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| Messages 1 - 19 of total 19 in this topic |
Bill2
climber
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Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 20, 2012 - 05:16pm PT
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I have an old (circa 1975) pair of Royal Robbins climbing shoes. Before I give them to Goodwill, are they worth anything to a collector, or are there thousands of them floating around?
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Brian in SLC
Social climber
Salt Lake City, UT
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Dec 20, 2012 - 05:51pm PT
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What size?
Richard Pontvert?
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fosburg
climber
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Dec 20, 2012 - 06:32pm PT
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Are they blue? Size?
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Dec 20, 2012 - 06:33pm PT
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Worst climbing shoes ever made.
edit: On second thought, they were better than Kronhoffers.
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john bald
climber
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Dec 20, 2012 - 09:29pm PT
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For being the worst shoe ever, I was thrilled to have em. Climbed 10's, and felt solid BITD.
Jim, I was climbing next to you the other day on Sheepshead.
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Fritz
Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Dec 20, 2012 - 10:56pm PT
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Tad! Re your comment:
Thanks Fritz,
I did have a pair of both boot and shoe.
The boot worked best for approaches and aid
the shoe for free climbing.
Tad
Thanks for sharing that you enjoyed the information on the thread!
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
bouldering
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Dec 21, 2012 - 01:05am PT
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It'd be worth a shot on eBay. You could offer them for a fixed price with the option to "make offer". I sold a Chouinard harness to somebody in Hungary - not a big profit, but better than nothing.
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Dec 21, 2012 - 08:02am PT
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I free soloed the Grack on Glacier Point Apron (and down-climbed the route) in my blue rock boots -- just to prove that it could be done.
I still have them.
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Alan Rubin
climber
Amherst,MA.
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Dec 21, 2012 - 10:55am PT
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Sure compared to what came later the RRs were pretty poor, but at the time they arrived on the scene they were better for most climbing than what was previously available (at least on this side of the Atlantic). I was mostly climbing at places like Devil's Lake and the Gunks, where a stiff edging shoe was very beneficial, so I really liked them. Once I got them broken in I was also able to, somehow, climb slabs in them as well. So I do still have a soft spot for them---and at times I still miss the feel of a good stiff shoe "sticking" on a tiny edge(please bring back the Sportiva Mega!!!!).
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pinckbrown
Trad climber
Woodfords, CA
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Feb 12, 2016 - 12:39pm PT
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Speaking of old climbing shoes:
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Feb 12, 2016 - 12:54pm PT
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I don't think any shoe ever fit me better than PA's, and I still haven't found a shoe that was better at holding an edge. I had four pairs from 1969-75 or so. I also have still two pairs of RR's (one a half-size smaller than my street shoe size, the other a half-size larger). I climbed 5.11a in the smaller pair in 1972, back when that was near the top end of the ratings, and still use them for wall climbing that involves aid and moderate face climbing. The larger pair is perfect for routes with mostly aid, chimneys and off-widths.
I'll agree with Donini that the RR's were better than Kronhoffers (my first pair or climbing shoes) for most free climbing, but I still liked the Kronhoffers for friction or thin cracks. EB's seemed like cheating when I got my first pair in 1973, because their rubber was much stickier than that of PA's but they didn't edge as well. Sad to say, though, I threw out all my old pairs of climbing shoes (in addition to the PA's and Kronhoffers, I had a pair of Pivettas, 3 pairs of EB's a pair of Bill Dolt Blue Boots, and a pair of Asolo Canyons) except the RR's about 30 years ago when I got my first pair of Fires.
John
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Scrubber
climber
Straight outta Squampton
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Feb 12, 2016 - 12:55pm PT
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I'll see your PA's and raise you a pair of Asolo Chouinards
K
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madbolter1
Big Wall climber
Denver, CO
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Feb 12, 2016 - 12:55pm PT
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You guys are missing the real intrinsic value of old climbing shoes (which I never throw away): There is nothing better to keep pests out of your house.
I have decades-old shoes (that have not lost their powers in the slightest!) positioned strategically around the perimeter of my house (indoors works best), and we have NO ant or other insects trying to invade. They give our house a WIDE berth.
Don't throw those away or basically give 'em away, when they have amazing powers you have not yet experienced!
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Stewart
Trad climber
Courtenay, B.C.
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Feb 12, 2016 - 04:23pm PT
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I've still got my Robbins boots, but the soles are pretty well down for the count.
They were indeed great for aid, but I found them to be pretty mediocre for free climbing. My pal Daryl (Hatten) figured that if you deliberately broke the shank, then they worked better for free stuff.
I have no idea if this is true, since I never tried this on my own pair. I had EBs to use for free stuff most of the time.
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Feb 12, 2016 - 06:07pm PT
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Ok, My blue swayed shoes were in a basement that had a furnace go pop spewing asbestos
Over the plastic garbage bags that held my belongings, of all the things that I was sad to have lost my blueys, stand out...sticky rubber added to the EBs
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Feb 12, 2016 - 06:47pm PT
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My first shoes were RR's in 1977. When I changed to EB's 2 years later everything seemed 1 grade easier.
God if I only had good shoes and bolted routes when I was young, fit, and strong.
Was it George Lowe who said something like "The gear gets better at the same rate as I get worse so I stay in the same place"
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Feb 12, 2016 - 07:12pm PT
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Whaddya mean, 'old'? What are trying to say here?
(We called those 'blue meanies' and I'm with Donini - they were like trying to climb with cinderblocks on your feet.
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| Messages 1 - 19 of total 19 in this topic |
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