Reviewer Information

• Name: Cora Hussey
• Age: 23
• Gender: Female
• Height: 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
• Weight: 150 lb (70 kg)
• Email address: cahhmc "at" yahoo "dot" com
• Location: Los Angeles, California, USA
• Date: April 19, 2004

Basic Product Information

• Year of Manufacture: 2004
• URL: http://www.fiveten.com/
• Listed weight: Unknown
• Weight as delivered: 16 oz (455 g) per shoe, 32 oz (910 g) per pair
• Size: 9.5 US Unisex (42.5 EU)

Preliminary Information

• Date of arrival: April 15, 2004
• Contents of package (contents were complete):
  • One pair of 5.10 Canyoneer shoes, in shoebox
  • One nice 5.10 sticker and packing slip
• Condition upon arrival: Excellent
• The Canyoneers were easy to put on and figure out how to use
• The Canyoneers are what I expected from looking at the web site

Product Description

General:

The 5.10 Canyoneers are slip-on shoes with buckles for fit, a neoprene collar, mesh uppers, and a sticky rubber sole. They are designed for water sports that also demand cushioning and traction. From the website, the advertised features are:

• Stealth S1 soles (Sticky rubber bottoms)
• Synthetic leather and breathable mesh upper (Yellow mesh, black synthetic leather rand-protector around base of foot above sole, and synthetic leather protector over the neoprene cuff)
• Self bailing EVA (Four drain holes on each shoe and spiffy grid-style insoles)
• Compression molded EVA (1 in / 2.5 cm of cushioning between sole and heel)
• Doubled 3mm (0.12 in) neoprene ankle collar (Has Velcro-type closure, and extends down over top of foot)

Sole

The sole is fairly straightforward sticky rubber, but the bailing system in the midsole is quite interesting. You can see the locations of the drain holes in the picture above. The insole has a diamond-shaped pattern on the bottom of it -- and water drains down through the insole via these diamonds. Here is a picture of the tread pattern and the bottom of the insole (the part that rests against the shoe, not my foot) with its diamond drain pattern. That draining then can go into the holes in the midsole and to the outside of the shoe. The bottom of the insole had a sticker on it which I peeled partially off; the white stuff is the remnants of it. The tread looks much bigger than the insole because the cuff is tilting the sole towards the camera, but both fit together really well in non-parallax real life.

Putting on and Fitting

Putting on the Canyoneers is quite easy. I undo the Velcro-type closure on the cuff flap, hold it open with one hand, and then pull the shoe on using the pull tab at the back of the cuff. I did this easily even when my feet were bare and sweaty. Fitting the shoe to my foot with the buckles, however, is another story. The straps are quite surprisingly stiff. They required a bit of fiddling to get them cinched down tightly and put through the buckles and on the other side. But, once on, they felt secure. The shoes would have definitely been too loose without the buckles. Without socks, my toes do not touch the front of the shoe (which I like). If I were looking for more sensitivity, I would choose a size down. The cuff rises 5 in (13 cm) above my heel, which is right at the back of my Achilles tendon. Here is a view from the top. You can see the neoprene wrapping from inside to outside and the buckles coming over the top.

Details and Other Notes

The mesh of the Canyoneers crunches down a little when I tighten the buckles. If I am careful, the mesh still stays flat, but if I am not then it can get folds in it under the tightened buckles. The back of the heel (under the synthetic leather, and below the cuff) has some sort of stiffener in it. At the very front of the sole, where the sticky rubber curls up over the front of the toe (where I have had other soles unpeel themselves over time) there are three strong looking stitches to further secure the rubber to the shoe.

Field Testing Plan

Trip Details:

My proposed testing of the Canyoneers will occur over about six water trips ranging from multi-day canoeing or kayaking trips to single day river scrambles. Conditions will likely include grit, algae, butt-slider moss, fresh water, salt water, sulphur water, granite, sandstone, and igneous rocks. Temperatures will likely range from 90 F (27 C) to right above freezing. Elevations will range between sea level and around 5000 ft, and the trips will be in ocean and river-run rocky terrain.

