I bought the Tenaya Mundaka climbing shoes 2 years ago, because a friend recommended them to me and I needed new shoes. Ever since then I climbed with them 2-3 times a week and I am still very happy with them. In the table below I included all pros and cons of the shoes I experienced in the 2 years of wearing them.
| Pros of The Tenaya Mundaka | Cons of The Tenaya Mundaka |
| High comfort because of streching toe area | Soft toe area nonoptimal for small feet holds and edges |
| Ideal for bouldering indoors and outdoors | Not ideal for lead/route climbing |
| Great rubber area for toe hooks | Streches very much after using for a while |
| Very comfortable as an agressive shoe | Pretty expensive compared to other models |
| Long durability because of flexible material | Might not be as thight because of wide fitting range |
| Flexible and soft midsole | Only available in one colour |
If you are interested in some points of the pros or cons and want more details about it, keep reading, as I wrote a subheading about every aspect of the climbing shoes. If you are not sure if the Tenaya Mundaka is the right shoe for you check out the “Who is The Tenaya Mundaka For?” section.
The Fit of The Tenaya Mundaka
This rock climbing shoe is very soft in the toe area, which is why it is very comfortable. Even when worn as an agressive shoe for the highest perforance the Tenaya Mundaka is still pretty comfortable and fits very well due to it’s soft material.
The shoe is also very flexible and adapts to many shapes of climbing holds. Especially the midsole is the most flexible part and standing on edges with the shoe feels completely fine. Because of this flexibility the Mundaka has a very wide fitting range and adjusts to most foot forms.
This can be an advantage, as the climbing shoe fits almost everybody and can also be bought for teenagers that are still growing into the shoe. However this can also be negative, because the shoe doesn’t fit as thight as other shoes when bought in the same size. Because of this Tenaya recommends to buy the shoe one size smaller than your regular street shoe size is, for a comfort fit.
For a balanced fit, which increases the performace but is still comfortable, it is recommended to buy the climbing shoes 1.5 sizes smaller than your regular shoe size. For an agressive fit, which enables maximum performance by curling your toes in the front of the shoe, -2 is the recommended size reduction.
Be aware, that when buying an agressive shoe you sacrifice a lot of comfort for performance. This can be very useful when climbing boulders that are at the upper end of your grade range, but you should definitely remove the shoes between every attempt. However the Mundaka is still pretty comfortable to wear with an agressive fit, because of the soft matrial.
| Rock Climbing Shoe Fit | Recommended Sizing for Tenaya Mundaka |
| Comfort | -1 |
| Balanced | -1.5 |
| Agressive | -2 |
Because the soft material of the shoe, the Tenaya Mundaka will strech 0.25 up to 0.5 sizes after wearing it for a couple weeks. This strech is completely normal for a rock climbing shoe, which is why it is recommended to always buy climbing shoes a little bit smaller than you would wear them.
Because the Mundaka is so comfortable you can walk in the shoes from one boulder to another without needing to remove them, unless they are an agressive fit. However it is a good practice to remove the climbing shoes after a couple boulders to give your feets a bit of freedom.
The velcro straps of the Tenaya Mundaka make the shoe fit perfectly and can be adjusted in a very wide range. Because of this it is no problem to switch between climbing with or without socks. The velcro is very durable and I can still tightly close the shoes after using them regularly for 2 years.
The Performance of The Tenaya Mundaka
The Tenaya Mundaka is performing best on steep walls and overhangs, as it is optimized for bouldering. The soft and felxible material allows you to toe into holds on overhangs and is optimal for holds where you have to put a lot of power onto.
The design of the shoe allows you to put very much pressure onto feet holds, which is ideal for steep and hard boulder problems. On easier boulders the Tenaya Mundaka will still do fine, as the feet holds will be pretty big and easy to stand on. Because of this I can recommended this shoe to beginners, who want a shoe that lasts long and don’t want to worry about buying a new one every few months, but also more advanced climbers.
The only thing the Mundaka struggles with are tiny feet holds and edges. Because of the soft toe area, standing on them for a longer period of time can be pretty uncomfortable. However the grip on tiny feet holds is great with these shoes, due to the flexibility of the material.
