Forum: outdoors.stackexchange.com
Tags: <rock-climbing><footwear><bouldering><climbing-shoes><socks>
Title: Why go without socks with climbing shoes?
Question: I've been going climbing (indoor bouldering) for about six months, using shoes I rented at the gym, and wearing socks (and everything was fine). I've recently got a pair of climbing shoes, and want to know why some people wear them without socks. What are the benefits of socks vs. without? Is this purely a matter of taste?

Answers:
sents: text: I am not sure about the being able to feel more, but the most important reason I don't use socks is to avoid the rock boot sliding on my foot.
text: If you are on a marginal grip using just the edge of your sole, you don't want the boot to move at all.
text: This is also one of the reasons that rock boots for more experienced climbers are much more rigid than those for beginners -
text: so you know that when you touch the rock, the rubber will grip and not bend.
answer_details: author: outdoors.stackexchange.com/users/66/Rory Alsop
score: 32
sents: text: I've been bouldering outdoors for a couple years now and let me ask you this question in return:
text: Why wear socks in your climbing shoes?
text: What is the possible benefit to wearing socks?
text: Try it.
text: Your shoes will still stink, I guarantee.
text: Your feet run the risk of slipping around in your climbing shoes.
text: And if you buy tight, aggressive shoes, the fit will go all weird if you put on a pair of socks.
text: It's your call, try it.
text: But I don't see any benefits to wearing socks (while climbing).
text: Edit : Unless you are using rental shoes.
text: Then wearing socks helps protect you from getting athlete's foot.
answer_details: author: outdoors.stackexchange.com/users/767/theJollySin
score: 18
sents: text: Because you want to increase your chances of contracting nail fungus or athlete's foot from your rental shoes :)
text: In other words, it's probably better to keep the socks on if you're renting shoes .
answer_details: author: outdoors.stackexchange.com/users/3057/ntc2
score: 13
sents: text: I believe it is mostly a matter of taste.
text: Many people claim that going barefoot inside the climbing shoes allows you to feel a bit more of the surface than with socks.
text: Granted, you can't feel much through the thick rubber of the shoes to begin with, but I can see how that would be true.
text: Others counter claim that socks make your shoes less stinky after a good climbing session, but I don't buy into that claim
text: , it seems that stinky climbing shoes is a fact of life with or without socks.
text: I personally go barefoot in my climbing shoes, simply because that’s what everyone else did when I started, and that’s just how i've done it since then.
answer_details: author: outdoors.stackexchange.com/users/68/whatsisname
score: 11
sents: text: Every layer between your feet and the ground (or hill or whatever you are climbing) adds some distance resulting in:- less balance- less 'feel' with the type of material
text: you are climbing-
text: you feel ditches/gaps/small stones better (depends on how thick your shoes are)
text: Also you might be able to have smaller (less wide) shoes making it easier to place a foot into a more narrow space.
answer_details: author: outdoors.stackexchange.com/users/705/Michel Keijzers
score: 9
sents: text: I think this is highly dependent on your feet .
text: Maybe with more experience, this will change for me - but I have bony, clammy, wide but low volume paddle feet.
text: So unless I can't get a shoe highly tailored to my foot I need the sock to soak up side-to-side space (even if my toes are very tight after going down a half size).
answer_details: author: outdoors.stackexchange.com/users/16166/meyerson
score: 3

Summary of the answers:
This is mostly a matter of taste. Some claim that going without socks allows you to feel the surface more, or the prevent the rock boot from sliding on your foot. A sock can take up any unwanted side-to-side space in a shoe.
This is a matter of preference and can depend on your feet, though you should wear socks when renting shoes. Going barefoot allows you to feel more and stops the boot from moving.