What To Do With Old Climbing Shoes-5 Best Solutions(2022)

In the backyard of my local climbing club, my climber pals and I are always talking about climbing. One of the most contentious issues in our community is what to do with old climbing shoes?

According to a survey performed by UKCFORUMS, we’ll go over how to sell, upcycle, and donate your climbing shoes in this post.

In this article, we’ll go through all of the greatest options for what to do with old climbing shoes. You haven’t worn them because they’re worn or ready to acquire a hole,

or because they never fit well to begin with and you haven’t worn them. Find out how to resole, donate, or sell your shoes in the sections below.

Thankfully, the answer to that question is yes, but our choice are somewhat limited.


What To Do With Old Climbing Shoes (The Top 5 Solutions)

Sell them

What To Do With Old Climbing Shoes

Consider selling your shoes if they are still in good condition. If your gym has one, look into online forums, local Facebook groups, or even the community board.

Just because they don’t match your needs or aren’t your go-to pair any more doesn’t mean they won’t be useful to someone else. If the shoes have a residual odour,

air them out, put some boot banana in them, or scrub them before giving them to the recipient.


Donate old climbing shoes

Climbers in need may be able to donate old climbing shoes to their local gym or guiding service. Make sure your shoes are in decent enough shape to climb in, with some rubber remaining on the toes.

Some resole businesses will also take donations for upcycling purposes. They’ll give your shoes a new lease on life by repairing any damage to the laces,

replacing the sole, and restoring their appearance. The best thing is that by giving them a new lease on life, they will be kept out of landfills!

As with selling, make care to clean them well. No one wants an old pair of stinky shoes!

Get crafty and upcycle

This answer is more of a detour because it involves a small re-purposing rather than developing something entirely new.

Deep water soloing can be done in your old shoes. Old shoes are ideal for soloing in fresh or salt water because you don’t have to worry about the water and salt damaging your shoes.


Keep as a backup pair

All climbing shoes have the unfortunate fate of losing their edge and gradually slipping in performance.

But that’s no reason to throw them away! Your shoes are still wonderful for warming up or training in thanks to the blood,

sweat, and tears that went into beaking them in. Leave the mileage to your older pair of Bouldering shoes and save your brand new, costly pair for when it counts.

You might also want to keep your older, more comfy climbing shoes on hand for long days of trad climbing or deep water soloing.

Nothing mars a long day on the wall like nagging foot discomfort that won’t go away. Trust us when we say that your feet will thank you.


Resole your shoes

Resoling your shoes should be a top priority for any environmentally conscientious climber. Have you heard that getting your climbing shoes resoled can increase their life by up to five times?

There’s a cost-cutting opportunity here, for both you and the environment!

A qualified specialist will replace your shoe’s rubber sole, as well as the rand and uppers, depending on how worn they are, during the resoling process.

Climbing shoe resoling is a tough and specialised technique, so seek advice before sending your shoes away. If no one in your area can resole your shoes,

send them to a recognised climbing shoe resoler. If you place a large enough order, some companies will even provide free shipping.


THE CONCLUSION: What To Do With Old Climbing Shoes?

Before deciding what to do with old climbing shoes, it’s critical to know how to use them properly. There are numerous options available in this regard.

It’s up to you guys to make the right decision and ascend as much as you can.


Where to sell climbing shoes?

I mentioned ebay, Poshmark, Facebook Marketplace, and Flyp in one of my previous responses as venues I like to utilise when selling designer handbags.

While these platforms allow you to sell footwear, I immediately discovered that selling old shoes is much more difficult than selling bags.

This is why, anytime I need to sell used boots, heels, sneakers, or sandals, I turn to Flyp, Plato’s Closet, and Clothes Mentor.

Customers are more concerned about size and fit when purchasing secondhand shoes, which makes it more difficult to sell them (quality, price, condition, etc.).

Flyp, Clothes Mentor, and Plato’s Closet are all excellent since they sell your clothes for you. This means you won’t have to cope with a never-ending stream of questions from sceptical customers.

When I first began selling shoes on Facebook and Poshmark, I was bombarded with queries such as:

I’m a size xxxxx Is this pair of shoes going to be a good fit for me?

Is this pair suitable for wide-footed individuals?

As much as I wanted to help out these inquiring customers, the fact remains that I have absolutely no way of knowing for sure if the shoes I’m selling will fit them perfectly.

It was frustrating, to be honest. That’s why I decided to sell through the following stores/platforms:


Flyp

Flyp matches consumers with reselling professionals who handle the actual listing, negotiating, and selling.

I was encouraged to upload simple images of the products I intended to sell when I first downloaded the app. Shortly after, their reselling gurus contacted me with their proposals.

I chose an expert, shipped my belongings to her, and then sat back and waited for her to sell them. After my stuff were sold, I received the funds in my bank account.


Clothes Mentor And Plato’s Closet

Clothes Mentor and Plato’s Closet are consignment shops that will pay you right away for clothes that meet their criteria. If your shoes are in good shape,

I think they’re wonderful options. However, I had to go to their real store to drop off my stuff, which is why I only recommend them if you have plenty of time and a CM/PC location near you.


Where can I sell my used shoes?

There are numerous locations where you may sell your worn shoes. Thrift stores, Flyp, Facebook, and garage sales are just a few ideas that come to mind.


Thrift Stores

You can start by looking in thrift stores. Individuals sell their used shoes and clothes to thrift stores, who then resale them for a profit. Typically, these stores support a charity,

so you not only get money for your unwanted stuff, but you also get to help others. One disadvantage is that you may receive a lesser price than you anticipated.


Flyp

Flyp is an app that I use to sell bags and shoes that are either too lovely or too expensive to sell in a thrift store.

