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Chockstone Forum - Gear Lust / Lost & Found

Rave About Your Rack Please do not post retail SPAM.

 Page 1 of 2. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 34
Author
photos of horrible old climbing boots
mikllaw
24-Aug-2013
6:26:11 PM
I'm after photos of most of these. Remember all those old shockers, most of which I climbed in. My first boots were the Hawkins Rock master, the EB super grattons (which I have shots of), the René Desmaisons clad in split brown havana suade that smelt marvellous. Asolo Canyons, Fires, Hawags, Chouinard shoes.

IdratherbeclimbingM9
24-Aug-2013
7:50:18 PM
I still have my Chouinard Vasque Ascender shoes, although they were never horrible, or shockers. On the contrary, they were brilliant at what they were designed for, and the style of climbing of those days. I still use them occasionally!

What kind of photos would you like me to take of them, ie profile, base, general overview, all of the above?
What pixilation, ie suitable for ??
Hmm.
What are you using these photos for?

Post them here, or email them to you?

shortman
24-Aug-2013
8:14:38 PM
Ppl have gotta post 'em!
mikllaw
24-Aug-2013
8:19:48 PM
I'm doing a slideshow in Septemeber (details to no doubt be published soon) and would like some images to sober the audience used to form fitting sticky boots. To maximise amusement and utiltiy, could you display them here (small images) and also email the to me on miklclaw at gmail dot com.

Were the Vasques the utterly rigid shoes? I recall trying to solo a 5.12 at the gunks with a microedge on the crux, The fall was 6m onto deep soft grass and I took it a few times(or so my knees tell me now). One shot I stood up and was almost there and a foot blew off, and landed on the micro edge. i'd been happily edging on a micro-micro edge invisibly above the intended. Succesful ascent that time. Henry Barber used them exclusively.

IdratherbeclimbingM9
24-Aug-2013
9:04:05 PM
On 24/08/2013 mikllaw wrote:
>Were the Vasques the utterly rigid shoes?

Yes, they not only have a steel (plastic?) shank inside them, but also a small moulded heel as well as grooves in the sole.

The shoe (boot really), was designed to cope with any/all of; wearing on the approach, thrutching cracks, standing in ettriers, as well as edging.

They are high topped, leather construction, and have a rubber patch on the outside ankle-bone area for extra protection.
The grooved sole allowed one to rub their foot on gritty holds, so that any loose grit would move to the groove, allowing the rubber portion to provide unfettered friction.
The shank provided a stable platform for standing in etts, and lateral stability for edging, but being a short shank and positioned under the mid-sole, still allowed a bit of flex in the toe area for smearing.

The heel, stopped your foot slipping entirely through ett-steps, and provided more grip on downhill approach/departures from the climb.

I wish I had bought more of them at the time as spares so I can still use them in as-original condition, as my pair have worn on the toe area with aid use (so I keep repairing them), and the rubber is so old now that it is hard and relatively frictionless compared to how they used to be. They can be resoled, but where would one find anything like that classic design nowadays!

I will take some photos of them in natural light soon, and post/send same.




IdratherbeclimbingM9
24-Aug-2013
9:52:23 PM
In the meantime...
From a Chouinard 1975 (?) catalogue...


... and here is an interesting 2008 Chocky thread with some comments on old shoes...
Easter Henry Barber Reenactment Days at Araps

~> Hey mikl; check this post by duglash from that thread.

>Check out these beauties... near mint EB's
mikllaw
24-Aug-2013
10:14:15 PM
beautiful
and the EBs make my feet sweat just the think of them

IdratherbeclimbingM9
25-Aug-2013
5:15:13 PM






... and I found this under the rock they were displayed on!

Heh, heh, heh.




On 24/08/2013 mikllaw wrote:
>and also email the to me on miklclaw at gmail dot com.
>
Presumably with au on the end of that email addy?
... ~> after you confirm I will send!



A quote I came across that is half relevant to this thread?...
"Dont criticise someone till you have walked a mile in their shoes, at least then if they get angry they will be a mile away - and barefoot."
Heh, heh, heh.

mikllaw
25-Aug-2013
7:09:15 PM
On 25/08/2013 IdratherbeclimbingM9 wrote:
>>and also email the to me on miklclaw at gmail dot com.
>>
>Presumably with au on the end of that email addy?
>... ~> after you confirm I will send!
>
No au

I climbed with Hot henry a few years back and he was still using a waist tie and these boots.

