A GUIDE TO CLIMBING SHOE RESOLES
By Jess Lucas
Image: So iLL
Can I repair my favorite climbing shoes?
Short answer: Yes!
It’s called shoe resoling. Resoling refers to the process of repairing the sticky rubber outer soles of your climbing shoes. There are awesome benefits to resoling rather than buying a new pair of shoes:
Save that money.
Resoling is a cost-effective way to get that new shoe feeling on the wall without spending serious money on a fresh pair of shoes.Keep that beloved pair forever.
Rather than breaking in a new pair, sever the emotional bond you’ve created with your special shoe, or send an angry email to the climbing company that discontinued your favorite model — resoling ensures that your favorite shoe will live long into your climbing career.Show love to the planet.
Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, resoling is an environmentally-friendly way of ensuring high-performance in your shoes without buying multiple pairs a year.
Image: Yosemite Bum
How do I know it's time for a resole?
Don’t wait too long to get your shoes resoled. Timing is everything. Here are a few tips to know when it’s time to get your shoes resoled:
Keep an eye on your toe rubber.
Once your toe rubber has lost most of its thickness, it’s time for a resole. Save yourself from slipping and sliding on the wall and feeling excess pain in your toes when pressing into footholds.Once you see the color fabric underneath the sole, it’s time.
You want to catch damage as early as you can (preferably, before you see color fabric). Very small holes can be repaired. If you wait until there is a toe-sized hole through the shoes, they are too far gone.
See this link for a more detailed outline of shoe damage/when to repair your shoes.
Ready for resole! Ideally, send them out before a large hole develops.
Image: New England Resole
Likely too far gone for repair.
Image: New England Resole
How long does it take?
Expect to wait about 2 months.
Sorry, resoling by Amazon Prime does not exist (nor should it). Because resoling businesses are often smaller local businesses run by dedicated climbers, you will have to wait while these artisans, shoe wizards if you will, take intentional time and labor to deliver high-quality repairs.
At the time of this writing, typical wait times from the resolers we called averaged 8-10 weeks.
Having a back-up pair of shoes can be helpful while you wait for your primary shoes to be resoled. Please consider supporting climber-owned and operated local businesses to help our industry prioritize people, planet, and passion first, profits second!
Tips to Save Your Soles
Resole to save money, extend the life of your fave shoes, and practice environmental consciousness.
Don’t wait until you have large holes in your shoes to get them resoled.
Be prepared to wait awhile and have a backup pair to climb with until then.
Feel free to bring your shoes up to the front desk and a staff member will be happy to help you determine whether or not it’s time for a resole!
Recommended Resolers
Here’s a list of staff-recommended resole shops for you to consider:
Special thanks to our friends at New England reSoul, Yosemite Bum and So Ill Climbing for allowing us to use their shoe illustrations.