Size 11-12! Where they at?!?

[nardthefox]

Hey guys, the title says it all. I'm a new climber looking to pick up some new shoes. I wear a standard 12, and word is I need to size down to 11 on the average. However, it seems it's a little large for Korea (go figure). Any ideas where in Seoul (preferably) they sell sizes that'll fit the bill?

[skinsk]

Jongno-5-ga is your best bet (Namdaemun, near Hoehyeon Station is a distant 2nd). The Jongno-5-ga area has a huge concentration of gear shops and the largest selection as well as the largest shoes. Quite a few "bigfoots" have been successful here.

[pk_00]

I went to Star-run in Gwangju to look for shoes. I'm US 11.5 generally.

According to conversion charts, 290 is something like size 14, however I could not fit my foot into a 290-sized New Newton (which was the only 290-sized shoe in the store). The lady there said that in Korea, anything larger than 290 is not available.

Are climbing shoes in general much sized-up, or these shoes in particular, or the labelling incorrect?

Guess I'll have to order my shoes internationally?

[nardthefox]

Hey guys, I found shoes! 290s are NOT 14's!
I went to Jongno5ga, and went down a side road near Mammut (I think that's spelled right)...it was the road headed toward the river. There are a few shops (2 or 3) right there that carry large sizes and give good rates on their gear. I got all I needed and more there last weekend. They have all the way up to about a size 14 or so, so you should be set, mate!

[na.wade]

Hi,

After reading these posts I made my way up to Jongno5ga this afternoon and was pretty disheartened to find that there was NO shop that had more than a 280( korean ) US 11.5 . I went into a load of shops and as soon as I asked for the 'big sizes' they laughed / looked embarrassed that I was even asking!!


Not to say that the guys in the shops weren't super helpful but none of them could help with shoes. Just a warning that's all, I don't live in Seoul so had taken the weekend to travel up and look at all the supposed shops. Not that many, and none that could give me 'big sizes'!! Not saying that the other posters are wrong, just that at the moment it seems that 280 (US11.5) is the biggest they are stocking. They do stock lots of other equipment at decent prices.

Nick