Location(s) of test:

The Canyoneers were tested both in wet limestone canyons found in the Spanish Pyrenees and Sierra de Guara Mountains in Spain, as well as the sandstone slots of the desert southwest in Zion National Park in the US.

Terrain:

The Spanish canyons consisted of polished limestone and most often featured flowing streams. Footing ranged from good trail to rocky stream beds covered with stones which ranged in size from pea gravel to boulders. Travel through these areas consisted of hiking, climbing, wading, rappelling and swimming.
In Zion N.P. the predominant rock is sandstone. The canyons are typically dry and rocky interspersed with multiple water filled potholes. Several approaches required long sections of off trail hiking on slick rock, sand and through thick brush.
Elevations ranged from 4000 to 8000 feet (1200 to 2400 meters) above sea level.

Weather Conditions:

In Spain, weather conditions ranged from rainy to sunny with day time highs in the low 80's F (27 C). In Zion N.P., days were sunny and warm with temperatures in the 100's F (38 C) and night time temperatures in the mid 50's F (10 C) at higher elevations.

Looks:
To tell you the truth, I am not particularly concerned about looks in a shoe designed for canyoning, especially when most equipment becomes covered with dirt, mud and sand after a few minutes in a canyon anyway. However, I realize that some people want to look stylish whenever possible, and spend a lot of money on products specifically for that purpose. The Five Ten Canyoneer is not one of those products. The reality is that it is a very funky looking shoe in which the form definitely follows function. It's not stylish footwear that you'd want to be seen in at, say, a black tie dinner or while salsa dancing. Having said that, its distinctive looks makes it sort of cool in a canyoning setting and the yellow and black coloration immediately identifies it as a 'sports' product.

Putting on the Shoe:
Unlike most shoes, the Canyoneer is not secured to the foot with laces, but with a buckle closure system. There is also a padded neoprene collar which is secured with hook and loop fastener. With the buckles undone and the collar open, putting on the shoe is a simple matter of pulling it over your foot. There are also pull-on loops positioned at the heel to help slide your heel in, but I did not find I needed to use this feature. With your foot in the shoe you then wrap the neoprene collar around your ankle and secure it in place with hook and loop fastener. I found that by wrapping the collar tightly around my ankle, it would help prevent rocks, twigs and detritus from falling into the shoe, a nice feature since a pet peeve of mine is having to stop, take off my shoes and dump stuff out as I hike. Because neoprene is a flexible material, it was not uncomfortable in the least to have the collar firmly around my ankles.

With the collar in place, the shoe is secured by threading the two water sport buckles and pulling the straps to the desired tightness. With the buckles fastened, I found that the shoe provided a snug and secure fit around my foot. The buckles also make it possible to quickly fasten and unfasten the shoe. Should a small rock find its way to the bottom, these buckles make removing the shoe a relatively painless process,  and one that is far more convenient than removing a shoe with laces. In addition, the buckles do not 'un-tie' themselves, become waterlogged or pick up items like burrs and dirt like laces can. The only thing I do not like about the buckles is that the straps are much longer than they need to be. As a result, when the buckle is fastened to the desired tightness, there is a section of of the stiff plastic strap that protrudes several inches (5 cm) beyond the end of the strap keeper. More than an inconvenience, the protruding strap increases the likelihood of rope becoming snagged on the shoe and entangled with your feet, not a good situation for an activity that involves climbing, balance and swimming.

Comfort:
A key feature of any type of footwear is how comfortable the shoe is to wear. Getting the right size is the first step towards comfortable footwear. In this respect, it should be noted that the Canyoneers run quite small for their specified size. Knowing this ahead of time I ordered a size10.5 Canyoneer even though I typically wear a size 9.5 or 10 (US) depending on the brand. I found the 10.5 to fit quite well while wearing either a thick hiking sock or a thin sock liner and 3mm neoprene sock. The combination of both a thick sock and neoprene sock was uncomfortably tight around my toes, while a sock liner alone did not provide enough volume to fill the shoe completely and allowed my foot to slide around inside.

