Five Ten Riding Shoe Reviews:

Unicycles and Equipment
1

Okay, so I am a big fan of Five Ten riding shoes, and I just got a new set fresh off the boat, so I figured why not start a review thread for Five Ten shoes?

Impact II, Sam Hill version: http://fiveten.com/products/footwear-detail/28-impact-low
This was my first riding shoe, having used Vans skate shoes up to this point, so after suffering through poor performance in wet conditions I sprung for a set of these I found on sale. The Impacts are quite a bit more shoe than Vans, the sole is stiff and bulky, uppers are thickly padded. The sole is far stickier, wet or dry, than a skate shoe. They are heavy and stiff, but you get used to to them after a while. They take a lot of abuse and last forever, though I did find the shape of the sole, esp where it’s contoured to the arch, to not have great pedal contact when riding with your foot centered on the pedal, they were still plenty sticky. I rode them for about a year, then passed them off to Knoxmuni. The Impacts are available in black, tan, low and mid, the newer version has a rasied ankle collar on the crank side to protect against ankle impacts. Lacing is “hidden” to protect against abrasion. There are related shoes that have an even more pronounced ankle padding and one has a velcro lace cover. All are built on the Impact platform. These are downhill MTB shoes, so don’t expect to “feel” the pedal. Think power and slam jammin, that’s the Impact.
>Fit is 1/2 size small, semi curved last, medium width.

Freeride: http://fiveten.com/products/footwear-detail/19-freerider-black-grey
I wanted a shoe that was lighter, more breathable, and more flexible than the Impacts, so I scoped some Freerides hot off the boat. The first pair started delaming at the rand after a few rides, so I sent them back. The second pair did the same, so I ended up using a razor knife to trim the rand back so the pedal pins wouldn’t tear at the rand; seemed to solve the problem. I really like this shoe, rode it 3x week in all conditions for 18mo, passed them off to my son yesteday. The only thing I did not like about the Freeride was that it got a bit soft and flexy in the sole over time. The flexibility might be nice for some styles of riding, but they became to soft to support my forefoot during hard muni. Note that there are a number of color styles within this model, my daughter has the black and white Freeride which appears to be the only style that has the improved sole without the rand problems and a more burly upper: http://fiveten.com/products/footwear-detail/21-freerider-white-black
>Fit is true to size, semi curved last, medium width, cushy “skate” tongue.

Baron: http://fiveten.com/products/footwear-detail/10106-baron
I first saw the Baron in pics from the Outdoor Gear Retailer show in 2010. It was scheduled for release Jan 2011, but it was not available until this past week (April 2011); I ordered them Dec 2010 :o So, after waiting four months, my beautiful new Barons arrived yesterday. The Baron is billed as a tweener, more substantial than a Freeride, less burly that an Impact. My first impression is that they are closer to the Freeride, in fact they are very similar to my daughter’s black and white Freerides :roll_eyes: Okay, so now it’s time for a ride!
So, now I’m back, what can I say, they rock, great shoes, think Freeride with some burl and you’ve got the Baron. Sole is improved so no more delam, laces are protected like on the Impacts, upper is heavier duty, so it supports the foot, tongue is not super cushioned so it doesn’t have that “skate shoe” fit and look. Though I’d take a stiffer sole yet, these are certainly stiff enough for muni without being as bulky as the Impacts. My feet love the Baron, no more tired arches or aching big toes :slight_smile:
>Fit is 1/2 size big, medium to wide width, high volume toe box, semi curved last, webbed tongue.

Recomendations:
Freestyle = Freeride
Touring - Baron, Freeride
Muni = Baron, Impact
DH = Impact, Baron

2

still have your sam hills and love them about to get another pair for trials when i wear out my vans

3

I just bought my first pair of Impact II Mid’s and rode trials/street today. Very comfortable and feel durable. The ankle protection is great so I no longer need to worry about that. My feet feel very “safe” in these shoes as I’ve been riding in Converse most of the time up till now. It’s a similar feeling as when you put on cleats to play football, baseball or soccer; your feet kinda say “now we’re ready to rock!”. :sunglasses:

One issue I’ve had in the past is over-bending my ankle when landing drops. Moving my feet more toward the center of the pedals has helped but didn’t completely eliminate the problem. The Impacts have enough ankle support that I didn’t even have to do that, and landing felt great.

