Bufo Shark, $78

During my first summer of full-time rock climbing, I did everything possible to stretch my dollars and continue the road trip. So when the rubber on my hand-me-down shoes finally wore thin, it was a no-brainer: I'd do the resole myself.

The resole-kit directions suggested using a mild heat source to help remove the old soles. No problem. I borrowed a friend's kitchen one afternoon and turned on the stove. Waving one shoe over the red coils did nothing but singe the hair on my hand. Unfazed, I slid my friend's cast-iron skillet on the burner with both shoes neatly arranged in the pan and went outside to knock off a few pull-ups while the shoes warmed up. Ten pulls later, the smoke alarm went off.

Inside, I almost gagged on the black fumes. My shoes bubbled in a mass of black goo at the bottom of the skillet. I optimistically poked at the stew with a wooden spoon, but my shoes were already goners. The hardest part of the deal was coughing up cash for a new pair of rock shoes and a replacement skillet.

Whether you've fried your shoes in a pan or on the rock, replacing them is never easy. There are no less than 80 different models available today, and who can really tell them all apart? The payoff for this competition, though, is that manufacturers must constantly improve shoe designs to stay afloat. We tested 14 of the latest releases for spring, and were surprised by the overall quality in the market.

Just as exciting for us consumers is the current tidal wave of lower-priced shoes. Thanks to the strength of the U.S. dollar and relatively cheap manufacturing costs overseas, there are eight new $100-and-under imports in this review. The big question is whether these low-ball models really stand up against higher-priced shoes. Want to know the answer? Read on.

Testing the shoes. Seven unsponsored Climbing staff members and myself tested the shoes through the late winter and spring. We climbed for a few days indoors to break in the shoes, then headed outside for the real experience. Rubber met rock on sharp sandstone boulders, granite cracks, and slippery limestone sport crags throughout Colorado. We even road-tripped to the perfect splitters of Utah's Indian Creek. Dang, it was a tough job.

Along the way, we rated each shoe for its best attributes -- all-day comfort, for example, or a stiff midsole for edging support. Since it's impossible for a soft, thin-crack shoe to excel during calf-busting stints on dime edges, or vice-versa, we didn't penalize a model for faltering on terrain beyond its design. As you read the reviews below, it is important to consider what level of stiffness, camber, and width will suit your needs best, rather than jumping on the first shoe that earns an A rating.

Fit. How a shoe fits your foot is the single largest factor in performance, regardless of the rating it may receive here. Even the well-loved shoes were dismissed by at least one tester each for being too narrow, too wide, or awkwardly shaped in the toe. The problem was often not the shoe, but rather the feet trying to cram into a design that was not meant for their unique shape.

The perfect shoe should feel like love at first bite -- the heel cup wraps firmly without any dead-air pockets, the instep of the shoe (both above and below your foot) is snug but not painful, and your toes fill the end of the shoe naturally without uneven toe pressure.

How tight should your shoes be? That's a tricky question, but a good guideline is to fit stiff edging shoes and all-day models comfortably snug so the ends of your toes hit the front of the shoe with no or very little curling. Sport-climbing and bouldering shoes that have a more flexible midsole or no midsole at all should be fit with bent toes.

Lining. A lined shoe will generally stretch about half a size, max. Unlined shoes usually stretch anywhere from a half size to one-and-a-half sizes. In other words, fit unlined shoes tighter than lined models, because they'll stretch quite a bit.

Stiffness and sole shapes. If you are buying your first pair of shoes, consider where you will be climbing most of the time. Many people getting started will want a somewhat stiff and supportive shoe with a flat or upturned sole (like a sneaker) for all-day comfort. This design is still a favorite choice of advanced climbers doing long routes in Yosemite, the Black Canyon, or on Cannon Cliff.

If you plan to do a lot of indoor climbing, bouldering, or overhanging sport climbing, consider purchasing a more flexible shoe with a down-turned toe (also called camber). These models grab better than stiff, flat-soled shoes. Finally, many Indian Creek aficionados recommend flexible, low-profile, and flat-soled slippers or shoes for toeing into thin cracks.

Before you cringe at the thought of buying four pairs of shoes for these different scenarios, take heart: Quite a few models reviewed here are high-performance all-arounders, and will see you comfortably up 90 percent of the world's rock-climbing terrain. These shoes combine a thin midsole with a flat or slightly cambered sole for admirable edging support, grabbiness on steep terrain, and just enough flexibility for smearing and crack climbing.