In order to go through a canyon, you must first get to it. Usually the first task a canyoning shoe must serve is that of a hiking boot or approach shoe. Approaches to canyons can consist of anything from an easy trail, to slick rock climbs, to long stretches of off trail bush whacking. I found that the Canyoneer performs adequately in these respects. At just over 2 pounds (1 kg) for the pair, they weigh about the same as a comparable pair of mid-weight hiking boots and don't feel heavy on my feet. The buckles provide good security and with the correct socks I did not find that my feet slipped around inside the shoes even when traveling on steeply angled surfaces. Having said that, my experience has been that, as hiking boots, the Canyoneers are only moderately comfortable. The soles do not provide a great deal of cushioning from rocks or support for my feet. They also allow a considerable amount of heat to be transmitted from the rock on which I was hiking to my feet (which can be significant on long slick rock approach on a hot summer day in the desert). The mesh uppers do allow the shoes to breathe somewhat, however, the large amount of neoprene and rubber act to counteract the bulk of the benefit and I found the shoes quite warm. I wouldn't preferably choose the Canyoneers over boots for a hiking trip, though they get the job done.

It's in a wet canyon that the design of the Canyoneer really begins to make sense. Some shoes, particularly those made of leather, can take on a considerable amount of water, becoming soggy and heavy as soon as they get wet. The Canyoneer suffers from no such debility. The synthetic materials plus the mesh uppers and self draining midsole ensure that the shoe gains little water weight and drains quickly once it becomes wet. In fact you can see the effect of the self draining midsole. As you walk it squirts water out of the shoe with each step. Another ill effect water can have on a shoe is to cause it to expand and lose its ability to support your foot. The Canyoneer does not expand appreciably in water and I never had to readjust the buckles or collar after the shoe became wet.

Traction:
The biggest marketing point for the Canyoneer lies in the high level of traction the Stealth® Rubber sole supposedly provides. The manufacturer claims the sole provides traction on multiple surface types even when wet. Having participated in canyoning for over 6 years, I can vouch for the fact that most shoes lose a considerable amount of traction once they become wet and that slipping and falling is neither safe nor enjoyable. It was with great anticipation that I set out to determine whether the soles improved my ability to keep my feet underneath me.

My test began in Spain where I traveled to attend the 2004 International Canyoneering Rendezvous. Canyons in Spain are limestone and many feature perennial streams which both polish the rock and do not allow a lot of debris to accumulate (an important point that will become clear in a minute). In these types of canyons, where your foot is almost always in contact with the rock as you hike, the Five Ten Canyoneer exhibits an extraordinary level of traction. I found I was able to gain a secure foothold even on wet, polished, limestone surfaces. This lends a great deal of confidence and safety to a sport where walking, climbing and rappelling on wet, steeply angled surfaces is the norm. Suffice it to say, I was very pleased with the shoes' performance under these conditions.

With that said, it is important to understand the limitations that a high traction sole provides. In order for the shoe to function as advertised, the sole needs to be in direct contact with the surface on which you are walking. Makes sense. isn't that always the case? Unfortunately, the answer is a resounding 'No' as became evident in subsequent canyons.

Barranco Arpio is a canyon in the Pyrenees which sees intermediate flow. The result is a drainage with many pools which are interlinked by a trickle of water. In this type of canyon, moist conditions cause a layer algae to develop on the surface of the rocks which the insufficient flow is unable to scour. Stepping on an algae covered rock (which is difficult to identify visually, since it is indistinguishable from wet stone) the rubber of the shoe is separated from the rock's surface by the slick algae layer. Since nothing short of cleats provides traction on algae, I probably slipped and fell a half dozen times in this particular canyon while wearing the Canyoneers. It's not that the high traction sole is defective in any way, it's simply that the shoe needs direct contact with the stone surface in order to grip it. Separating the sole from the surface with a layer of algae removes most, if not all, of the benefit that the high traction rubber provides.

