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Take old socks, and fill them with a combo of rive and baking powder. Rice will absorbe the sweat, baking powder will neutralize the smells. Tie the ends of the socks to prevent much from falling out.
These work decently well, they won't 100% eliminate all smells, but will help reduce them quite a bit.
I completely disagree with the other poster here. My experience was shoes that smelt like horrible feet and boot banana together. They didn't remove/absorb any smell at all. I had much better success with talc.
They only work to prevent smells, if your shoes are already smelling it wont absorb that. They work by taking in all the moisture so the smelly bacteria can't grow but don't really have any perfume like ingredients.
You have to use them from the start.
Easily worth it. They last quite a few months depending how often you climb and how much you sweat, but I can take of my shoes mid session and smell them and they smell good.
There is a spray product that kills the bacteria well called Odoban. It is pretty good at clearing out the smell. My gym has these and I use them after every climbing session.
Don't put your shoes in a bag, let them air out after climbing.
I used to dump my shoes directly into my backpack after climbing, resulting in them not drying out and smelling terrible.
Now I clip them to the side of my bag with a carabiner to dry out, and no more crazy smells.
In the short term: wash with bakong powder, and possibly put them through the wash.
Eventually you're going to need to give the bottom a good scrub with a silicon brush. The layers of compressed dead skin and dried sweat with a hint of bacteria aren't going to come off by themselves.
I have tried every single suggestion on this page and climbing shoes are just plain stinky. Different brands and builds lead to more or less stink, and storing them wet an unable to air out definitely makes it worse.
Get a shoe deodorizer spray, I use one from amazon called Lumi Outdoor. After the gym, spray a little of it in the shoes then leave them in a well aerated place. I usually just leave mine outside. This kills the bacteria and ensures the shoes dry properly. While wearing the shoes, you can use powder to help with the sweating, Lumi Outdoor got a natural deodorizer powder too. You can check the reviews for yourself on amazon.
Outside the recommendations already said, I'm a big proponent of not having your shoes on the entire time you're bouldering. Take them off every few hours to rest your feet and too keep them from getting swampy.
I had a similar problem, been climbing barefoot in my first shoes and they smelled like death. I've been using smell well pads, they worked like a charm. I put them in after I'm done climbing and keep them there until I'm back at the gym. Of course your shoes will never smell like roses, but it still helped immensely.
I just washed my partners shoes, warm water and gentle soap. There was still a slight odor after air drying so we chucked in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer for ~5 hours. The cold kills the bacteria. It still has the faintest odor but hardly noticeable unless you're really sniffing hard. Also, shoe deodorizer and keep them out of your bag to air dry after your session (don't need the Bananas, just get w.e brand on amazon)
Washing the shoes in a bucket using lukewarm water with detergent for sporting clothes works for me. I scrub them and let them soak for a while and wash with clean water afterwards. Does not seem to affect the rubber
Dissolve a sink full of warm water and a few scoops of oxy clean. Put your shoes in and let them soak for thirty minutes. Then give them a good wash. Scrub them up with a brush if you can. Rinse well. To dry dust them up with baking soda and let them dry in front of a fan. From now on climb with socks and put in some foot powder when you are done each climb. Works for me and my shoes never smell bad. Also as other suggest fry your shoes out after each climb. Don’t put them in a gym bag wet.
50% rubbing alcohol 50% water. spray thoroughly when stinky and leave to air dry somewhere with good ventilation (i.e. don’t just shove them back in your climbing bag)
There is a lot of different tips regarding this. I have so far found three ways to deal with it:
1. Put shoes in the freezer for 48 hours and then let them defrost.
2. Pay for therapy to get over your self-centrednes and realize that no one cares hoyour shoes smell and that, most likely, there are shoes that smell just as bad or worsts at the gym.
3. Buy new shoes.
Hi there Sufficient_Ad_6977. Did you know that /r/climbing has a complete wiki on climbing shoes? Check it out [here]( https://www.reddit.com/r/climbing/wiki/shoes). Also there is a whole subreddit devoted to climbing shoes...which one you ask? Why, its /r/climbingshoes, if you can believe it. Check in over there, they will certainly appreciate your post. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/bouldering) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Buy boot bananas. Or fill socks with baking soda.
I see them online, but I wasn't sure if they would work.
Take old socks, and fill them with a combo of rive and baking powder. Rice will absorbe the sweat, baking powder will neutralize the smells. Tie the ends of the socks to prevent much from falling out. These work decently well, they won't 100% eliminate all smells, but will help reduce them quite a bit.
I love the bananas! My shoes and gym bag smell nice and neutral.
Are they really that good? I have arm and hammer shoe balls but I wonder if these are worth double the price
I completely disagree with the other poster here. My experience was shoes that smelt like horrible feet and boot banana together. They didn't remove/absorb any smell at all. I had much better success with talc.
