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.

Read more »

Five Ten Dragon Climbing Shoe $149.95 Horrendously steep sport routes and boulder problems don't stand a chance against the precision and power of the Five Ten Dragon Rock Climbing Shoes. [Read more] Five Ten Jet 7 Climbing Shoe $144.95 One of the strongest boulderers in the world, Fred Nicole, calls the Five Ten Jet 7 Climbing Shoe absolutely the highest-performance shoe made. That pretty much describes it. [Read more] Five Ten V-10 Climbing Shoe (Fall 2007) $125.00 The V10 is the highest performance slipper on the market. Built on the same last as the Dragon - the V10 has a powerful down-turned toe that encourages using your feet to pull into the rock. The V1... [Read more]