I'll give the only specific recommendation here so far... I have a pair of La Sportiva Tarantulas. I bought them because they were cheap, comfortable, cheap, available, and cheap.
We like cheap.
They're a very relaxed shape without a lot of hook or banana factor to them which I find infinitely more comfortable and suits me just fine. I've been abusing them for... Eight years now? Obviously I don't climb every day. Some weeks in the summer it seems like all I do, and sometimes I don't touch a rock for six months. Sometimes it's top rope at the local gym when the weather is shitty, sometimes trad out in the mountains, sometimes bouldering.
I am firmly of the opinion that clothes don't make the Superman. There is vanishingly little fancy gear can do you make you better at anything, and even using higher end rental shoes or borrowing those from others for a go I've never found any earthshaking difference or advantage conferred one way or the other. I conjecture there is one of two possibilities here:
A) Maybe I just suck and I'm too hamfisted to know the difference.
B) Or despite the breathless wine-snobbery people throw at attempting to describe the difference between shoes, it's probably not that big of a deal.
Take your pick. The tarantulas are $99 now. I think they were $79 back when I bought mine. They're green.
Damn thank you for the detailed opinion. Found them online they look fire, I will check my local store if they have them, at least some of the same brand, to try them irl
Are you new to climbing, or just looking for a new pair?
I am fairly new but already signed up for my local gym, so it does not need to be like professional or anything, i am planning on going maybe between 3 or 4 times a week depending on university
Shoes come either more or less "aggressive", which is how much they basically bend your foot. Really agressive shoes can help give you a bit of an edge especially on really hard bouldering, but they are really uncomfortable, so I wouldn't recommend them as a first pair. Even if you want to go more agressive later on, you'll never regret owning a more neutral pair for longer days at the crag.
Honestly, I would basically go for the type that most gyms have as rentals: evolv defy, black diamond momentum, scarpa origin, etc.
If you have wide feet, I really like butora as a brand, and they have a few pairs that should work great for a beginner.
I think the most important thing is to try shoes on in the store vs online. It's more expensive, but getting shoes that really fit like a glove is important.
