How To Prevent Climbing Shoes From Smelling

Maybe you just picked up a new pair of climbing shoes and you don’t want them to stink. Maybe you noticed half your climbing friends have funky shoes and you’d rather not share that trait. Either way, if you’re wondering how to prevent your climbing shoes from smelling, you’re in the right place. 

Below is everything you need to know to keep your shoes fresh. If you don’t feel like reading the whole thing, here’s the quick version:

To avoid shoe odor, you first have to understand why your shoes stink. Bacteria growth is the main cause of smelly climbing shoes, so the best way to prevent the smell is to stop bacteria from growing in the first place.

And read to the end for a link to my post on 11 cheap ways to make your shoes smell better if they already reek.

Why Do My Climbing Shoes Stink?

All athletic shoes can get funky, but climbing shoes seem to stink more than most. Cramming your feet into a shoe that’s too small probably doesn’t help, and if you’re curious about that, here’s how tight your climbing shoes should actually fit. The smell itself comes from bacteria growing inside your shoes, and that growth mostly comes down to the environment climbing shoes create. Here are the most common reasons your shoes stink, and if you keep reading, I’ve got a way to prevent each one.

Sweat

Everyone sweats through their feet while climbing. If your shoes don’t let that moisture evaporate, or if it gets trapped inside, bacteria can grow. The material matters too. Synthetic climbing shoes are more likely to stink. If you’ve got synthetic shoes, don’t worry, you don’t need to return them. You’ve still got hope and can keep them from stinking.

Dead Skin

Dead skin is an unfortunate but very common cause of bacteria growth, because it’s a perfect home for it. Most climbers have callouses that rub off their feet while they climb thanks to the heat, moisture, and friction inside the shoe. 

Stress

Here’s a weird one. Stress can cause foot odor, which then turns into shoe odor. And stress shows up a lot in climbing (something about hanging off the side of a cliff with the risk of falling). So it’s no wonder plenty of climbers deal with smelly shoes. If you notice you stress a lot while climbing, it might be worth working on your mental game so you’re not so wound up on the wall.

How Can I Prevent My Climbing Shoes From Smelling?

Wear Socks (Ya, I Know You Don’t Want To)

Look anywhere outside a climbing blog and you’ll hear that socks are the best way to prevent shoe odor. Clean socks soak up the moisture, so your shoes are less likely to stink. 

That said, most climbers feel socks mess with their feel on the wall, so this might not be the move for you. If you’re on the fence, you might be surprised how many people wear socks with climbing shoes.

Scrub Your Feet

Since dead skin is such a good home for bacteria, getting it off your feet before you slide them into your shoes goes a long way.

Scrubbing your feet and taking off any dead skin (callouses included) every day can feel uncomfortable, but some climbers swear by it. If you’ve ever pulled off your shoes and watched dead skin flake off your heel or big toe, you need to start scrubbing your feet right now.

No need for a chemical peel. And yes, those are a thing. You can grab a foot mask that removes dead skin at Target. At the very least, though, pick up a pumice stone or a foot grater, depending on the state of your feet.

Use the pumice stone every day during or right after your shower, while your skin is soft and the dead skin comes off easily. Do this often enough and you’ll notice a lot less skin coming off when you take your feet out of your shoes.

Wipe Your Shoes With An Antiseptic Wipe

Bacteria is pretty easy to knock out before it turns your shoes rank. One cheap and low-key way is to wipe the inside of your shoes with an antiseptic wipe after each climb. Any bacteria that’s just starting to grow gets killed before it’s too late.

Antiseptic wipes usually live in the first-aid section of the store and come in individual packets, kind of like sugar packets. Toss a few in your climbing bag (or even your pocket) and wipe the shoes down after each session, before you rejoin society.

One nice bonus of keeping antiseptic wipes at the crag is that they’re multipurpose. If you scrape a knee or get a flapper, you can use a clean wipe to clean the area before you bandage it up.

Spray Disinfectant After Each Session

Probably the fastest way to kill bacteria, though not the most discreet, is a disinfectant spray. Grab a bottle of Lysol or whatever brand you like for a couple of bucks, and it takes about a second to hit your shoes after each session. 

I keep a bottle of Lysol in the trunk of my car and spray my shoes before they go back in after a session. It kills the bacteria, prevents the odor, and leaves a fresh smell, so the shoes end up smelling better than the day I bought them.

Unlike wearing socks or wiping the shoes down, spray doesn’t take away the dead skin left behind, so you should still scrub your feet and keep it out of your shoe in the first place.

Do Your Shoes Already Stink? It Isn’t Too Late

Maybe you’ve already noticed your shoes stink, and even though you’ve started scrubbing your feet, the damage feels done. I wrote a whole post on cheap ways to pull the odor back out of your climbing shoes. Check it out: 11 CHEAP Ways To Make Your Shoes Smell Better. It also pairs well with our full guide on how to clean and disinfect all of your climbing gear, since your shoes aren’t the only thing at the crag picking up funk.

Conclusion

Climbing shoes stink all the time, but once you understand what causes the odor you can head it off. The usual suspects are moisture, dead skin, and stress, all of which make it easy for bacteria to grow. 

You can prevent that growth by wearing socks, scrubbing your feet every day, cleaning your shoes with an antiseptic wipe, and spraying them with disinfectant. You don’t have to do all of these every time you climb, but doing at least one after each session cuts way down on the chance your shoes develop a smell.

If you like small, practical fixes like these, that’s basically my whole newsletter. Every week I send one short climbing drill you can knock out in about 15 minutes, and it’s free. Join the free newsletter here and level up your climbing 15 minutes at a time.

Frequently asked questions

How do I prevent my climbing shoes from smelling?

Stop the bacteria before it starts. Wear clean socks if you can stand them, scrub the dead skin off your feet, wipe the inside of your shoes with an antiseptic wipe after each session, and spray them with a disinfectant like Lysol. You don’t have to do all four every time. Doing even one of them after you climb keeps most of the odor away.

Why do climbing shoes stink so much more than regular shoes?

Odor comes from bacteria growing inside the shoe, and climbing shoes create the perfect home for it. Your feet sweat, the shoes are tight and don’t breathe well, dead skin builds up, and synthetic materials trap moisture. Cramming your feet into a shoe that’s too small doesn’t help either.

Do you have to wear socks to keep climbing shoes from smelling?

No. Socks help because they soak up moisture, but most climbers skip them for better feel on the wall. If you go sockless, lean harder on the other habits: scrub your feet, wipe the shoes down, and spray them after each session.

Can antiseptic wipes and disinfectant spray really stop shoe odor?

Yes. Bacteria is easy to kill before it takes over. An antiseptic wipe run around the inside of the shoe after each climb, or a quick spray of Lysol, kills the bacteria that causes the smell. Just remember spray doesn’t remove dead skin, so keep scrubbing your feet too.

My climbing shoes already smell. Is it too late?

It’s not too late. Once shoes already stink you’re treating the odor instead of preventing it, and there are plenty of cheap fixes for that. Start the prevention habits now, and check out our post on 11 cheap ways to make your shoes smell better.

Sara Climbing Coach, Climbing Trainer, Writer

Sara is the founder of Send Edition, author of '77 Drills to Help You Climb Better,' the creator of 'Elevate Your Climbing: Training Planner and Tracker,' and climbing coach.

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