Reviews > Footwear > Trail Shoes > Five Ten Insight > Andrew Mytys > Long Term Report

Tester's Biographical Information:

Reviewer: Andrew Mytys Email: amytys@gmail.com Homepage: Andy's Lightweight Backpacking Site Location: Michigan Age: 33 Height: 6'1" (183 cm) Weight: 185 lbs (84 kg) Waist: 34" (86 cm)

     Backpacking Background:

I live in Michigan and have been hiking seriously for 15 years, although I've camped since I was 6 years old. I consider myself a lightweight hiker. I carry the lightest gear I can get my hands on which will provide a comfortable wilderness experience and adequately support the goals of my trip. Unless my goals are time/distance oriented, my pace is always slow. I rarely exceed 1.5 miles (2.4 km)/hour. I rest frequently, hike long days, and enjoy whatever nature throws my way.

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Five Ten (http://www.fiveten.com) Item: Men's Insight shoes Year of manufacture: 2005 MSRP: $95.00 Size: Mens 10 (US); 9 (UK); 43 (EU); 28 (CM) Available Sizes: 7 - 13 Listed Weight: 32 oz (907 g) - (size unknown) Weight as delivered (footbeds included): 30.8 oz (873 g) Weight of footbeds: 0.5 oz (14 g) each Color: Gray/Yellow Manufactured In: China

The information in this Field Report of the Five Ten Insight Shoes is to be taken in addition to my Initial and Field reports..

Product Description:

Part of Five Ten's (5.10) I.Q. Series of multi-sport footwear, the Insight shoes are designed as approach/light hiking shoes that are lightweight and versatile enough for everyday wear. The Insight incorporates a number of Five Ten rock shoe features for higher performance, including Stealth S1/C4 co-molded soles, slingshot rands, and lace-to-toe styling. Full-grain Nubuck leather uppers with protective full-length toe rands provide for abrasion resistance.

Field Conditions:

The 5.10 Insights have been worn for both dayhiking and backpacking in Michigan. Hiking trails have ranged in condition from developed singletrack, to un-maintained hunter trails, to barely perceptible animal tracks, to bushwhacks. The ground I have walked over during the testing period can be described as "rolling," meaning that trails were generally flat to slightly sloped with frequent instances of elevation changes anywhere from 20 to 100 feet (6 to 30 m). The Insights have crossed through grassy fields, compressed soil, sand, rock covered trail, mud and snow.

Michigan trails are rather sandy and the ground tends to soak up water quickly. Because of this, I have had no exposure to conditions that would completely immerse the shoe in water. However, I have had plenty of experience with wet grass, dew, and snowmelt.

Temperatures in the field while using the Insights have ranged from 5 to 60 F (-15 to 16 C).

The mileage on dayhikes has ranged from 5 to 32 miles (8 to 50 km), while overnight trips have had mileage ranging from 10 to 20 miles (16 to 32 km) per day. While multi-day trips have had me practicing ultralight backpacking methods, I have packed luxuries on dayhikes - as a result, my pack always tended to weigh between 10 and 15 pounds (4.5 to 6.8 kg).

On a daily basis, I have worn the Insights while walking my dog along city sidewalks.

To date, I have walked about 300 miles (500 km) in the 5.10 Insights.

A summary of my experiences with the 5.10 Insight Shoes:

Fit -

The 5.10 Insights fit true to size. They are very accommodating, in terms of being able to handle my feet wearing anything from single-layer sport socks to multiple layers of socks, including a thin base sock followed by a heavier sock such as a ragg wool or SealSkins. In both cases, I was able to lace the shoe up securely around my foot. When wearing multiple socks, my foot didn't feel like it was fighting for space in the toe-box of the shoe.

Comfort -

The shoes were very comfortable, from the perspective of allowing my foot to breath and providing an ample amount of room for my foot.