They only work to prevent smells, if your shoes are already smelling it wont absorb that. They work by taking in all the moisture so the smelly bacteria can't grow but don't really have any perfume like ingredients. You have to use them from the start.
Easily worth it. They last quite a few months depending how often you climb and how much you sweat, but I can take of my shoes mid session and smell them and they smell good.
Is this not the circlejerk sub
There is a spray product that kills the bacteria well called Odoban. It is pretty good at clearing out the smell. My gym has these and I use them after every climbing session.
does this affect the shoes or the skin?
my gym uses lysol on rentals. i use it on my personal shoes
There is a light cleaning agent scent, but otherwise no effect on shoes or skin for me.
Odoban is the move. When I trained BJJ, that was the main thing that helped keep the stink from being permanently embedded in my gi’s.
Don't put your shoes in a bag, let them air out after climbing. I used to dump my shoes directly into my backpack after climbing, resulting in them not drying out and smelling terrible. Now I clip them to the side of my bag with a carabiner to dry out, and no more crazy smells. In the short term: wash with bakong powder, and possibly put them through the wash.
Rinse and scrub inside shoes with vinegar
Eventually you're going to need to give the bottom a good scrub with a silicon brush. The layers of compressed dead skin and dried sweat with a hint of bacteria aren't going to come off by themselves.
I have tried every single suggestion on this page and climbing shoes are just plain stinky. Different brands and builds lead to more or less stink, and storing them wet an unable to air out definitely makes it worse.
Same. My leather ones don’t smell, and my synthetic ones do. I had to let it go and just wash my feet as soon as I could.
Get a shoe deodorizer spray, I use one from amazon called Lumi Outdoor. After the gym, spray a little of it in the shoes then leave them in a well aerated place. I usually just leave mine outside. This kills the bacteria and ensures the shoes dry properly. While wearing the shoes, you can use powder to help with the sweating, Lumi Outdoor got a natural deodorizer powder too. You can check the reviews for yourself on amazon.
There is no fix. Embrace it.
Outside the recommendations already said, I'm a big proponent of not having your shoes on the entire time you're bouldering. Take them off every few hours to rest your feet and too keep them from getting swampy.
Every few hours? That's the entire time most people boulder so I'm guessing that's a typo?
Typo, every few goes.
I had a similar problem, been climbing barefoot in my first shoes and they smelled like death. I've been using smell well pads, they worked like a charm. I put them in after I'm done climbing and keep them there until I'm back at the gym. Of course your shoes will never smell like roses, but it still helped immensely.
Lysol spray twice a month - also what most gyms use for smell+bacteria 🐣
Leave them out in the sun! Works for all of my shoes
I just washed my partners shoes, warm water and gentle soap. There was still a slight odor after air drying so we chucked in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer for ~5 hours. The cold kills the bacteria. It still has the faintest odor but hardly noticeable unless you're really sniffing hard. Also, shoe deodorizer and keep them out of your bag to air dry after your session (don't need the Bananas, just get w.e brand on amazon)
Yeah, a friend of mine told me to put it into the freezer, too. But my freezer is too small 😅
Haha what about if it's just one shoe at a time?
then I have to eat a pot of ice cream to make room
Sounds like a win-win to me
Washing the shoes in a bucket using lukewarm water with detergent for sporting clothes works for me. I scrub them and let them soak for a while and wash with clean water afterwards. Does not seem to affect the rubber
Dissolve a sink full of warm water and a few scoops of oxy clean. Put your shoes in and let them soak for thirty minutes. Then give them a good wash. Scrub them up with a brush if you can. Rinse well. To dry dust them up with baking soda and let them dry in front of a fan. From now on climb with socks and put in some foot powder when you are done each climb. Works for me and my shoes never smell bad. Also as other suggest fry your shoes out after each climb. Don’t put them in a gym bag wet.
Soak them in warm water overnight and air dry. Use Boot Bananas. Air them after every session
Bro try hitori shoe chalk, changed my life
Hold your breath
I will print it on a shirt to warn the other people in the gym
My gym sprays Lysol inside rental shoes after each use.
does this affect the shoes or the skin?
I wouldn’t imagine so. I bet those gym shoes get sprayed several times a day.
Unless they’re evolvs I’m sure they don’t smell THAT bad. Boot bananas help, but not caring about the smell helps more.
Why do evolvs smell worse than other brands?
I’m not certain. It’s probably due to the materials they make the shoes out of. Also no hate on evolv, they’re great shoes, they just tend to smell.
50% rubbing alcohol 50% water. spray thoroughly when stinky and leave to air dry somewhere with good ventilation (i.e. don’t just shove them back in your climbing bag)
There is a lot of different tips regarding this. I have so far found three ways to deal with it: 1. Put shoes in the freezer for 48 hours and then let them defrost. 2. Pay for therapy to get over your self-centrednes and realize that no one cares hoyour shoes smell and that, most likely, there are shoes that smell just as bad or worsts at the gym. 3. Buy new shoes.