Test Plan Details:

My test plan is to wear the Canyoneers on all of my wet and scrambling adventures. I currently use either an old pair of resoled tennis shoes, or my favorite sandals. The Canyoneers will be used instead.

I intend to examine the traction of the Canyoneers. This is more than whether they stick to rocks, wet or dry, but also whether they bend and conform to stick to oddly angled rocks, and whether they shed sand and algae from the soles quickly to stick to rock on the next steps. This also includes how well they edge, smear, and hop. Traction is probably the most important aspect of scrambling shoes for me, because adding to my confidence while scrambling additionally adds a whole lot to my fun.

I also intend to test different aspects of comfort, including stability, warmth, cushioning, and fit. How well do the Canyoneers hold up to sharp rocks under and around my feet? How much ankle stability to they have? Do they keep out grit, and drain out what they let in? How warm are they in late spring runoff, and how cool are they for being shoved in hot sand all day? How easy are the buckles to use, and how well do they achieve a secure and comfortable fit? I will examine how well they protect my toes and ankles from rocks, and how sore my feet are after a day of scrambling, hopping, and wading.

I wish to test the versatility of the Canyoneers. I will examine how well they bail, breathe, cushion, and dry in a variety of conditions. Due to my diverse interests, I have shied away from traditional water shoes for my current canyon, kayak, and wet scrambling adventures because of their lack of underfoot padding. Thus, I will be doing more with the Canyoneers than just canyoneering. I will be dry scrambling with them, kayaking and canoeing, and generally playing around in them on any wet and rocky adventure.

Finally, I wish to test their durability. I will examine how well the neoprene holds up to sharp rocks, and how long lasting the sticky rubber is on the sole. I will be yanking on the buckles, shuffling through hot spring water, scrambling across sharp rocks, and generally abusing these awesome looking shoes.

Initial Tests and Personal Observations

The first thing I did was take them out of the box and put them on. So far, so good. They were easy to put on and, with a little fiddling with the stiff buckles, easy to adjust and fit to my foot. They are comfortable with only bare feet, and I chose to wear them while walking around the apartment.

After an hour or so, I poked at them and examined them more closely. This is when I happily discovered the interesting diamond pattern of the insole and how that and the bailing holes fit together to drain water. I also experimented with the pull loop at the back of the heel and different fits with the buckles and Velcro-type closure at the cuff. The toe is somewhat tapered, and yet it is very tall. My toes have excessive amounts of wiggle room, and yet my feet feel secure. I like the fit a lot because my feet slide around in wet conditions and with shorter shoes I have a tendency to lose toenails.

The shoes themselves felt very soft. I played around on some concrete stairs, and toeing in to small edges was uncomfortable. Smearing on the concrete and edging on the side of my foot on the concrete, however, worked very well. After puttering around close to home, I decided to navigate the urban canyon to the supermarket, which involved probably a mile or so of Los Angeles streets. The results: The Canyoneers are certainly more cushiony than any other water shoes I've worn. My bare feet felt like they would need to get to know the insides of the Canyoneers better before being comfortable with all the edges and ends rubbing around, but the only casualty was a tiny bit of heel skin at the back of my Achilles tendon. I think this was more due to the fact that I had cinched down the cuff for everything it was worth rather than a bad fit. I will experiment with it more in the future.

For now, however, everything looks great. The threads from the three strong stitches on the toe to hold the sole on have some long trailing tails. These sit under the insoles just fine, but they mean that taking the insoles in and out is a big pain. I have to push all the threads down and slide the insole in carefully (or try two or three times before getting above all the threads) to keep them underneath. But that is a small complaint. These shoes look super spiffy and I can't wait to get them out on some wet, rocky, and fun terrain.

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Reviews > Footwear > Boots > Five Ten Canyoneer > Cora Hussey > Initial Report