Very nice gym shoe/ amazing for beginners.
First off, if you are a new climber, meaning this is your first pair of shoes, look no further. Buy these, nuff said. If you're looking for something in a shoe that this one doesn't have, then you shouldn't classify yourself as a new climber.I'd recommend a half size down, maybe full size if that suits you better (my foot is really fat). But keep in mind that these are not super aggressive shoes. You can wear these things all day, and where some shoes sacrifice performance for comfort, this one does not. With it being winter I do all my climbing indoors right now, and I haven't climbed outdoors with these shoes, so I won't try to make assumptions about how they will preform out there.These are easy to put on, they fit well to your foot, and the Velcro straps actually strap down pretty tight, however, and this is the ONLY complaint I have about the shoe, just because I really do prefer lace ups, a third Velcro strap down closer to the toe would be nice for peace of mind, but the shoes still preform like it's there (I don't know how to explain it). My wall at school has a pretty tough crack (v10.11 is the informal rating of it with a crux that is more like a 12+) and the first time I wore these I cleaned it, It's the first 11 I've finished. I couldn't be happier with the shoe.They're also amazing for bouldering. The heel is so comfortable, I could fall asleep in a heel hook, It also is designed to let you put in heel hooks where most shoes would peel right off. I literally could not be happier with these shoes. But hey, my opinion isn't the most knowledgeable. I googled best shoes of 2012 and the original flash's had outstanding reviews, and won best value/best beginner shoe hands down. After a little reading I decided on these over the originals but I highly encourage you to read a bit about both shoes. From what I learned the only real difference is the rubber used, the new rubber is supposed to be much stickier (I felt like spider man, if only they would make gloves out of this stuff..), there's impact gell in the heel (which I did actually notice makes a nice little difference), the heel has been redesigned a bit, and they changed the synthetic used on the inside of the shoe.Final note on these shoes, climbing is a unique sport because there are very different ways to do a lot of stuff. All climbers have to some extent their own style, just because I love this shoe doesn't necessarily mean you will to. Understand the return policy, try your shoes on when you get them, and take good care of them especially when they're new, if they just don't work for you clean them and see if you can return them. I love this shoe, but I understand that there are probably hundreds of shoes I haven't heard of or tried on. To my knowledge however, this is the best beginner shoe on the market right now.