Climbing shoes rubber types

Compare the different climbing shoes rubber types on the market, choosing the right one is tough. From ultra-sticky soft rubber for indoor volumes to stiff, durable compounds for technical edging, here is everything you need to know about climbing shoe rubber.

The rubber used in climbing shoes plays a crucial role in a climber’s performance, as it provides the necessary grip, durability, and sensitivity required for different types of climbing. To better understand this, here’s an overview of the various types of rubber commonly used in climbing shoes.

The following is a comparison of all types of rubber used for climbing and bouldering shoes.

Soft Rubber types for climbings shoes

Rubber name	Type of rubber	Type of climbing	Compared to other rubber / shoes	Shoes equipped by
Black Diamond – Fuse	Soft	Edging, Limestone,
Davos Stick – Evolution	Soft	Bouldering,	Comparable to Grip2
Davos Stick – Zero	Soft	Small edges all rounder	Comparable to edge
Evolve – Trax – GT	Soft	indoor	Comparable with Vibram XS Flash	–
Frixion Black	Soft	Better on plastic than rock		Tarantualace Oxygym
Frixion Eco	Soft	Better on plastic than rock		Cobra Eco
Stealth – HF	Soft	overhang sport routes boulder Sandstone,	Comparable with Stealth Mi6 second stickiest sole	5.10 Team 5.10 dragon
Stealth – Mi6	Soft	Smear Overhang Overhang & pocketed limestone Destroyed by granite		Five Ten VXI Anasazi Pro
Unparallel – VD	Soft	Sandstone & granite	Similar to Stealth	Leopard
Vibram XS Flash	Soft	indoor, plastic holds

Semi stiff rubber types for climbing shoes

Rubber name	Type of rubber	Type of climbing	Compared to other rubber / shoes	Shoes equipped by
Boreal – Zenith	Semi stiff	Smeary edges Boulder & ropes Limestone sport climb	Comparable sticky with Vibram XS Grip
Evolve – Trax – SAS	Semi stiff	all rounder, indoor, overhang, routes, less for plate	Last longer and sticks less than C4 or XS Grip 2	Most evolve shoes
Ocun Cat 1.5	Semi stiff	Overhang, Indoor Bouldering	Softer than Ocun Cat 1.1 Comparable with Vibram XS Grip or Grip 2
Stealth – C4	Semi stiff	bouldering and big wall Sandstone Granite sport routes	main competition of Vibram’s XS Grip 2 stickier but less durable than Grip 2 most durable of the stealth compounds	Anasazi Blancos, Five Ten Aleon Moccasym
Vibram – Xs Grip 2	Semi stiff	Technical, overhang, Small edges, Smearing Sandstone Bouldering Sport climbing	Softer than Vibram Xs Grip and Edge Comparable to 5-10 Stealth C4	On aggressive shoes La sportiva Solution Scarpa Drago Scarpa Furia air
Vibram – XS Grip	Semi stiff	All rock types Edge		Many of the Tenaya, Red chili and ocun

Stiff types of rubber for climbing shoes

Evolve – TRAX – XE	Stiff	plate multi pitch slabs edging	One of the most durables	Evolv General
Frixion White	Stiff	Indoor	Similar to Trax-GT	–
Mad Rock – Science Friction	Stiff	Edging Bouldering limestone Sandstone		Mad Rock Drone
Ocun Cat 1.1	Stiff	edging	Comparable with Vibram XS Edge
UnParallel – RH	Stiff	All round, All type of rock	Comparable with Vibram Edge and Grip2
Unparallel – RA	Stiff	Edging Route climbing Sandstone Granite	Not as good in edging as XS Edge compound
Vibram – Grip1	Stiff	Small edges
Vibram – Xs Edge	Stiff	Big wall,, Multipitch Edges, limestone, bouldering	Stiffer than his brothers Harder than XS Grip 2	Sportiva Miura Scarpa Instinct VS Scarpa Vapor V

Personal taste

Ultimately, however, it’s up to you to experiment and determine what works best for your style and the type of walls you climb, since each type of rubber can perform differently depending on the surface and specific climbing demands.

History

Get to know more about the interesting history of climbing shoes and rubber.

Sources

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zapatos-climbing about rubber types
varp.cz on climbing shoes
gripped.com on climbing shoes
climbingshoereview.com shoe-rubber-comparison
arcticsoles.no climbing-shoe-rubber
climbingshoereview.com history-of-climbing-shoes/