Footwear

Five Ten Anasazi LV Review

I bought my first pair of Anasazis a couple of years ago, and loved the sticky rubber and precision feel.  However, for me the fit of the brown Anasazi VCS was never quite right – wearing a size I could get my feet into, there was always dead space in the heel.

Five Ten Galileo Review

Despite quietly residing in the shadows of other stalwart and widely acclaimed models, such as the Anasazi Velcro, Verde and Blanco, the Five Ten Galileo has steadily earned a reputation as a solid performer, since its creation some 5 years ago.

Mad Rock Mugen Tech 2.0 Review

I must admit that I’m a bit of a contrary character; over the last 10 years when each pair of rockboots that I’ve owned have been relegated to warming up duty and I’ve been on the lookout for a new pair I’ve always fancied something different. Believing that another brand or model may offer a superior fit, or greater performance...

Edelrid Typhoon Review

As a rule, I’d have to admit to having always been somewhat of an Imelda Marcos when it comes to climbing footwear, both personally and as a buyer. However, on my first encounter with Edelrid’s new(ish) rock shoe range my usual enthusiasm for rock boots was...

Scarpa Axis

The first thing I noticed about these shoes as I pulled them out of the box was how light they are compared to most of the shoes I’ve been wearing recently. There are many advantages to having a lightweight approach shoe: The lack of excess padding on the upper means that they retain relatively little water on the sort of boggy terrain...

Scarpa Instinct Lace

Back in spring this year Scarpa UK kindly gave me a pair of the new Instinct Lace to run the rule over. This, along with the slipper version of the same shoe, is the latest performance footwear offering from the brand, and bar the Mago and Booster is Scarpa UK’s highest specification rock shoe. The Instinct series fills the slot left by the now defunct Spectro, although...

Five Ten Rogue

Over the last couple of months I have been road testing the new(ish) Five Ten Rogue, which is Five Ten’s solution to the ‘budget performance shoe’ hole in their range. In recent years this popular area of the market has been dominated by the likes of Evolv (Defy), Mad Rock (Flash) and Boreal...

Five Ten Insight

After the demise of the Mountain Master some years back, Five Ten reinvented their approach shoe line, and have been on a continuing quest to improve and streamline the range since that original overhaul.

Five Ten Team 5.10

Having been a long time devotee of the Five Ten brand, and more appropriately the products, I always look forward to road testing their latest offering. This enthusiasm is always heightened when the new product is a cutting edge performance offering. As such the dawn of a product like the new “Team 5.10” is always...

Black Diamond Frontpoint Gaiter GTX

The Black Diamond Frontpoint Gaiter (GTX) is a full length, tight fitting gaiter and, as the name would suggest, designed with ice climbing in mind. As my main winter pursuit is snow, ice and mixed climbing, I thought these would be a good choice for me.