budget friendly, brilliant outsole rubber and vegan-friendly! What more do you need from a beginner climbing shoe?

BEST OF THE REST

Evolv Kronos/Kira

The Evolv Kronos (and its women’s model, the Kira) is a shoe that will feel at home on moderate and intermediate terrain. Being the big brother of the Defy, the Kronos is marketed as a high-end shoe, although I certainly don’t think beginners should shy away. It’s a technical shoe with an intuitive feel so even a beginner will feel comfortable wielding them.

The Kronos/Kira has a slightly more cambered shape and a more performance oriented heel and toe design than the Defy. It’ll feel most at home when edging and smearing on vertical and slabby walls. That being said, they’ll do just fine slight overhangs and modern bouldering styles. That generous toe patch and snug heel are to thank for that.

The Kronos/Kira has a sticky 4.2mm of Trax SAS rubber and a full-length 1.2mm midsole, which creates a medium-stiff profile. Like many Evolv climbing shoes, they are built with variation in then rand’s rubber thickness: thinner rubber on the typical pressure points and hot spots, while the toe boasts a thicker patch for durability. For beginner climbers who might wear through rubber quickly, this is a brilliant addition.

Keep in mind when sizing these bad boys that they are made with a synthetic material, so the stretch will be minimal.

BEST OF THE REST

Five Ten NIAD Moccasym

The final shoe on my shortlist is the Five Ten NIAD Moccasym. Another iconic Five Ten shoe to receive the 2021 upgrade, the Moccasym is one absolute classic and this 21st-century version. 

While the shoe isn’t specifically designed for beginners, Five Ten have packed in a lot into this relatively inexpensive slipper. It’s pretty soft, although not as soft as the Veloce, so there is still a bit of support to help new feet on smaller chips. The new and improved slingshot rand makes the shoe significantly more secure than the old model and the massive toe patch lends itself to toe hooking and jamming.