Has your significant other, roommate, or mother been making a lot of comments about your.. ahem… odor, lately? If you’ve recently taken up rock climbing, the problem probably isn’t you – it’s your shoes. Wearing tight-fitting climbing shoes with no socks is a recipe for a damp, smelly shoe. Many climbers are unaware of this problem until it’s too late, and their rock shoes are already nuclear-level threats.
In this post we’ll go over prevention strategies (best!) as well as some mitigation strategies you can use if your climbing shoes have already begun to stink.
Climbing Shoe Smell Prevention
There are a few ways to keep your climbing shoes smelling good. Think of Newton’s First Law of Motion: An object in motion stays in motion, and an object at rest, stays at rest. If your shoes are well-kept, they will not smell. However, once they’re in motion towards odiferousness, it’s gonna be hard to stop. Prevent your climbing shoes from smelling with these easy techniques.
Wear Socks With Your Climbing Shoes
Yes, yes, we know – people have strong opinions on this one. Common climbing knowledge says that socks cost you control, and thus you should climb with a very tight shoe, sockless. It’s true that wearing a sock will make your interface with the shoe a little sloppier, but it will also absorb a lot of sweat, preventing it from soaking into your shoes. Especially with a beginner shoe, like the La Sportiva Nagos pictured above, a sock won’t make or break your climbing performance. Try it out sometime.
We like a thin merino wool sock like those made by SmartWool or Darn Tough because they are especially odor-resistant and can be worn a few days without needing an immediate wash.
Air ‘Em Out
After a hard day of falling off V2 boulders (just us?), don’t just toss your shoes into your climbing bag and forget about them until next time. An enclosed environment breeds bacteria, which are what cause the bad climbing shoe smell. Give your rock climbing shoes some fresh air by taking them out of your bag and letting them hang loose and air dry. Bonus points if you can leave them in a sunny spot—UV rays work wonders at killing bacteria and eliminating odors. Don’t leave them in the sun for longer than a day or two at a time, as prolonged exposure to the sun can cause fading and other damage.
Rotate Your Everyday Climbing Shoes
Especially if you climb daily or near-daily, it’s a good idea to give your shoes a breather by rotating between multiple pairs. Not only will this give each pair a chance to air out between climbs, but it’ll also extend the lifespan of each pair of shoes. Plus, you’ll have an excuse to indulge in some new shoe shopping—win-win!
How To Remove Bad Smells From Climbing Shoes
Taking proper care of your climbing shoes can delay them from acquiring a smell, but eventually, most rock shoes do develop at least a little odor, especially if you wear them without socks. You’re sweating directly into the leather – what did you think is gonna happen?!
Once your shoes have “the funk”, here are a few tips to minimize or reduce it, and hopefully stay on better terms with those around you.
Boot Bananas
These fun products come from the UK, and are designed to slip into your shoes (or “boots”, as the Brits say) after your climbing session. The Boot Bananas use natural herbs and essential oils to absorb the moisture from the shoe. A fun bonus: the bananas turn brown when they’re “rotten”, or used-up! You can use the boot bananas on other footwear too – they’re not exclusive to rock climbing shoes.
Shoe Deodorizer Products
You can either buy a premade spray, like the one used at bowling alleys, or you can try to DIY this yourself with essential oils and baking powder.
The hippie option:
Whip up your own homemade deodorizer by mixing baking soda with a few drops of essential oils (think tea tree or lavender for extra odor-fighting power). Sprinkle this into your shoes after each climb, shake ’em up, and let the baking soda work its odor-absorbing magic overnight. Tea Tree and Lavender are two of the oils used in the Boot Bananas, so this is a similar tactic, just delivered in a more DIY-way.
Gimme the chemicals!!
There are a large number of shoe deodorizer products out there. We personally like Dr. Scholl’s ODOR DESTROYERS spray, because it has the most metal name.
Freeze ‘Em:
Yep, you heard that right—cold therapy works for smelly shoes. Pop your climbing shoes into a Ziploc bag and leave them in the freezer overnight. The cold temperatures will suppress any lingering bacteria, leaving your shoes smelling fresher than a mountain breeze. Just be sure to let them warm back up before you slip ’em back on. Try not to forget about them in the freezer, and warn any cohabitants in your house before you do so.
4. Wash ‘n’ Rinse:
Sometimes, a good ol’ fashioned wash is the way to go. Give your climbing shoes a gentle scrub with warm, soapy water, paying special attention to the insides where the stench likes to linger. Rinse them thoroughly and let them air dry completely before your next climb—dampness is what causes the smell so don’t repeat the issue.
Could It Be a Fungus?
One thing to keep an eye out for is athlete’s foot, which is contagious and can easily be contracted by walking barefoot in communal spaces like the climbing gym or gym showers. While athlete’s foot doesn’t make shoes smell bad, it can be caused by the same things which contribute to foul-smelling climbing shoes.
Keep an eye out for scaly or sloughing skin, as pictured below (this was one of the least-disgusting photos we could find online – Google more at your own risk!)
Learn more about the symptoms of Athlete’s Foot at the Mayo Clinic.
You can treat Athlete’s Foot with over-the-counter anti-fungal creams, such as Lotrimin Ultra.
Conclusion
There you have it, climbers—your a few tips to tackling those smelly climbing shoes like a pro. In basic English: air them out, let them rest, and take the time to perform a little shoe maintenance and preventative care. If you stay on top of the problem before it develops, you’ll have a much better-smelling pair of shoes.
And if you end up with a stinker? Nothing solves the problem like a new pair of shoes!!
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