Mad Rock Men's Flash 2.0 Climbing Shoe

First off, if you are a new climber, meaning this is your first pair of shoes, look no further. Buy these, nuff said. If you're looking for something in a shoe that this one doesn't have, then you shouldn't classify yourself as a new climber.I'd recommend a half size down, maybe full size if that suits you better (my foot is really fat). But keep in mind that these are not super aggressive shoes. You can wear these things all day, and where some shoes sacrifice performance for comfort, this one does not. With it being winter I do all my climbing indoors right now, and I haven't climbed outdoors with these shoes, so I won't try to make assumptions about how they will preform out there.These are easy to put on, they fit well to your foot, and the Velcro straps actually strap down pretty tight, however, and this is the ONLY complaint I have about the shoe, just because I really do prefer lace ups, a third Velcro strap down closer to the toe would be nice for peace of mind, but the shoes still preform like it's there (I don't know how to explain it). My wall at school has a pretty tough crack (v10.11 is the informal rating of it with a crux that is more like a 12+) and the first time I wore these I cleaned it, It's the first 11 I've finished. I couldn't be happier with the shoe.They're also amazing for bouldering. The heel is so comfortable, I could fall asleep in a heel hook, It also is designed to let you put in heel hooks where most shoes would peel right off. I literally could not be happier with these shoes. But hey, my opinion isn't the most knowledgeable. I googled best shoes of 2012 and the original flash's had outstanding reviews, and won best value/best beginner shoe hands down. After a little reading I decided on these over the originals but I highly encourage you to read a bit about both shoes. From what I learned the only real difference is the rubber used, the new rubber is supposed to be much stickier (I felt like spider man, if only they would make gloves out of this stuff..), there's impact gell in the heel (which I did actually notice makes a nice little difference), the heel has been redesigned a bit, and they changed the synthetic used on the inside of the shoe.Final note on these shoes, climbing is a unique sport because there are very different ways to do a lot of stuff. All climbers have to some extent their own style, just because I love this shoe doesn't necessarily mean you will to. Understand the return policy, try your shoes on when you get them, and take good care of them especially when they're new, if they just don't work for you clean them and see if you can return them. I love this shoe, but I understand that there are probably hundreds of shoes I haven't heard of or tried on. To my knowledge however, this is the best beginner shoe on the market right now.

These seem to be the cheapest shoe on amazon. I started with these as my first shoe. They performed excellent. I'm now about 7 months into climbing and I will say that I need a better shoe for more advanced routes. These do have a lot of bend and give to them, almost "slipper" like. Very comfortable and great if you're just starting out, but if you're looking to stand on tiny little foot chips, these wont hold up. Plus they are a little slippery on the bottom. But I am impressed at how they never showed any major signs of wear after this long.

These were my first pair of climbing shoes, comfy but effective.

My first rock climbing shoes I bought. If you are new to climbing, it will fit a little uncomfortable. There should be no space in between any part of your shoe and foot. The leather will conform to your feet over time.I had this shoe for about a year, climbing about 2 days a week, both indoors and outdoors. I beat the crap outta these shoes and I don't want to give it up. No regrets.

this shoe is truly amazing and at a very good price too i can jam this any where, smear any surface, and heel hook anything even grip corners with the toe and have complete confidence that it would stick i havent tried it without any socks because i think thats gross and cant wear shoes without any socks but its comfortable enough to wear all day without my feet getting sore and works well enough for me to rely on it i would buy these shoes if you are a beginner if you arent you may want to look into other shoes but i love this shoe and does anything and everything i need it to

I have had the Mad Rock flash since it was introduced and love it. This new version is slightly larger (5 mm) than de old version which is a shame, but I may just try a half a size smaller next time. The shoe is comfortable and fits snugly around your foot. The rubber is very sticky and heel hooks are solid. I use them for sport climbing and some bouldering.Some have said it is a beginner's shoe. I disagree. The old version wears slightly faster than other brands I have tried (La Sportiva, Boreal), but the price is unbeatable.I recommend this shoe and will be getting a new pair once my current pair wears out.

Well, yes, they fit small. However, that seems to be the rule. I wear a women's 7.5 in a KEEN shoe, 8 in a boot, and 38 in a pair of Five Fingers. So, after some absolute stupidity in sizing, styling, and pricing, I settled on these in a 39. A similar Mad Rock shoe in 41 was more comfortable in the toe box, but did not allow a great heel fit, and the leather upper at the toe box was just gape-y. (A "quasi-toe-do on my left foot didn't like the room in the 41 either!) Back to the 39's...The fit is great in the heel, toe curl is snug just to the point of being tolerable walking around the house. The leather upper has plenty of room for the toe curl.The first knuckles of the great toes were potential hot spots, but I never got that far, because the shoes were coming apart JUST WALKING AROUND THE HOUSE. I'm saying less than 30 minutes of non-climbing wear!The rubber and leather are separating at the top, the rubber is blistering in the heels, the rubber is de-colorizing (not that that is a HUGE deal), and the glue that is used to construct the hook-and-loop straps is failing so that the surfaces are sliding apart and sticky, slimy glue is oozing from between the layers of the strap.I had planned to tough out these shoes based on my beginner-level status and the price point of these shoes, but today's discovery of the glue sticking to my straps and fingers...deal breaker.As with most things, if you have crap gear, you'll have a crap experience, regardless of the activity. I would not recommend these shoes, even to a complete noob like myself.