Best climbing shoes for women according to redditors

You guys are so awesome. Day in and day out all I see is an outpouring of consistent generosity from the both of you. It really awes me. I can't wait to end this unemployment streak so I can begin gifting again.

I would really appreciate these shoes. It's more or less for my health. I've been trying to become more active as a climber but without the right shoes, I have to pay to rent and my funds are already small as is. Honestly though I feel bad linking to anything more than $20 so if by some miracle I happen to be selected, I would be more than happy with a gift card of any amount that I can put towards the shoes. For the second gift, this yummy cereal, of course! :) C'mon...gimme. Thank you so much for the contest!

EDIT: OF COURSE HOW COULD I POSSIBLY FORGET TO MENTION YOU BOTH LOOK ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS TODAY!

First off, thank you for this amazing contest. I love that everyone will "win" by working toward their goals.

I practice at a martial arts school that requires a 15:30 two mile run to test for a black belt. I still have about two years until this day comes, but I would like to be prepared and ready ahead of time.

On January 15, I started off with a mile time of about 10:30. As of March 24, my mile time is about 8:52. My goal is to improve my mile time by at least 20 seconds in a month (down to 8:32). I have reached a plateau, and I really need to push myself to accomplish my goal. The final goal for this year is to reach a mile time of 7 minutes. The only plausible way to track my progress is simply to record the time it requires me to run a mile. I could try to measure the time it takes me for each lap, but my watch is sadly not made out for that (and holding a phone while jogging messes with my balance).

The Steps:

• Reduce Body Fat and Weight: I have been constantly skipping workouts and not controlling my diet properly. I have seen little to no changes in my body weight and percent body fat since I started in January. As of March 24, I weighed in at about 127 lbs with my percent body fat at 20% (both measured by electronic scale). I will attempt to lose one pound a week (down to about 123 lbs) and to reach a percent body fat of around 18%. Progress will be measured through scale readings and pictures.
  
  
• Jogging: Monday and Friday will be regular jogging days. Mondays will be days in which I see what progress I have made by running a mile as fast as I can, and jogging for the rest of the time I have until my martial arts class (usually ends up being 2 to 3 extra miles). Fridays will just be a long distance running day. No rests unless necessary, covering the most distance I can within an hour.
  
• Interval Training: I was given great advice on /r/running concerning working toward my goal through interval training. In the past, I haven't given it my all, so from this point forward, I truly will have to push myself to my limits instead of making of excuses as to why I need to stop. The track at my school gym requires 6.7 laps to complete a mile. Looking at my ultimate goal of a 7 minute mile, I will need to run each lap in about 1:02. Therefore, from the advice I received, I will attempt to run a lap within 1:02, walk/jog half a lap, attempt to run another lap within 1:02, walk/jog, etc. until I fail to run a lap within 1:02. Once this point is reached, I will run half a lap in 0:31, walk/jog quarter of a lap, and continue until I fail. I will attempt to run up to 2 miles with this pattern (or until I fail to run half a lap in 0:31), at which point I will just jog at an easy pace for the rest of the workout. Interval training will be done once a week on Wednesday.
  
  
• Insanity: I have previously had great results with Insanity. And the workouts that I have been skipping almost all of this year are Insanity workouts. Therefore, I have to step up my game. The Insanity workouts really help build leg muscles needed for speed, and Shaun T's yelling truly motivates me to push myself to healthy limits. Insanity workouts will be done Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday (if there are no pressing plans for the weekend).
  
  
• More Muscle: Martial arts and rock climbing will assist in increasing my muscle (and reducing my percent body fat). I have two martial arts classes every Monday and Wednesday. I have usually skipped one of them each week in the past, so I plan on sticking to the schedule and consistently going to both. And I have constantly skipped rock climbing due to the soreness it causes in my upper body over the weekend. However, with no belt tests coming up, I have no excuse to skip. Rock climbing will allow me to work the muscles in my upper body that I rarely work out.
  
  Cheerleaders:
  
  
• /u/mcpomaden, /u/Slizards, /u/chronos42; if you have been summoned, don't worry. I don't need too much cheerleading... Hopefully.
  
  As I get more into climbing, I could use some climbing shoes and a chalk bag.
  
  I do not use Amazon music, but the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack is the best for when I need some inspiration.
  
  I will be back to edit this further.

Does your local gym not have shoes on sale? Usually they stock a good variety of shoes and you can try them on. (I've had gyms even let me step on rock with try-on shoes).

Climbing shoes aren't buy it for life and they will get worn down. As a beginner with little technique, that chance that you'll wear down your shoes faster increases. Which is why most people recommend getting the Defys as a cheap, getting into the sport shoe. I think I blew out my first pair in less than a year.

I've had good luck and bought all my shoes at around the $40 mark. I have size 6 feet (and I wear size 5-5.5 in climbing shoes) and a lot of shoes come into clearance since not many people wear that size. I've tried on countless shoes and still have trouble finding one that I really like. I would probably try to find shoes that you can try on, but if you have to order online, order from a site that has good returns. Amazon has some climbing shoes and a good return policy.

Sorry that I don't have really great advice. Shoes are super subjective. Oh, also, if you might go outdoors, you might want an all day shoe or something comfortable.

Anyways, you wanted recommendations. Here are some that we've tried and seen around the gym.

• La Sportive Nagos - My boyfriend wore these shoes for a while and really seemed to like them. They're a step up from Defy's, but make a good beginner shoe. They're made of leather so you don't get that Defy stink and will stretch a bit to accommodate your foot.
  
  
• La Sportiva Mythos - Super popular shoe. I see these everywhere around the gym. I have a pair that I picked up from a used gear sale and it didn't work out for me, but they work well for a lot of people. Keep in mind that these stretch out like crazy, I think a full size or two, so order smaller than your street size.
  
  I tried to think of more, but I'm kind of stuck. I personally really like Scarpa shoes and La Sportiva just doesn't fit my foot well. So even though La Sportiva is super popular in the US, I can't wear them.
  
  Good luck.

Harness and Shoes to start.

From my experience, even at big EMS and REI stores everyone in the climbing departments has been more into the climbing than the money. DO NOT buy shoes online. Talk to whoever is in your climbing shop and ask their opinion. Dont worry about bothering them. Try on AS MANY as possible. Im sure they will have great suggestions for beginner shoes.

I was even lucky enough to even have an EMS employee talk me out of buying expensive shoes as a newb. He explained that until my footwork got better, i would probably rub through the thin sensitive rubber way quicker than i could wrangle up another $170. Eternally greatful!

Some shops even have price matching options if you can find the gear they have elsewhere for cheaper.
You should be spending 70-100 bucks for beginner shoes. It is totally worth it. They are your most important connection to the rock.
Friend of mine has these as her first shoes and she loves them!

Good luck! Have Fun!