Monday, July 4, 2011

The Five Ten Dome




I have been climbing primarily in Five Ten shoes for the past five or more years, being converted instantly by the properties of the now-extinct V10. For my money, the Dragon is one of the very best bouldering shoes ever made. Recently Five Ten sent me a pair of their new trail-running shoe, the Dome, to try out. I put the shoes through their paces this spring and into the summer, beginning pretty much out of the box in North Wales. I wore these shoes on everything from the approach to Rainbow Slab in the slate quarries, where they were super-reliable on the slippery sharp talus, to a run/hike up Mount Snowdon where they proved comfortable and reliable on varied and steep terrain, even when I was very tired. They required no breaking in and worked well right out of the box.

The Dome passes muster on the street as well, proving up to the task of roving London for hours of sidewalks, the Tube, and a lot of museum walking. The understated style and natural colors of gray and green go well with normal street clothing and are inconspicuous outside while hiking.

The Five Ten Dome, Area A, Mt. Evans

The real acid test for me has been the numerous hikes this year to Mount Evans. Those who have completed the three mile hike to Area A know that comfortable durable shoes are a must. If you are packing close to 30 pounds of pads and other stuff, a stable solid shoe is even more important. They have been great in the early summer snow, mud and talus and I have not even come close to blisters or other foot pain. The breathable upper has been super comfortable on some pretty hot days recently.

The fit is generous but not sloppy and can be tightened down easily with the handy doubled lacing over the instep. While I wouldn't recommend the shoe for hard climbing or bouldering, they proved solid enough on a V4 I did in them recently at Flagstaff. The rubber is Five Ten's Stealth S1 which is very sticky but also shock absorbent, making it a good choice for talus-hopping down from Upper Chaos or the approach to Lincoln Lake.

Although I haven't been in them too long, only a few months, the finish and durability seem excellent and I look forward to seeing how they handle the steeper and more rocky approaches in RMNP. I unhesitatingly recommend this shoe for any hiking application where you need a solid but not too heavy trail shoe with sticky rubber. For bouldering in the Colorado high country they are perfect.

The Dome's colors blend in with gray granite and green lichen

9 comments:

Doug Lipinski said...

Pretty glowing review there. So much so that it's not particularly useful. Not a thing you would change? What are they best/worst at? Personally, I'd find that type of info a lot more useful.

Peter Beal said...

Hi Doug, Seriously not a thing to change. They have done really well at everything I have thrown at them, which I detailed in the review. They are not going to be great at technical terrain (which I mentioned) but otherwise they are really good shoes. Sorry to disappoint!

Micah Bryan Humphrey said...

Thanks for the real-time real-use pics Peter. Easy to get carried away in the glitzy advertising shots. Nice write up, wish I had saved my money and went with these instead of the WAY too stiff La Sportiva Boulder X's.

Peter Beal said...

Thanks for the comment Micah. I thought a couple of shots of the shoes after a few months of pretty heavy use would give readers a good idea of how they perform. Re: Boulder X's, the Sportiva approach shoes seems to focus more on climbing performance and maybe not so much on the walking part. Since I am doing mini-backpacking trips every time I am out and am not tackling class 4 approach sections, I am not as worried about technical performance. Instead I need something that holds up under weight, feels comfy and speedy, and is reliable on talus. I haven't tried Five Ten's other approach shoes so can't comment there.

Anonymous said...

good lord. they are paying you way too little to be writing this crap. i hike all summer in a pair of friggin flip flops, and hey, i can wear them to the louvre if i wish.

Peter Beal said...

Anon, join me on a hike to Upper Chaos in your flip-flops.

Unknown said...

Good lord, these people are uptight. Nice review, I'm pretty sure they are great shoes, as Five tens usually are. I wear a 13 in Solomon, and I got a pair of these in 12 and they felt a little odd, to much play, they felt a half size to large for me and gave me bad blisters. Super bummer.I think my experience is an exception to what I've been hearing.

Unknown said...

Good lord, these people are uptight. Nice review, I'm pretty sure they are great shoes, as Five tens usually are. I wear a 13 in Solomon, and I got a pair of these in 12 and they felt a little odd, to much play, they felt a half size to large for me and gave me bad blisters. Super bummer.I think my experience is an exception to what I've been hearing.

Jason Lamb said...

Nice review. I've been told that 5.10's run a little wide. Is this true?