Approach shoes are a fun type of outdoorsy footwear that grant the wearer fundamental climbing capabilities (smearing, edging, jamming) while offering support that lands somewhere between a proper trail running shoe (or hiking boot) and a standard everyday sneaker.
Many options on the market come from rock climbing shoe companies who slap their highly specialized, sticky rubber compounds onto more typical footwear designs intended for climbers to wear with socks on varied terrain. (Our deepest condolences if you’re one of those people that wears socks in their climbing shoes.)
What Makes a Good Approach Shoe?
A good approach shoe should provide two prime traits: traction and support. The distance from the trailhead to start of a climbing route can be several miles of rugged trail or backcountry travel, and a pack full of gear is going to put some extra weight over your two feet. Those same two feet are going to need sticky rubber soles to hold fast over bouldery trails, too.
Our only hangup with approach shoes is that the hyper-functional but outrageous technical climbing aesthetic can be a bit much for those of us looking to fly under the radar. The following ten options, however, are more subtle, yet will still keep you on your feet and in control whether you're running down the subway platform to catch a closing door or scrambling a descent on a chunk of talus.