Traction -

The soles of the 5.10 Insights are made from a durable, high friction, "sticky" rubber. I was really impressed with the level of traction I experienced. Walking on surfaces such as wood floors and linoleum, I could feel the soles "sticking" to the ground, not unlike the feeling I've had while walking across a dirty movie-theater floor. This "stickiness" wasn't just apparent when the shoes were new, but stayed present throughout the entire test period!

The traction continued to excel when the shoes were used on wet surfaces, including wood, concrete, and rock. Even on hard packed, glossy snow and ice I was able to walk with confidence. While I traversed icy surfaces without difficulty, those around me proceeded with caution and had to catch their balance a few times. I could easily discount such anecdotal evidence of superior traction, but I noticed that even my dog was having difficulties and slipped on icy surfaces that I barely noticed as being slick.

Support -

Support is the one area that I personally found the Insights to be lacking in. The stock footbed, and the design of the overall shoe, provides absolutely no lateral or arch support.

This presents a problem with my feet in particular. When I walk, my feet roll in, or over-pronate (also known as hyper-pronating). With each step I take I come down HARD, at about a 45° angle, onto my heel. The result is that a LOT of pressure is placed onto the inside heel-cup of my shoes, causing the outside edge of the shoe to be pressed into contact with my foot just below my anklebone.

Looking at the photos below, the image on the left connects the center of the shoes' opening with the center of the sole when the shoes were new, out of the box. The image on the right connects the same two points, but the angles are drastically different from those in the previous image. My stride, combined with the lack of lateral support, drastically altered the shape of the shoe over the course of my testing.

The more deformed the shoes became, the more pain I experienced while walking. As my feet rolled inwards, the outsides of the shoes were jammed under my anklebones. Along their outsides, the Insights incorporate a 1-inch (25 mm) wide strip of rubber, which acts as a "wall." This "wall" is also about 1 mm in width (about the width of a dime), and when wedged under my ankle, the weight of my bone coming down on it was met with strong resistance - enough to cause blisters, a loss of skin, and bleeding. Walking on trails, which tend to be uneven surfaces, compounded this issue for me - I found that even outfitting the Insights with orthodics did not seem to help the situation.

I encourage readers to look into the Field and Long-Term reports written by other reviewers of the 5.10 Insights to see what those without pronation issues have to say about the comfort of the shoes. I've simply included my comments for two reasons - first, pronation is not an uncommon issue, and I wanted to give readers with similar issues constructive feedback. Secondly, I wanted to highlight the issue for the manufacturer. I've used other trail shoes along the same trails, and in many cases the shoes I was wearing suffered no change in shape whatsoever.

Weatherproofing -

The 5.10 Insights were worn through rain, wet snowy trails, mud, and pooling water. I really gained an appreciation for the full-length rubber toe rand. The toe-boxes of my shoes are usually the first place on my shoes that soaks through during hikes. Thanks to the rubber toe rand, the tips of the shoes proved to be pretty much waterproof. This meant that, as I kicked the tips of the shoes through wet grass, mud, snow, and water, my toes remained warm and dry. I also found the Nubuck exterior of the shoes to shed water and resist soaking through. I could feel my feet getting a little wet at times - as near as I can tell, the moisture entered the shoes through the ventilation slits found along the sidewalls of the Insights.

Durability -

The Insights look surprisingly new. The presence of the rubber rands around the toe and heel areas means that the shoes can be wedged into tight places without stressing their material, and the rubber resists abrasion. The Nubuck leather uppers proved to be tough and stain resistant as well. The lug pattern on the soles, while worn slightly lower than it was when the shoes were new, remains aggressive and competent.

Overall, the 5.10 Insights have proven themselves to be rugged and competent trail shoes. The materials used in their construction and placement of durable rubber rands at the toes ensures that the shoes will last a long time - well worth their retail price in my opinion. Due to my stride issues, I'd really appreciate it if 5.10 designed a future shoe with an integrated, and functional, arch support. For me, if the Insights could keep their form and have material under the ankles that had more "give" than that of the current rubber rand, the resulting shoes would be perfect.

Reviews > Footwear > Trail Shoes > Five Ten Insight > Andrew Mytys > Long Term Report