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Five-Ten Canyoneer Shoes Long Term Report
Tom Jones, Age 48, Male
5' 11" tall (1.8 m), 180 lb (82 kg)
tom at CanyoneeringUSA dot com
I live in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
November 24, 2004
Backpacking Background:
I started backpacking as a teenager, but focused on technical rock climbing for my outdoor fix until about 8 years ago. The aging body and interest in the redrock canyons of Utah has brought me back to hiking as a primary sport. Between technical canyoneering and backpacking, I spend 60-80 days in the field per year.
My style started as mid-weight using the best equipment of the time. More recently, sore knees and carrying technical gear have pushed me toward ultralight. I hike and backpack in the Utah desert, in all seasons, rarely following marked trails and visiting places others rarely venture. I love technical canyoneering, and have a website devoted to it, CanyoneeringUSA.com
My Feet: I have messed-up, mature-runner feet. I've done a lot of running and hiking, and worn sandals for months at a time, so my front arch has collapsed, and my forefeet are flat. I need shoes that are wide. If I wear shoes that are too narrow, it feels like someone is driving a red-hot nail into the center of my foot. My feet are sensitive to the width, stiffness and exact contour of the footbed under the front of my feet.
Product Information
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| Manufacturer: | Five Ten www.fiveten.com |
| Year: | 2004 |
| Listed Weight: | none |
| Actual Weight: | 2 lb 8.0 oz (1134 g) per pair (size 10-1/2) (weighed on Royal RC40 digital postal scale) |
| Date Received: | May 14, 2004 |
| MSRP: | $96.00 |
| Sizes available: | 5 - 13, 14, 15 |
| Color: | Black with Neon Green Mesh |
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Description
The Canyoneer is a specialized shoe for technical wet canyoneering. It is a heavy sneaker, with a sticky-rubber sole and big toe and heel bumpers. The middle of the shoe is 3-D mesh that drains water well, and the top is a wrap of Neoprene that Velcros around the ankle. Two plastic straps with buckles keep the shoe tight.
Long Term Testing Conditions
In addition to the 8 hard canyons days detailed in my Field Report, I have added:
1. Imlay Canyon in Zion National Park again, with more weight: a very wet, very technical canyon with a lot of rappelling, swimming, climbing, and a few nasty pothole exit problems; followed by a 2 hour hike out the Zion Narrows with a 40 lb (18 kg) pack. I also did The Subway via Russell Gulch on this trip.
2. A week-long trip to Zion National Park including Mystery Canyon, Eye of the Needle Canyon, two long hikes on rain days, Telephone Canyon and Kip's Secret Canyon.
3. A week-long trip on Lake Powell, including 4 hard canyon days with a LOT of hiking, in canyons that must remain a mystery.
4. A three-day hiking trip down into the Grand Canyon and through the technical, wet slot of Deer Creek Falls. I hiked into and out of the Grand in my Canyoneers because I like them.
5. A trip down Utah's Leprechaun Canyon, then two days on Lake Powell, near Bullfrog.
All told, I now have 18 days of technical canyoneering plus 4 days of backpacking on these shoes.
All these trips were in sandstone canyons in the Utah desert, and in summer and fall. Temperatures were from about 45 F (7 C) in the coldest potholes to 105 F (41 C) on the hottest hike out. Pack weight in technical canyons ran from 25 - 40 lb (11 - 18 kg). A lot of these canyons involved a lot of water.
Long Term Field Test Results
Canyoneering is very hard on gear, especially footwear. With quite a bit of mileage on these puppies, they are holding up well. They are definitely showing wear, with the little side-of-midsole drain plug holes eroding away and the shoes looking beat up, but there are neither delaminating spots nor parts that are breaking. Just as a rough estimate, I would say the shoes are half used up.
Since the last report in August, I have changed out the sock liner for a Spenco hiker footbed that offers a little more support, and makes the shoe fit a little tighter. Since changing out the footbed, I have had no foot discomfort despite some long walking days and heavy packs. With the stock footbeds, my sensitive feet hurt a fair amount - with the better footbeds, I have experienced no pain.
Technical performance is still great.
I'd love to beef this report out with more meat, but there's not a whole lot more to say. Despite rough handling, the shoes are holding up really well, and they work great for my very-wide feet. They work. They climb well. They're sticky. I can hike long distances with a heavy pack, go in and out of water, then toss 'em in the back of the car and they don't rot.
Conclusions
Still my favorite things:
1. They work great in technical canyons, and climb very well.
2. They are comfortable all day, and work right out of the box (with Neoprene socks).
3. They are low maintenance, which works for my guy-lifestyle.
Not so hot things:
1. The stock footbeds are not very good - adding a firmer footbed works much better for my sensitive feet.
2. When coiling ropes, the ends of the straps tend to catch the rope.
3. The lack of padding for jumping is unfortunate.
Thanks to Five Ten and BGT for the opportunity to test these marvelous shoes.
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