I was afraid the stiff sole would make it hard to feel the pedals but it’s not too bad, unless you are only riding freestyle. I’ve used both plastic and metal pinned pedals with these shoes and there is no slippage at all. It will take some getting used to not being able to adjust my pedal position without thinking about it but I’m pretty sure I’ll get used to that.

Another concern was if the stiffness of the shoes would affect jumping and such. So far I can jump just as high, but riding rails was more difficult. Could be it was just one of those days, it happens.

Can’t wait to try these riding muni, they seem like a perfect match!

4

Thank you all for these great reviews,

I was considering getting a pair of the Freeride, but will look for a shoe with less flex.

I had been wearing flat bottom gym shoes in the summer, and my feet were getting sore. Over the winter I wore ridge high-top hiking boots and my feet were never sore.

The Impact shoe sound good and are stiff, but look wide. I already have trouble with my feet rubbing the cranks and so worry about that extra width. Give me some time to get use to the ‘RED’ of the Baron and I think I could have happy feet.

5

Freeride: killed 3 pairs in less than 3 weeks riding freestyle/flatland/trials. They all separated at the ball of the foot. The upper isn’t stitched to the rubber and that was the source of the problem.

Impact 2 Mids: Almost a year and a half on one set. They’re still going. Used for Muni, Distance, and cruising around. Absolutely fantastic.

Up until I bought the Impact 2’s the longest a pair of shoes lasted for unicycling was 4 months.

6

Comparative flex ratings, 1-10 (soft to hard):
Gym/basketball/running shoes = 1
Lightweight hiking shoes/boots = 2-4
Freerides with the unprotected laces = 3
Black and white Freerides = 3.5
Barons = 4
Impacts = 5-6
Recreational spd mtb shoes = 6-8
Roadie/hard core spd mtb shoes = 8-10

The flexier Freerides would be great for freestyle/streetstyle because they are more grippy due to shoe “wrapping” the pedal, also better for foot plants and upd’s on pavement. Think of them like slightly stiffer and stickier skate shoes. The Barons/black and white Freerides would be a bit stiffer for freestyle if you’re used to skate shoes, more like a lightweight hiking boot in terms of stiffness, but lacking the width that make crank rub an issue. If you can’t do the red, get the white and blacks, more or less the same shoe.

Impact Low = 17oz
Impact Mid = 25oz
Freeride Low= 14oz
Freeride Mid = 17oz

Now that the Barons are out, I wouldn’t get the Impacts, they’re just too heavy, too wide, and they don’t get as good of a sole to pedal contact due to the high arched sole. The Barons are sweet, can’t imagine anyone needing a stiffer soled shoe, the amount of control I got on my first ride was almost overwhelming, took a few miles before I got used to the firm ride and stiffer sole vs the Freeride.

If I needed a stiffer soled shoe, for touring or whatever, I’d swing toward the spd five ten shoes which will have stiff sole to support the spd cleat:
http://fiveten.com/products/footwear-detail/10926-maltese-falcon
http://fiveten.com/products/footwear-detail/10925-cyclone
http://fiveten.com/products/footwear-detail/10104-hellcat-spd

7

Has anyone tried the Desert enforcer? I don’t like dark shoes, my feet get hot enough already in low top shoes.

