The Fresh Smell of Rubber unlike commonly found in stinky shoes like Evolv. Perhaps it's possible to grip the crag without losing newly found friendships by the unbearable odor that leaks from your feet.
Ok, there's probably more to the new slippers that FIVE-TEN put out besides their smell. But it was definitely pleasing to open up the box and find exactly what I was looking for.
Hopefully this article will help you with common questions you had about the shoe, things you wondered in terms of fit, grip, softness, edgyness, whatever...As well as show you photos beyond the 1 side shot that seems to be soloing Froogle.com and Five-ten's website.
So most importantly, I must admit that my previous climbing shoes were mad rock conflicts, a newer downturned, sticky shoe that I've found to be stickier than most rubber I've tried out. I really enjoyed the shoe, although in my opinion, I would have liked it a half size bigger in order to prevent the following calluses from arising on my big toe and back of my heel:

So I wear Lacoste sneakers on a sunny day and vans slip-on's when it's not so nice out.
Both shoes I wear a size 12, Although, I COULD fit into an 11 1/2.
I bought the mad rock conflicts in a size 11, which seemed to be way beyond small for me.
The FIVE-TEN website recommends that you size the shoe to your street shoe size, which I was very skeptical to do at first, but I ordered a size 12.
The whole shoe fits my battered foot very comfortably, It feels like there is a nice sharp extra bit of rubber on the toe for edging. the whole shoe feels very stiff on the sides. walking is painful, but i dont know how a such a severly down-turned toe can be comfortable without sacrificing stiffness.
As you can see, theres a bit of fold near my heel, and it feels like i might be able to pry the shoe off with my hands if i try hard enough, but after testing it in the gym, it feels real solid.
In the gym it felt very very good for edging, I felt confident on the smallest of jibs, as well as had a very sensitive mid-sole for the overhanging rock.
Admittedly, it didn't feel as sticky as my mad rock science friction 2.2 rubber, but that may change after breaking it in. On actual rock these shoes would definitely be insane.
The fit didn't bother me at all, besides the initial pain from the down-turned toe, but I know no matter how big I get the shoe, it probably wouldn't change that.
the shoe was fairly easy to get on and off with the triple loop enclosure.
I found the single strap up top to be pretty useful too, even though it wasn't necessary to keep the shoe on my foot.
Toe hooks felt very solid with the same 3.5mm rubber up-top
Heel hooks felt solid
Edging was super solid
I am happy I bought this shoe. :)
So basically
If you're a boulderer looking for a serious edging, sensitive, down-turned toe for overhanging rock shoe...get it!
Just make sure you get the shoe according to your street size. or possibly even one half bigger.
I could probably fit comfortably in most 11 1/2 street shoes, but I like room in the 12's
I don't have a wide foot or nothing, my heel sticks out a bit so I need the heel for a rock shoe to have a inward curving rear unlike the evolv pontas.
Oh, and another plus, especially for previous mocassym users...
These won't turn your feet red. maybe that's why you should try them.
Hope this was insightful for you guys! If you have any questions I'll be happy to answer.
-Alan
2 comments:
hey alan, would u be able to take a side shot of ur heel with no shoes with ur leg vertical, and 45 degrees forwards and backwards? once fitted, does the shoe have a dead space in the heel with ur foot?
thanks for the review so far, most insightful i've found!
whoops! sorry totally didnt see this comment till just now..
I'd be happy to take some more pictures, do you mean just my bare foot?
I do have a tiny amount of cushion in my heel at the bottom, which i find helps when i walk around, but doesn't come off my heel at all during hooking.
actually i was working on an extremely heel hook dependent problem outside the other day and it stuck so well that i had to be careful not to fall off with my foot still on!
Post a Comment