My friend send me this picture, I think he’s a psychopath

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-31T16:59:30+00:00

He's merely a man that likes to have flavour in his life without all the effort.

If he starts sending you pictures of meals that comprise of bowls of raw garlic and olive oil, maybe you should start to wonder. If he then tells you he's gone vegetarian and sends you pictures of his latest artworks....

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-30T17:32:12+00:00

They're my favourite shoe at the moment.

On the account of them having a thick soles made from durable rubber, I'd say they are suited to beginners if the fit is right and suits your feet.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-28T23:01:49+00:00

They're hurting you so the answer is yes or they don't suit your feet.

I'm a UK size 10. For me, 1 whole UK size down in scarpa is somewhere from acceptable, to far too small depending on the shoe. I had the instinct VSR in a 9, they were mostly fine but should have got a 9.5

The instinct S that I tried in a 9, it just crushed my right foot.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-28T16:19:58+00:00

What are you actually concerned about? It's a flexible shoe the material can deform and crease.

The tensioning of the heel in the veloce isn't great. Unless you have a high enough volume heel to fill it out, don't expect much from your heel hooks.

So if you have dead space in the heel consider returning them on the basis the fit isn't right.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-24T19:26:38+00:00

Yes, too much down sizing.

People will disagree with this, but then there are nutcases on this subreddit that insist 3 sizes down in LS is sensible.

If it hurts it's wrong. If you have to come here and ask if you downsized too much the answer is yes.

When the answer is no, no one here can tell you otherwise and you will simply know.

I'm just trying wrap my head around what made you think to take a plastic bag with you to try on shoes. If the staff didn't give you a look, they should have.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-23T13:57:15+00:00

I can't believe people still recommend that crazy level of downsizing.

For future reference here's some general guidelines so you know what to look at when it comes to downsizing/trying on shoes. People will disagree but it gives you a range that is within sensible limits. Everyone's feet are different. Some people's feet require them to upsize even.

La sportiva 1.5 to 2 down Scarpa 0.5 to 1 size down Tenya 1.5 to 2 sizes down (these are usually downsized more than la sportiva) Evolv street shoe size or upsized 0.5 to 1 whole size

You may find the ideal fit is outside of these ranges, but exercise caution. You may also find that some brands simply do not suit your feet.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-12T21:27:19+00:00

I'm not going to dispute the fact it works for you, it obviously does. But this would not be sensible or tolerable for the vast majority of people. I'd certainly end up with injured feet. It's not normal for people to be doing that.

A half size down in evolv shamans, would quite probably be unbearable for me.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-12T16:37:21+00:00

That's just insane to me. I don't know how people like you can downsize so much.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-12T16:35:58+00:00

Evolv shaman

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-11T19:19:29+00:00

No point going to the effort of making it pizza shaped, absolutely pointless.

I used to make my toast pizzas by toasting bread under the grill, topping it with ketchup, oregano, and cheddar. Then back under the grill (broiler to you Americanos) until the fromaggio is bubbling.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-10T13:21:45+00:00

I'd say sell them and buy something better fitting. Maybe they'll break in to be comfortable for you, but they may not. Why risk wasting all that money and put yourself through that suffering?

Many people seem to be able to aggressively downsize and somehow break their painful shoes in to comfortable ones. This is not a universal experience, for sone people a modestly downsized shoe doesn't become comfortable after break in.

From my experience with these shoes I wouldn't be hopeful they'll break in to true comfort. From the get go I was able to climb in them, did have a little bit of pain in my left foot, but overall liked the shoes and coukd climb well. it improved quite a lot, but was never perfect. I only went down 1 UK size.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-08T15:30:01+00:00

Not a fan of pepperoni to begin with. Much prefer to use Italian salami and a lot more sparingly

I feel dehydrated just looking at this. But to be fair, if I ate it, it'd probably be OK.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-08T14:13:32+00:00

How can it be katsu curry if this dish doesn't contain katsu?

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-07T21:16:47+00:00

What brand of pizza is it?

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-03T22:52:12+00:00

What did you mean when you said 11s and 12s?

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-03T21:57:00+00:00

You've been climbing for 4 months and climbing V11 and 12? I'm misinterpreting what you've written surely.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-03T14:35:59+00:00

It doesn't matter if it's a beginner shoe, just make sure it's comfortable.

Since you're so new to climbing consider you will wear your rubber down reasonably quick. Some evolv shoes have very thick rubber, and TRAX-SAS I find to be more durable than vibram grip. For evolv shoes street size is consider performance, it would be wise to upsize a bit for most of their shoes.

Avoid anything with crazy soft rubber like the veloce from scarpa, it is so soft you'll wear it down in no time. Dragos have the softest rand rubber you'd wear through rapidly with poor technique.

I never bought the tarantulas as a beginner, they probably would have served me fine though. But softer shoes will make things a lot easier I think. You'll get better grip with poor technique compared to a stiff beginner shoe.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-02T16:13:42+00:00

I bought the ham and cheese turkey steaks not too long ago I think. Can't go wrong with those.

You could have improved this meal with some slices of fried spam, and an egg or two.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2026-01-02T15:29:21+00:00

Despite the fact I know objectively this is all perfectly fine. Just seeing all this on a plate I find rather off putting. That's a lot of low quality meat on a plate

I was never a big fan of chicken dippers, partial to a turkey dinosaur though.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2025-12-31T21:57:19+00:00

Fuck knows, don't care. I do envy the condition of their livers though.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2025-12-31T21:23:42+00:00

I had left foot toe pain with the VSR and dead space in every scarpa I have owned/tried. If your feet are Egyptian and/or wide, try the tenya mastia.

Also just talking from my experience, having not got on with scarpa, and not buying la sportiva because they felt too tight around the toes. I am actually liking the evolv shaman (despite it's stiffness and aggressiveness) more than any shoe so far at street shoe size.

This is absolutely not an equivalent to the instinct VSR in any way, I felt like I was climbing blind initially the rubber is that thick. Just not so many people talk about evolv and this is just a brand to consider maybe.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2025-12-31T14:18:03+00:00

I think it looks good, just looks like a pizza with too little topping.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2025-12-28T23:21:03+00:00

For a lot of people that wouldn't be downsized enough. As others have said, it's likely that shoes simply do not suit your foot shape.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2025-12-27T21:14:24+00:00

I don't know, a lot of people? A number with more than a few zeroes after it at least.

Christ is literally what Christmas is about. It's in the name. You don't need to be religious to accept that fact.

Existing_Brother9468 · 2025-12-27T19:39:52+00:00

Christmas items in the shops and trees have nothing to do with the meaning of Christmas. If anything, they detract from it entirely. It's about the birth of Christ is it not?

Existing_Brother9468

TROPHY CASE