Climbing shoes do an insanely good job of sticking to rock. To do so, they have to leave a little bit of rubber behind, just like your tires do on the road.
Every time you push off a foothold, you leave a little bit of your shoe behind. This is why, on certain rock types (I’m looking at you, Rifle), well-traveled footholds start to feel pretty polished.
It’s also why climbing shoes wear out far more frequently than we would like. When the rubber starts to wear out on a shoe, most of the shoe is still good — often, it’s only the most used portion of the toe that gives out.
To fix the problem, climbers started resoling their shoes by taking off (part of) the original sole and replacing it with a fresh layer of rubber.
Nowadays, options abound for how to get this done — different resolers, new types of rubber of varying thicknesses, and a variety of repair possibilities. You can even resole approach shoes.
There are also plenty of questions first timers will likely ask themselves about this process:
Anatomy of a Climbing Shoe
First things first — in order to understand what happens during a resole, we need to understand how climbing shoes fit together.
There are two important pieces of your shoe to identify.
- Sole. The part that covers the bottom. You use it whenever you step on a foothold. The sole usually wears the most, and it’s what you’re using for most of your climbing.
- Rand. A layer of rubber wrapping around the front of the toes and the side of the foot
As an important note, the rand is not designed to take the same abuse as the sole. “The rands are not intended to be climbed on, they’re intended to hold your toes down.
Once your sole is worn through and you start climbing on the rand, your shoe won’t be functioning as it’s supposed to anymore.
In between the sole and the rand is a visible line where the sole was added. Keep an eye on this line — it’s what determines how worn your shoes areand whether you’re due for a resole.
When Should I Resole My Climbing Shoes?
Resole too early, and you’re wasting perfectly good rubber. Resole too late, and you risk paying (much) more for your resole, or even damaging your shoes beyond repair.
The key for good resoles is to climb only on the soleof your shoe. When the amount of rubber below the visible line separating the rand and sole starts to get thin, you’ll see that the sole starts to recede.
If you continue climbing on your shoes after there’s no sole left, your shoes will start to lose performance, and the rubber contacting the rock will be from the rand (the part above the line). At that point, you’re damaging structural elements of the shoe.
Remember the line between the sole and the rand?
“As a general thing that I will tell people, the seam needs to be intact. You can generally look around the pinkie toe or around the ball of the foot and you’ll get an idea of what the original thickness of the sole is. And as you travel around to the toe, if you see an edge [even if it’s only a millimeter or two], then that gives you an idea. If it’s rounded and you can’t see an edge, then the rubber’s paper thin and it’s about to wear down.”
If you spend too long climbing on your rand, it will thin and eventually wear through. If the rand is damaged, you’ll need toecaps or rand repair (at minimum).
Instead, if you want to get a resole, stop climbing on your shoes as soon as you see that the sole has receded to the point where you’d start climbing on the rand. That way, you can stick to a standard half resole and avoid damaging your shoes.
What Does a Resole Get You?
When you send in your shoes to be resoled, the most basic option is a half resole. This means that all the resoler will do is replace the sole from the midsole forward.
If your shoe needs more extensive repairs, the resoler may need to add toecaps or do more custom work.
In either case, what you get at the end is a shoe with a fresh sole and a new edge to climb on.
The rest of the shoe will come back in largely the same condition you left it. In some cases, a resole will alter the shape or fit of the shoe. “It is our intent not to”. When necessary, however, he errs on the smaller side: “My theory is, I would rather make it slightly tighter than how it came in, so that you can stretch into it.”
If you climb in a downturned shoe, resolers can restore some of the original shape as well.
Still, shoe care is the real key: “We can sculpt the shoe and make it look really good on a shelf, but how the person treats the shoe will greatly affect the longevity of how the shoe is sculpted. If someone is belaying in a downturn shoe, climbing cracks in a downturn shoe, getting them extremely impregnated with sweat, all those things will affect the sculpture of the shoe”
In my experience, these factors also depend on the resoler — some will consistently send the shoe back tighter than it was before, and some won’t.
I don’t know if there are methodological differences, but depending on your preferences, this is one more reason why (if you choose to resole) it’s worth finding a company you trust.
The Importance of Shoe Care
It is quick to stress that how well you care for your shoes is one of the most important factors in getting your money’s worth. “I think of it as a car that you’re redoing the engine. The rust isn’t going away, or the squeaks in the suspension, but we’re getting it running again. And if that person continues to run it without oil, then you’re not going to get as much out of your car.”
To preserve your shoes, don’t wear them when you’re not climbing. Don’t walk around in them. Don’t belay in them. Give them space to air out after uses so that they don’t become caked with sweat.
And try not to use them for purposes that stretch their design — climbing a crack might mangle your brand new pair of Dragons.
By and large, however, resoling is still a cost-effective way to get new rubber. It has the added advantage of being more eco-friendly: the more you resole, the fewer pairs of shoes you have to throw away.
Koriumlab blog 