After all, I’ve never seen a thrift store prepared to pay $200 for a pair of barely worn Nordstrom sneakers,

and I’m not about to sell my name-brand stuff for dirt cheap. Flyp connects me with expert marketers who can sell my stuff for a reasonable price.

The best part is that I don’t have to deal with obnoxious people that have a hundred questions to ask (sorry! I’m getting frustrated here).


Facebook

Why not upload it on Facebook if you have a lot of family and friends there? I haven’t tried selling used shoes on Facebook,

but I did use their MyDay tool to sell my television. That same day, a family friend from a few blocks away messaged me.


Sale in the Garage

What other items in your home can you sell than worn shoes? It’s always a good idea to declutter. You can hold your own garage sale after you have enough goods to get rid of.

You get to meet new individuals in your area while also saving up a lot of room. You can also invite your relatives and friends to come by!

I hope this information is useful.


How often do you resole your climbing shoes?

It all depends on how often you wear your shoes and what kind of “rubber” you have on them.

There are several degrees of softness. Different brands employ different formulations. You can also climb on the type of substrate.

How often should I resole my shoes? Almost infrequently, in fact. However, I have a pair or two that require it.


What is the best way to sell old shoes?

I’m most familiar with eBay, which allows you to sell used shoes.

You’ll do best in the Other category, with ads featuring feet wearing the shoes and material written to appeal to the fetish market. Normally, no socks or stockings are worn.

Expect to be bombarded with requests for additional photos. These should be charged for. List the item as “Fixed Price” with “Immediate Payment” as a requirement.

Selling highly costly, lightly used shoes in the Shoes category would be a close second. Any reference of feet,

sweat, or anything else that suggests a person has touched them should be avoided. (Thus, the fetish listing is the polar opposite of the fetish listing.)

The sole focus of the photos should be on the shoes. If an item is not paid for within the two to four day period, open an Unpaid Item Dispute.


When to throw away climbing shoes?

The following are some things to keep an eye out for:

rubber tearing, damage, or cracking (sole, heel or toe)

The sole has delaminated.

severe upper-body wear and damage

If any of these things happen, it’s time to take action. Resoling is a possibility in the first two circumstances if done quickly. If you wait too long,

you risk destroying the shoe’s rand (the rigid section that goes through the sole), which will mean they’re no longer functional.

Resoling will likely set you back $25-50 a pair, so it’s only worthwhile if your shoes still fit well and are otherwise in decent shape.

There are a few more things to be aware of.

loosening/altering the fit

Sole wear and pitting

smell

It’s time to replace your shoes if they’ve gotten so loose that your toes slide around in them, or if they’ve crumpled or shrunk to the point that they ache. Before anyone says anything,

climbing shoes are not supposed to hurt! They should be extremely tight and often quite uncomfortable until they’ve been broken in,

but painful shoes will cause bunions in the long run and will keep you from climbing in the short term.

Your shoes do not fit properly if there are hot or sore patches on your feet after climbing.

Ok. Now that I’ve spoken my piece, the last two factors – wear and odour – don’t necessarily indicate that you need new shoes.

Wear is expected (obviously) and occurs quickly on genuine rock. In a couple of weeks, you’ll lose the micro edge around your toe box,

but that’s to be expected and has no bearing on your climbing. You should only consider repair once the boulder has worn down to the point where you can feel the texture of the rock,

which normally takes six months or more of climbing four to ten hours per week for me (mostly indoor).

It’s never a good idea to toss your shoes just because they’re stinky. By rinsing the insides with vinegar, then sealing them in plastic bags and freezing them for a few days,

you can sort them out fairly successfully. Purchasing new shoes because your old ones stink is like to worrying about breaking a nail. Simply put, don’t do that.


When should I resole my climbing shoes?

In essence, a climbing shoe is made up of two main components: the rand and the sole. The sole is the section of the bottom of the shoe that wears out as you walk on it. The rand is the part of the shoe that connects the sole to the rest of the shoe.

The sole of the shoe has a notable dip, as shown in the image above. This indicates that the edge side of the shoe has lost its sole and the rand is being climbed on.

You don’t want to climb on rand or damage it because it’s the most expensive component of the shoe to repair because you can’t re-rand or apply a toe cap without removing the sole.

Furthermore, it should not be required because the rand should not be used to climb.

So, with the shoes mentioned above, if they were resoled, a half-sole repair would suffice to fix them up and have them ready to hop on again.

Half soles are usually the only sort of resoling required for climbing shoes. Because the wear is focused in the toes, it is practically never necessary to resole the entire shoe.


People Also Ask: what to do with old climbing shoes?

What can I do with old climbing shoes UK?

More than 500 Clarks stores throughout the country have set up collection locations for visitors to drop off their old or unwanted footwear. The shoes will be recycled in the United Kingdom, and the proceeds will go toward UNICEF’s education efforts.


How many time can you resole climbing shoes?

three occasions

Depending on the extent of the damage, each pair of your shoes can be resoled at least three times.


What can you do with old climbing shoes?

They Can Be Donated

Climbers in need may be able to donate old climbing shoes to their local gym or guiding service.

Make sure your shoes are in decent enough shape to climb in, with some rubber remaining on the toes. Some resole businesses will also take donations for upcycling purposes.


Do climbing shoes expire?

Climbing shoes should last 3-9 months on average, assuming you climb once or twice a week. At this stage, the toe box is usually worn to the point where a resole and potentially toe rand work is required.

There are numerous factors that influence this. However, if you get them resoled in a timely manner, they’ll be good to go once more!


What can I do with old climbing gear?

While bear bagging, use your rope as a haul line or tow rope, clothes line, pulley system, food line, and so on. If you want to get a little more creative,

you may make dog toys and leashes, carpets, beer koozies, couches and chairs out of your rope. The options are truly limitless.

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