A little forethought can go a long way toward keeping your shoes looking and smelling fresh:

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• Wear closed shoes rather than sandals on the approach to keep your feet clean.

• Don’t walk around barefoot while waiting to climb.

• Bring a tarp to keep bare feet and shoes off the ground.

• Remove your shoes from your pack when you get home to avoid mildew and stink.

• Clean dirty shoes by washing the insoles and linings with a moist towel and drying them outside, away from direct sunlight and its damaging UV rays.

• If your shoes start to smell, use deodorizing foot powders or sprays.

• Spot-clean soiled uppers with rubbing alcohol or a small amount of water; don’t use too much water or the leather may break down prematurely.

Because the rubber touches the rock at the sole and rand (the rubber strip above the sole that wraps around the shoe), do everything you can to keep the gripping rubber clean and in good repair:

• After each climb, lightly rub the soles and rands with a wet rag to remove as much dirt as possible before wiping them dry.

• Use coarse sandpaper or a wire brush on places that have lost grip to restore performance; this is untidy and can cause premature wear, so use caution.

• High temperatures can deform rubber, melt glue, and delaminate rands, so never leave shoes in a hot car.

Look for thin or pitted regions, dents, and loose edges in the high-wear areas of your soles and rands. The following areas are prone to wear:

• where the sole and the rand meet

• the sole of your foot

• the toe region

Using an adhesive like Shoe Goo, you may repair tiny dings and a delaminating rand. Trim off any extra before mending the rand.

Resoling Climbing Shoes

Consider having your shoes resoled if the soles wear out before the rest of your shoes, which is a fairly regular occurrence. That will be less costly than purchasing new sneakers. Most repair businesses use a medium-grade rubber blend to resole the front half of shoes.

Inquire at your local REI or another climbing store about shops that specialize in resoling climbing shoes.

Get your pals to resole their shoes at the same time to save money; you’ll be able to split shipping expenses and some stores will give you a volume discount.

You can even buy a resoling kit and do it yourself if you’re ambitious and handy.

You know how crucial the rubber is if you’ve ever climbed on a slick surface. You won’t get very far if your shoe doesn’t provide enough traction, no matter how brave or strong you are. You’ll need the right shoe with the right amount of traction. Because there are so many distinct types of climbing shoes, each with its own unique soles and construction, they all have varying degrees of stickiness.