Choosing a Climbing Shoe: What Perfitt Built with Nelson Sports
Perfitt and Nelson Sports built a climbing shoe finder that helped shoppers choose a model as well as a size. Launched in April 2025, the service used a smartphone photo to measure the shopper's feet and identify their foot and toe shape. It then used that information to recommend climbing shoes.
The useful distinction is simple: choosing which shoe to buy comes before choosing a size in it. The Nelson Sports collaboration put both decisions into one shopping experience, designed with first-time climbers in mind.
AI-generated editorial illustration. These shoes do not represent Nelson Sports products or a customer location.
Start with the shape of the foot
A shopper's usual shoe size tells a retailer little about the shape of their toes. Yet that shape matters when comparing the closely fitted designs in a climbing shoe collection.
In its September 2025 account of the launch, Perfitt described two priorities for the project: using toe shape to guide recommendations, and making the process easy for beginners. A shopper could start with a smartphone photo instead of having to understand technical shoe design terms.
The measurement step supplied information about foot length and width. Shape analysis added information about the front of the foot. Together, these gave the service more to work with when matching a person to a climbing shoe model.
Original screens published with Perfitt's 2025 Nelson Sports case. The measurements shown belong to the example displayed in that source.
Turn foot information into a choice of models
The published case named five categories: Roman, Egyptian, Greek, Round and Hallux valgus. These are the category names used in that service; they are not presented here as a medical assessment. The original screen also includes a separate “Not classified” option.
The recommendation screen makes the connection visible. It shows the selected foot-shape category, followed by named climbing shoe models. In the example below, the Round category appears above Remora HV and Veloce. This is a historical example of the service's output, rather than shopping advice for every person with that foot shape.
Original 2025 screen, reproduced unchanged. It shows how a foot-shape result led to model suggestions.
For a retailer, the important connection is between information about the customer and information about the shoes:
Information used | How it helps the shopper choose |
|---|---|
Foot length and width | Provide measurements for size and fit guidance. |
Foot and toe shape | Help identify models suited to the shape of the foot. |
The dimensions and fit of individual shoe models | Connect the foot information to actual products in the collection. |
A size conversion chart cannot make that product choice. It can translate one size system into another, but it does not identify which model to consider. Perfitt's work with Nelson Sports brought model recommendations into the same journey as size guidance.
Make specialist knowledge easier to use
The project addressed a concrete challenge for specialist retailers: a new customer may need help narrowing the collection before they can decide what to order. The service used foot information to offer that starting point, while keeping the shopper's next step focused on actual shoes.
The category remains relevant. In its August 24, 2026 impact-report announcement, USA Climbing reported record participation across several competition series in 2025. Separately, the Outdoor Industry Association's 2026 retail summary identified footwear as a standout category in athletic specialty and sporting-goods retail, led by running and running-inspired shoes. These describe the wider market, not results from the Nelson Sports service.
For brands and distributors selling technical footwear, the Nelson Sports example offers a clear application of Perfitt's technology: use foot measurements and shape to help shoppers find suitable models, then guide their size choice.
Talk to Perfitt about a specialist footwear shoe finder and explore how this approach could apply to your collection.