As already mentioned, if you want maximum perforamance the Mundaka should be bought as an agressive fit, which isn’t a problem, because the shoe is designed to be worn in this fit primarily. The Mundaka still balances comfort pretty well when worn 2 sizes smaller, which is why I recommended to buy this shoe if you want an agressive fit.
After wearing this shoe for 2 years I can only say positive things about its performance. The shoe is pretty durable and the performance keeps pretty much the same. Alotugh I climbed boulders with small feet holds pretty often the toe area is still good and the rubber performance is also still on a good level.
The Tenaya Mundaka has the best performance in bouldering indoors and outdoors because of its soft and flexible material, but is also okay to use for lead climbing.
If you want to use these shoes for bouldering and lead climbing you can definitely do that, as the performance of the Mundaka in lead climbing is still pretty okay. However I wouldn’t recommend them for lead climbing only, as there are other climbing shoes that are specifically designed for that.
For lead climbing you probably want a climbing shoe that has a harder toe area, because the feet holds aren’t as hard as in bouldering, but there are way more you have to climb in order to reach the top. The flexible midsole also is pretty useless for lead climbing and only really good in bouldering.
The Durability of The Tenaya Mundaka
Since I’m wearing the Tenaya Mundaka regularly since 2 years I kind of did a long term test with it. In terms of durability the climbing shoe is just great. The shoe didn’t get any worse over time and is still in totally fine to use for the next few years.
If you are looking for a rock climbing shoe that will last very long, this one is definitely the one for you. The rubber is still good and there is also no damage at all on the sole or anywhere else on the shoe. Most of the times climbing shoes breaks on the front part of the sole, because this is the part most pressure is applied when climbing.
Especially hard boulders only have little feet holds where you can only stand on with your toes. Then your whole body weight is on this tiny part of the shoe, which wears it of pretty quickly. The Mundaka however is very soft and can adapt to the different shapes of the feet holds, which makes it very durable.
The rubber is still pretty good after all this time and I can still attempt hard boulders with these shoes. From time to time it is recommended to clean the rubber on the sole from the chalk that gets on it when climbing. This isn’t specifically unique to the Mundaka and more of a general tip on how to keep climbing shoes in a good condition.
As already mentioned, the Tenaya Mundaka streches quite a bit over the period of a couple weeks after first wearing them. However this doesn’t continue over time and once they are a bit streched they keep their size and shape for the next years.
Who is The Tenaya Mundaka For?
The Mundaka climbing shoe is designed for bouldering, especially on steep walls and overhangs. This is why I highly recommended this shoe to advanced climbers that often attempt more complex and steep boulder problems where the feet holds are very important.
However this shoe is also great for beginners, that want to start climbing regularly. The shoe is quite expensive, but because of the price-perforamce ratio, it’s definitely worth the price. So if you plan on climbing often this shoe is good because of its high durability and it’s still appropriate when you get better at climbing.
If you are just getting started with bouldering or climbing in general and you are not sure how often or long you want to climb this shoe might not be the best one to buy for you. There are other shoes that are way less expensive and also do their job, you probably rather want to buy.
Because the Tenaya Mundaka is optimized for bouldering the shoe isn’t good for people that only lead or speed climb. There are other shoes that are spefically made for this kind of climbing with different features. So if you plan on primarily bouldering and maybe sometimes lead or speed climbing, the Mundaka is a good choice for you.
If you want to buy the Tenaya Mundaka or read more reviews you can click on the buy buttom below. If you buy the climbing shoes though that way I get a little commsion. If you do so, thank you very much for your support and have fun climbing in your new shoes.
Final Thoughts
From my personal experience the Tenaya Mundaka is the best rock climbing shoe I ever had. Especially in bouldering the shoe is just great and enables very high performance while still not sacrificing too much comfort. I bought the shoe in a balanced fit, because I am just a hobby climber and the fun is most important to me.
I think if you are seriously involved into climbing you can’t really make something wrong with this shoe. For the price it’s just one of the best climbing shoes in it’s category.