ok - so I was out to lunch when I said that my shoes were like the La Sportiva Cirques. My shoes (some Merrell light hikers) have about the softest toe box around. I tried on the Cirques today and found my toe armor. For the benefit of anyone who has the same issue, here’s a quick review of the shoes I looked at.
To protect the toes, a shoe has to have a stiff toe box, a stiff sole - and it has to fit well enough and tight enough that your toes can’t hit the inside of the toe box.
5.10 impact. This is a bmx freeride/dh shoe. It’s made for hucking on flat pedals and it’s got tons of foot protection, toes, soles, and sides. People rave about the tread stickiness on pinned pedals. It’s got a great toe box and a stiff sole, but they’re too wide for my feet.
Lake RS Signature II. Hey - it’s advertised as “foot armor”. It’s got to be good, right? Also a bmx dh shoe. I ordered a pair (no one’s got them in town). We’ll see how they are when they arrive.
La Sportiva Cirque Pro. Tholub’s shoe above. These are climbing approach shoes, meant for sticking your toes into cracks. The toe and the sole are reasonably stiff, they fit my feet perfectly and they lace tight all the way to the toe, so there’s no movement in them. The sole and the tread are almost as flat as a bmx shoe, but there’s not as much protection on the side of the foot.
Pearl Izumi X-Alp Mid. Critter’s shoe above. This is an spd-compatible mountain bike shoe, that’s got a sole and tread closer to a flat-pedal shoe - made for hiking around in. The toe and sole are plenty stiff, but the tread and the arch aren’t quite as good for flat pedals as the others.
Shoes I didn’t try, but had on my list were:
661 dually
Lake DH165
Nike Air Whistler
VIZ bike trial shoe
Safety shoes like Brahma or Redwing or Skechers or Dunlop Volleys