Location(s) of test:

The Canyoneers were worn in many canyons in Arizona and southern Utah. During this long term test period, the shoes were worn for a total of 13 days.

Terrain:

Canyons were predominantly sandstone in composition, though a few had sections consisting of basalt or granite. Several featured flowing streams while others were dry, interspersed with water filled pot holes. Approaches varied between short easy trail, to long stretches of rock hopping and/or bushwhacking. Elevations ranged from 2000 to 8000 feet (600 to 2400 meters) above sea level.

Manufacturer's Return Policy:
With a call to the Five Ten contact line, I explained the problem I had with my shoes and the length of time I had worn them. I was soon given a return number and shipping address to mail the shoes back. Since companies usually reserve the right to respond as they see fit to returns, I was not sure if they'd replace the shoes, re-sole the offending shoe and return the same pair, or say that I'd simply abused them and return them as is. I was nicely surprised, three weeks later, when I received a box from Five Ten with a brand new pair. My experience is that Five Ten has a hassle free return policy and that they stand behind their product. The turn around was a little slow, but seeing as it resulted in a new pair of shoes I can't complain.

Comfort:
As part of the long term test I had the opportunity to take the Canyoneers on several longer on and off trail canyon hikes up to 15 miles in length. On long dry approaches I found it preferable to wear a thick hiking sock in place of a sock liner and neoprene sock or sock liner alone. With just a sock liner the shoe was too loose on my foot and on steep tracks my foot would slide around inside the shoe creating hot spots which had the potential to lead to blisters. While I prefer a sock liner and neoprene sock for wet conditions, I found this combination too tight, restrictive and warm for hiking under hot, dry desert conditions. A hiking sock provided just the right fit inside the shoe and allowed me to hike many miles over hot terrain without getting any blisters.

The foot bed on the Canyoneers is fairly thick, and provided good protection from sharply angled rocks found along the trail. However, I did not feel like the foot bed provided as much foot support as I would have liked. As a result, my feet felt more sore and tired than they normally would have, had I been wearing my preferred trail hiking footwear; a lightweight hiking boot or shoe.

Cross country hiking in Arizona often takes me through some of the harshest hiking terrain imaginable .... grasslands. While this might not sound terribly unpleasant at first, one soon comes to the realization that desert grasses have evolved some rather aggressive traits to ensure their dispersion and proliferation. Some grasses feature sharply pointed seed heads that burrow deeply into shoes and socks and seem to work their way further in while walking. Others have finely haired seeds which stick to cloth and hair like Velcro. Still others feature burrs with barbed hooks that latch onto anything that passes by. The result is that some footwear can be coated with this material, which soon becomes uncomfortable as the plant matter works its way into every nook and begins poking into my foot. One nice thing about the Canyoneer is that the rubber and neoprene construction repels the bulk of these unprovoked attacks and the high ankle cuff covers up much of my sock, protecting them as well. 

Traction:
As detailed in my Field Report the Stealth® Rubber sole provides a good deal of traction even when wet, which helps a great deal and improves safety when climbing and scrambling in a watery canyon environment. My long term testing supports this conclusion. Several hikes during this period were completed in canyons consisting of long stretches of rock hopping over polished basalt boulders. The sticky sole of the Canyoneer provided excellent traction even when jumping from rock to rock. This allowed me to travel faster, with less risk of slipping and falling, than I would have felt comfortable with if wearing shoes with a conventional tread. The sole also allowed me to climb polished, high angle surfaces, a common feature in southwest canyons. Though the shoe has some other nice features, the traction is certainly the main selling point for me in considering a shoe for canyoneering.

Durability:
The main issue with the original pair of shoes I tested was sole delamination. At the end of a week of canyoning the sole began delaminating at the toe and over time began progressively peeling back until it was under the toe box. There is a line of stitching on the toe box where the sole attaches, but this did not prevent the problem from occurring in my first pair of test shoes. With the replacement pair of shoes, the sole once again began delaminating from the toe, only this time the stitching held, confining the problem to a small area. As can be seen in the photos, while this problem mars the appearance of the shoe somewhat, it does not affect the performance of the shoe in any way.

Minor sole delamination at the toe.

With the replacement shoes I did experience another type of damage in the midsole area. Four of the eight drain plugs managed to fall out of the shoe at some point while I was hiking. Based on past experience from others who have owned this shoe, this is an extremely common occurrence with the Canyoneer, which leads me to believe that the design is simply flawed. The lack of drain plug does not affect the performance of the shoe in any way, though it is rather unattractive. The midsole is constructed of a polyurethane material which the manufacturer claims is well known for its high durability. My experience is that it is a rather soft and foamy material that is not firm enough to retain the drain plugs. It is also not terribly abrasion resistant, as can be seen from the photos.

Drain plug intact.	Missing drain plug.

Lastly it should be noted that sticky rubber is by nature a soft rubber and therefore prone to wear. As mentioned above, I wore this current pair of shoes for a total of 13 days during the long term test period. As can be seen in the photos below this has resulted in approximately 40% wear of the lugs on the tread. Compared with other shoes I have owned, I would rate the tread durability of the Canyoneer as poor. Having said that, I fully understand that this is the trade off for the great traction that the shoe provides.

Tread on a new shoe.	Tread after 13 days of hiking.

Price:
With durability an issue, I thought a brief discussion of price was in order. The Canyoneer comes at a suggested price tag of almost $100, which seems steep to me for a shoe that might last an active canyon hiker a single season or less. With that said, the shoe is a specialized design aimed at a niche market. Those looking to squeeze as much performance from their footwear as possible may certainly find that the performance advantages offered by the shoe outweigh the cost. This might be particularly true if one factors safety into the equation, since the high performance rubber could help reduce the chance of slipping and falling in wet canyon conditions.
 

• 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
• Good return policy

• Size not consistent with most shoe brands on the market (run 0.5 - 1.5 sizes too small)
• Shoe is not durable
• Pricey at almost $100 a pair
• Not as much foot support as I would like
• 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