Although they won't turn you into a 5.14 climber, the right pair of climbing shoes will help you take a step in the right direction.

Step 1: Consider Your Climbing Style and Experience
When choosing rock shoes, consider the following:

* Are you a beginner, intermediate or advanced climber?
* What kind of routes do you climb?
* Will the shoes be used primarily for sport climbing? Trad? Gym?
* What techniques do you use most often? Edging, smearing, crack or a combination of these?

A note to beginners:
New climbers tend to lack precise foot placement and wear down shoe soles rather quickly. Avoid pricey, performance shoes while you're learning and go with an all-purpose shoe with relatively thick soles.

Step 2: Construction and Features
Slip-lasted shoes have thin mid and insoles, making them very flexible and sensitive with great "feel."

Board-lasted shoes are stiffer and more durable than slip-lasted models. The stiff midsoles are especially supportive on long climbs.

Rubber—Don't let the marketing hype fool you! The different types of rubber used by the major companies are virtually equal in grip and performance. All offer a good blend of grip and durability.

Height—High-cut shoes provide ankle support and protect ankles from abrasion when crack climbing. Low-cut shoes offer lots of ankle mobility but have virtually no ankle support.

Step 3: Types of Shoes
All-purpose shoes are not only ideal for new climbers who need a first pair of shoes, but also the veteran looking for a comfortable shoe for long routes. Their semi-flexed last and high uppers offer support and protection—especially crack climbing. Although they can do it all, these shoes generally won't excel in any one area.

High-performance shoes grab onto holds and offer maximum control and performance, making them ideal for difficult sport, gym and competition climbing. These low-cut shoes can be divided into the following categories:

* Structured—Tend to be board-lasted with thin uppers and soles. They're lined to minimize stretching and improve support. Excellent at edging, they can excel at cracks, too.

* Unstructured —These are the gnarly, unlined, downward-curved (cambered) shoes your mother warned you about! They compress your feet so they can't bend for edging power, and tend to be slip-lasted to maximize sensitivity and feel. To perform properly, they must be fitted with your toes curled up.

Slippers are a subset of this category . Thanks to ultra-thin soles and uppers, they offer unsurpassed feel and sensitivity. They're great for building foot strength, gym climbing and competitions, but can cause feet to tire quickly due to their lack of support.

Step 4: Figuring Out Fit
Aim for a snug but not painful fit with no "pressure points." Keep in mind that some higher-end shoes can be uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time—give your feet a rest by taking the shoes off in between pitches. When test fitting shoes, keep in mind the following:

* Wear the same socks you normally climb in, or no socks at all if you don't use them. A note on socks—they're a personal decision. A thin pair adds comfort but reduces your feel for the rock. Generally, go with socks for added comfort or no socks for higher performance.

* Make sure your toes touch or press against the front of the shoe. Your toes should be crunched up in unlined, cambered shoes.

* All shoes will stretch, particularly across the width and height, so be sure to allow for it. A lined shoe will stretch less than an unlined shoe but offer less "feel."

* Different brands are made on different lasts and will therefore fit differently from each other. Sometimes it's a matter of finding the brand that best fits your foot.

Step 5: Other Considerations
Resoling increases the life of your shoes. Almost all rock shoes can be resoled. Board-lasted shoes can be resoled more times than slip-lasted shoes. Slippers are difficult to resole because of their very thin soles, which can tear when taking off the old rubber.