8

I’ve been ridin’ 5.10 Basic for about half a year and really like them for street and trial! In the beginning I didnt liked them for flat riding because of the stealth outsole was too slippery on the cranks, but after some time It began to feel good riding with them and now I really miss them (R.I.P 5.10 BA5IC :’().
Thay are also pretty comfortable for freestyle, but never do to much gliding!! I was gliding really much with them one of the first days I had them, and the sole was nearly gone the place my foot glidded on the tire :frowning:

Today my Freerider 2011 Galaxy Purple arrived, but sadly they where a size too small, so I have to send them back to Chainreactioncycles to get a larger pair… :confused:

9

I wanna try these: http://fiveten.com/products/footwear-detail/32-chase-black-orange :smiley:

10

Impact 2 MTB shoes: high versus low

I recently bought a pair of Impact 2 High MTB shoes, since someone recommended them for Schlumpf riding. They are indeed a lot better for gear shifting than the cheap sports shoes I used until now. The whole inner side is firm enough to push the Schlumpf gear button. Moreover, I can now use a ‘smearing’ action to push the button. With my old shoes, I had to kick when the sole was at the exact height of the button - this way I missed it more often than not on the first try. With the FiveTen Impacts, I turn my ankle inward to shift gears. Not by pivoting around the pedal contact spot, but by ‘capsizing inward’, if that makes sense. Much easier than the old way. Finally I can imagine gear shifting something to do without thinking, like on a bike or in a car. (Excuse my cursing.)

My old shoes had a good pattern for grip on my pinned pedals, but the Five-Tens have a very trippy rubber compound. Like many ppl say, it is as if your feet are glued to the pedals. It is still possible to reposition your foot, but you have to lift it almost completely off.

With my old shoes, my feet would slowly ‘drift’ on the pedals, and so I had to reposition them every few km or so. With the Five-Tens, they stay exactly in the same place. While that is a good thing in itself, there is an unexpected disadvantage too. The ball of my foot experiences unrelenting pressure from the pedal, and starts to hurt after a while. And I’m not willing to reposition my foot to an otherwise unfavourable position.

While the grip is awesome, the shoes are bulky and heavy. So for my non-Schlumpf race training, I bought a second pair of Five-Tens, i.e. the Impact 2 Low MTB. They are much the same as the high, only lower. In particular, they have the same awesome grip which is great for racing. I had expected them to be quite a lot lighter and smaller than they actually are. Weight of the High pair: 1254 grams. Weight of the Low pair: 1164 grams. Maybe I should have bought Freerides? But do they have the same grippy sole?

11

Freerides are more grippy because the sole is flat, no upward curve at the arch, and the dots are recessed so pedal contact is better.

They make the Freeride in a mid, some colors other than black.

I found the Impacts to be way to burly and heavy for uni.

After a six hour muniride in my Barons, I am in love, wouldn’t consider any other shoe now :slight_smile:

Oh, and after walking around in standing water a couple inches deep, my feet were dry, yet while riding my feet didn’t get hot, nice!

12

Dang sounds like a great shoe!

13

I really like the look of these. It ways they are designed for military personnel, so it sounds like they would be tough enough for unicycling.

My only problem is that they are 25.6oz, which sounds a bit heavy.

14

For muni I would rather use bens old 5-10s than my lighter Nike 6.0s

15

They’re the same weight as the impact high’s. They look like the same shoe, but I can’t tell from the descriptions.

16

I wear my Karvers for muni and 36ering. Very nice shoes, going strong for almost 2 years now. I’ll get them again when these die. The soles are starting to look pretty worn.

17

“well, they are going to be similar but not quite the same. besides the cosmetic difference, the desert enforcer has phantom rubber and the Impact has S1 rubber which is stickier”

Straight from the source.

18

I am thinking about resoling mine

19

what it the best 5-10 shoe for muni and trials and the cheapist place to get them.

20

The Impacts are heavy and clunky, rode mine for over a year, not my cup of tea for uni, esp with the concavity under the arch, they are simply too hot, too wide, and too heavy.

Compared to the Impacts, the Baron has a flatter sole, more moderate stifness, same sticky sole, less bulky, more breathable, but still plenty of support.

I have about fifty miles on mine, seventeen of which was at a mtb race on only the second outing!! They are awesome, my feet are comfortable, no arch fatigue, lots of toe box room, and not so heavy.

In terms of sizing the Baron, being as they are quite wide, I think going down a 1/2 size might work out best,… maybe order your normal size and one size smaller.