Under the Hood – FIVE TEN Anasazi Lace-Up Blanco

Under the Hood, is a review of the features behind the rubber sole at the business end of your shoes - the front half of the sole, which contacts with the rock – this is normally, the resoled area.

The 5.10 Blanco is the first rock shoe in my workshop, since starting my blog, which has something noteworthy, under the hood. The reality is that most rock shoes are not very worked under the hood – which is a pity.

The Blanco has the regular Anasazi midsole, with an extra cut out made from the same material, stuck over the regular midsole. This sits under all the toe pads. The photo below shows the outline of the inside edge of the extra cut out piece, as highlighted by the border shaded with red. The outside edge tracks the outline of the sole, by a few millimeters. This feature gives extra support for edging under the toes. The regular Anasazi may soften over time and lose it’s edging power - the Blanco will not. Even if you have strong toes (ie. you’re a gun) the Blanco will be a great choice for very small edges and on just-off to just-over vertical walls (when all your weight is on your feet).

I first noticed this cut out under the toes in the 5.10 Zipper - the most underrated rock shoe of its time. A lot of climbers thought it was gimmicky and “just a zipper”. The reality is that this shoe was one of the most pimped up ‘Under the Hood’ shoes I have ever seen - the cut out was just one of its many features – 10 out of 10 for bouldering.

A popular comment by pink Anasazi owners (that cannot let go) is that the Blanco’s are too stiff. They are stiffer under toes but after you have taught the rubber to bend, they will loosen up behind the toes and deliver sensitivity. The extra midsole cutout under the toes (when the shoes are broken in) should actually accentuate the shoes ability to claw down on holds on steeper terrain, as long as your fitting is not over tight.

If you buy this model, as over tight as your other Anasazis, they will be stiffer for longer as there is more midsole material to breakdown. Synthetic uppers do not stretch like leather uppers and I would recommend buy the Blanco to fit neat (as 5.10 recommends with all their synthetic uppered shoes) and reap the rewards of what should be a great dime edging shoe with sensitivity.

Hello world

Those of you that know me, realise that I can talk for forever about rock climbing shoes – now I am blogging it. Generally speaking, I do not like to express my opinions. I mostly prefer to give a perspective that will encourage more thought – if I write something you do not like, please keep this mind.

My intention is to blog about a range of climbing topics, but I will probably commentate a lot about rock climbing shoes.

For a free climber, rock climbing shoes (and chalk) are the only pieces of gear that will actually increase your physically ability to climb rock. All the other gear is fluff. Sure it may save your life if you fall off, but you don’t really need it, if you can hang on. If you have remembered your shoes, you are ready to climb.

Are shoes really the difference? It is sad when climbers blame their shoes for being weak. Harden up.

Check out Wolfgang’s shoes – definitely not downturned.