Pat
25-Aug-2013
7:49:06 PM
Have a pair of asolo canyons from the 80's. I think I had to send an outline of my foot over to NZ to get them, but the details are a bit hazy. I will see if I can post a pic of them.

wallwombat
25-Aug-2013
8:00:16 PM
My first pair of climbing boots were a pair of Asolo Super Ratz that Ralph sold me in 1986. They were so tight,my balls were hanging out my ears.

So I went to MDs and Mikl sold me a pair of of bright red clown shoes three sizes too big.
mikllaw
25-Aug-2013
8:30:01 PM
The doctor said your balls needed to return, by the way, I'm calling myself The Doctor now.

MisterGribble
25-Aug-2013
8:51:25 PM
I still have the Fire Kats I bought in '85 and have climbed round the world in them.

When I pull them on I become Wolfgang......

.... but it doesn't last
dalai
25-Aug-2013
10:24:41 PM
On 25/08/2013 wallwombat wrote:
>My first pair of climbing boots were a pair of Asolo Super Ratz that Ralph
>sold me in 1986. They were so tight,my balls were hanging out my ears.
>
>So I went to MDs and Mikl sold me a pair of of bright red clown shoes
>three sizes too big.
>

Were these the Mikl designed Scorpions? They were my first pair of climbing shoes bought in MD's Melbourne... Still have them lightly used - as they were bought too large and were not much better than gumboots!

These were quickly replaced by a couple of pairs of Asolo Onsights bought in Hong Kong. Had one pair red and one pair bright yellow as below.



After numerous badly done resoles using resole kits, final wear was on opposite feet to use the outside edge- can't do that with asymmetrical climbing shoes of today!
kieranl
26-Aug-2013
9:14:00 AM
On 25/08/2013 MisterGribble wrote:
>I still have the Fire Kats I bought in '85 and have climbed round the world
>in them.
>
>When I pull them on I become Wolfgang......
>
>.... but it doesn't last

Trust MrGribble to come up with a classy pun.


IdratherbeclimbingM9
26-Aug-2013
10:04:34 AM
On 25/08/2013 dalai wrote:
>On 25/08/2013 wallwombat wrote:
>>My first pair of climbing boots were a pair of Asolo Super Ratz that Ralph
>>sold me in 1986. They were so tight,my balls were hanging out my ears.
>>
>>So I went to MDs and Mikl sold me a pair of of bright red clown shoes three sizes too big.
>>
>
>Were these the Mikl designed Scorpions? They were my first pair of climbing shoes bought in MD's Melbourne... Still have them lightly used - as they were bought too large and were not much better than gumboots!

Hey ww, you can take heart in the fact that he used them himself!



Rear cover of Rock Magazine 1988.
Photo caption reads: Mike Law on "Get Squelching" (23), Lugarno. Photo; Glen Robbins.
Hmm, ... given ww's & dalai's experience, there might be a relationship between climb name and shoe performance?
Heh, heh, heh.
mikllaw
26-Aug-2013
10:46:18 AM
actually I'm in prototypes that were sloppy but amazingly sticky, not like the final delivered product that fully deserve their nickname, "Scrapirons"

IdratherbeclimbingM9
26-Aug-2013
11:31:50 AM
Some climbers make door mats out of their old climbing ropes, and then there are others on a distant isle who train their horrible old climbing boots to do other things...





Post edit:
Old doggers and new tricks; ... I await pictorial contributions from other climbing-shoe-experienced contributors like, BA, jrc, kuu, et al etc, as no doubt they would have pics of Dunlop Volleys at least!
;-)
lacto
26-Aug-2013
1:07:01 PM
I gave my PAs (1970 or 71) to steve at rock hardware think he has a good collection of old boots

wallwombat
26-Aug-2013
4:16:26 PM
On 25/08/2013 dalai wrote:

>Were these the Mikl designed Scorpions? They were my first pair of climbing
>shoes bought in MD's Melbourne... Still have them lightly used - as they
>were bought too large and were not much better than gumboots!

Those we the ones. They were shockers.



 Page 1 of 2. Messages 1 to 20 | 21 to 34
There are 34 messages in this topic.

 

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