Climbing Shoe Company Review I: FiveTen, the Founding Father
Like all things, Climbing has evolved. Shoes have evolved. As they’ve gotten smaller and more precise, standards have risen. This trend continues as innovation and increasingly difficult routes feed on each other. There are now quite a few major brands of climbing shoes that are available worldwide, each with it’s own unique qualities and advantages. We’re not talking about Nike; these shoes are designed by climbers and made by climbers, often in a single facility consisting of maybe 200 people. Sometimes it’s important to know what companies your business is supporting, so here is a review, plus a little background, on one of the best shoemakers in the world, FiveTen.
FiveTen
FiveTen is considered to be the founding father of the modern climbing shoe, so to speak; the Master Splinter of shoe design. FiveTen is not only responsible for the U.S.’s first sticky rubber, but also for many of the design innovations that are now standard features for all brands.
The family-owned company was founded by Charles Cole in 1985. After finishing his MBA from University of Michigan, Cole was putting up first ascent aid routes in Yosemite (often solo) when he slipped during a descent of El Cap. As a result he set out to create a durable rubber formula that would have better friction than anything anyone had experienced, and Stealth Rubber was born. Since then FiveTen has come out with Stealth S1, Stealth C4 (my personal favorite), Stealth HF (high friction), Stealth Amphibia (for water), and Stealth ONYXX, which is twice as durable as any climbing rubber available. It’s so good that even climbers who are paid to wear shoes by other companies resole with Stealth. In fact, Stealth Rubber resole kits make up 99.9% of resole sales worldwide.
It doesn’t stop there, as FiveTen is mostly responsible for the modern rock shoe design. Cole invented the first sling shot rand, the first down-turned last, and the first heel wedge to cushion impact. He was also the first to include pull tabs on both climbing and approach shoes, baseball stitching to alleviate hot spots, and graded midsoles to adjust the shoe’s flexibility to different climber weights. Probably his biggest breakthrough was the fishhook midsole, allowing a shoe to have both the stiffness around the toes required for edging and a flexible underfoot for smearing and sensitivity. Such all-around performance classics as the Anasazi, Moccasym, and Spire have been some of the country’s best-selling shoes for years, and are a testament to the skill and wisdom of FiveTen. Sponsoring the likes of Dave Graham, Katie Brown, Fred Nicole, and many more, you know they’re doing something right.
So, if your shoe priorities are for comfort, as well as what is arguably the best rubber on the planet, then FiveTen is for you.
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Tags: Climbing Shoes, Five Ten, mocasyms, Rock Climbing, sticky rubber
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