Another example of this type of limitation can be seen in the canyons of the desert southwest which reside in layers of sandstone. Since the key component of sandstone is sand (I've got a keen grasp of the obvious, eh?), I found that as soon as I stepped out of a pool the sole would become coated with a solid layer of sand. Stepping onto a polished, angled boulder with a sand covered shoe can cause the sand grains sandwiched between the sole and the rock to slide and traction is negated.

My experience to date, is that the Stealth® Rubber sole does indeed live up to the manufacturers claim of providing a high level of traction, even when wet. It is useful to understand the limitations of such a sole, however, when hiking in the varied conditions that are found in canyons. I would add the qualification that this claim is only valid when it is possible for the shoe to make direct contact with the surface on which you are traveling (a condition that sometimes just does not exist).

Durability:
After only a few short weeks of use (15 days to be exact, 9 in Spainish canyons, 6 in Zion N.P.), you probably wouldn't expect that there would be a lot to say about the durability of a shoe. Unfortunately, such is not the case. I have had considerable issues with the sole delaminating on the left shoe (no problem with the right, to date). One the seventh day of use I noticed that the sole began peeling back from the toe, as can be seen in the photographs below.

On the 7th day of use the left sole begins delaminating.

The problem became worse as time went on. The photos below illustrate the condition of the shoe after 15 days of canyoning.

The shoe after the 15th day of use exhibits considerable delamination.

Sadly, the shoe is at the point where it has become practically un-wearable since the entire toe region is delaminated creating a trip hazard. I realize that canyoning is an activity that is extremely rough on equipment, however, I do not believe that the shoes were abused or treated in anything other than a normal manner that you'd find while participating in the sport. To have them fall apart so quickly is something of a surprise. I am hoping this is a defect particular to the shoes that I received and not a systemic problem with the entire line. I have returned the Canyoneers I have been testing to the manufacturer to have the delamination problem repaired.

The other issue I found is that the mesh upper portion of the shoe is not terribly abrasion resistant. I have already worn a hole through the mesh on the instep of my left shoe. I do not notice any appreciable wear to the sole at this time.

Worn mesh on left instep.

Miscellaneous Comments:
Though not related to the performance of the shoe, as a strong believer in and practitioner of leave no trace hiking and camping techniques, I think it is important to leave a natural area in the same condition as you found it. This reduces the impact to the natural area and increases the sense of discovery and wilderness experienced by subsequent travelers. With this in mind, I would prefer that Five Ten offered the Canyoneer with a sole color that more closely matched that of the rock in which the shoes is typically used (grey for limestone and reddish for sandstone, there are few black canyons that I am aware of). When climbing and rappelling, it is not unusual for your foot to slip while on the rock, this can also be an intentional maneuver such as when chimneying down a narrow crack. A high traction rubber, which by definition is a soft rubber, can create skid marks under these conditions (particularly on rough sandstone), marring the beauty of the canyon walls and leaving a scuff mark for subsequent visitors to see. A sole that more closely matched canyon colors would reduce the visual impact of these scuffs.
 

• Stealth® Rubber sole provides exceptional traction in conditions where the sole is in direct contact with the ground
• Shoes drain quickly
• Water sport buckles are quick to adjust and provide a secure fit
• Neoprene collar provides a secure fit around the ankle and does a good job of keeping detritus out of the shoe

• Size not consistent with most shoe brands on the market (run 0.5 - 1.5 sizes too small)
• Soles not adequately attached to the shoe, delamination appears to be a serious concern
• Mesh not durable
• Only moderately comfortable as an approach shoe
• Soft, black rubber sole leaves dark skid marks on red sandstone canyon walls, a less obtrusive color would be preferred

• Benefits of the high traction sole are somewhat negated by conditions (algae and sand) found in some canyons

I'd like to thank BackpackGearTest and Five Ten for allowing me to participate in this test.