[Drew]

I agree, however I think the heel on the dragon works better.

[Jim]

I've only ever used mk1 dragons, have got a brand new pair of mk2's in the box waiting to test.
I think now 5.10's are £100+, once my new verdes and dragons expire, I will be buying solutions

[Paul B]

The best fitting heel I have found are on solutions

I guess 1 out of 2 points met isn't such a bad thing 

[mrjonathanr]

Scarpa Instinct laces at Rockover for £65

[Jim]

The best fitting heel I have found are on solutions

I guess 1 out of 2 points met isn't such a bad thing 

yes but solutions are softer and less down-toed than dragons so could be used on a greater variety of angles

[Paul B]

I recently found a receipt for a pair of Boreal Vectors, a pretty technical shoe in it's time.  £65 in 1995.  Until very recently you would pay no more than that for a pair for 5.10 velcros.  Shoe prices have hardly changed in 15 years. 

I understand some of the motivations behind it but it seems a very drastic price hike looking at shoes over the counter, the word recession is still happily bouncing about.

Surely it would have been better to phase this in gradually instead of making up for 15 years worth in one swoop?

[rainbow]

I could do with some boots I can actually heel-hook in, are there any with good heels that don't have banana toes?

The best fitting heel I have found are on solutions

I have the same problem, whilst the heel is solid on the solutions you can't heel hook on edges or anything sharp and pointy. Admittedly very problem specific.
Any news on the Evolv newbies? Always wondered what the predators were like.

[Adam Lincoln]

Any news on the Evolv newbies? Always wondered what the predators were like.

The new Predators and Talons both have a nice tight fitting heel. Certainly on my feet. Then again, so did the Dragons. As for the Shaman, won't be around for another few months yet.

[wiain]

Surely it would have been better to phase this in gradually instead of making up for 15 years worth in one swoop?

Word. I told them that but they had backed themselves into a corner. They had already published their Autumn prices when the incoming EU saless manager got given an ultimatum over their UK pricing by the accounts people. He couldn't change the prices because of the 'outdoor' shops and their infernal catalogues. So he had to do the whole lot in one fell swoop. (At least that is th unifficial official story)

[wiain]

Whats the preliminary diagnosis, Iain?

I haven't had a chance to do more than pull them on my feet so it's a tad early to say. What I can tell you: The toe profile is not an Anasazi toe. It looks more similar to a dragon or team but it seems lower volume. They are softer than I expected - I thought the stiffness would be similar to a VCS but they're much softer. They're red.

I tested a demo pair a while back and they felt excellent but had no stiffener so had very little edging power with my feet under me. I thought they'd get stiffened up to make a more edgy shoe. The apparently soft midsole leaves them surprisingly close to dragons, teams et al. On the other hand, the lower volume fit might make them a good dragon alternative for skinnier feet.

***This is all cased on a whole 5 minutes on my feet. I climb in them tomorrow and decide I was talking shite***

[Wipey Why]

Any news on the Evolv newbies? Always wondered what the predators were like.

The new Predators and Talons both have a nice tight fitting heel. Certainly on my feet. Then again, so did the Dragons. As for the Shaman, won't be around for another few months yet.

I had a pair of the new talons after finding the previous version of them amazing. I would say the heel is ok, but not great. The featured rubber they have put on it is not great for a lot of situations.

[dave]

I could do with some boots I can actually heel-hook in, are there any with good heels that don't have banana toes?

To be honest I thought the velcro heels (before they fucked about putting cuts in them a few years back etc) were as good as anything else.

Dragon heels are good but will come apart at the many seams if you actually pull hard on stuff with them.

[Richie Crouch]

Just wondering Iain...

Have you found the latest deliveries of Dragon's to feel fairly narrow in comparison to older ones? I tried on a pair today that got dropped off from Beris and they felt super narrow at the toe joint with my foot balling out over the outside edge a fair bit.

Was going to buy a new pair to break in for a trip in April but might have to wait and hope the Hornets are out by then and aren't as narrow!

[wiain]

Just wondering Iain...

Have you found the latest deliveries of Dragon's to feel fairly narrow in comparison to older ones? I tried on a pair today that got dropped off from Beris and they felt super narrow at the toe joint with my foot balling out over the outside edge a fair bit.

Was going to buy a new pair to break in for a trip in April but might have to wait and hope the Hornets are out by then and aren't as narrow!

Our January delivery of Dragons hasn't arrived yet - all our Dragons were delivered pre-Christmas. Joe and I just tried some on and they feel the same. It would be a big surprise if they had changed the shape since then without any warning.

[Richie Crouch]

Nice one. I think the pre christmas ones we had felt fairly tight too (the ones with the bobbly laces) as I remember Holger saying the exact same thing about the width of them.

There's quite a big difference in comparison to the older ones I've got with the old style laces.

Just tried the 9's we have, which felt the same as the 8.5 in length but a normal fit on the sides, sorted.

[Drew]

Are you saying that the fit on 5.10 shoes changes between each shoe? Shock horror!

[wiain]

Just got word that the blackwings are on their way from FiveTen europe. Will let ya'll know if they have turned out reet or deserve the name cackwing.

[dave]

Will let ya'll know if they have turned out reet or deserve the name cackwing.

or "wackbling"

[wiain]

Initial reports on the wackbling are that it ain't a velcro Dragon. (I thought it was for the first five minutes of wearing them but the lads over-ruled me and on reflection they're right). The last is wider in the base of the toes and higher voume in the instep.
They feel more like a softened lightweight Jet7, which is pretty much what we thought after trying the sample. On the plus side, they didn't feel nearly so cack as the sample.

So, the initial assesment is: Not a train crash, but not a Dragon.

[Ru]

So whats the current nearest thing to a jet 7?

[cheque]

[namnok]

looks like more rubber than the 7s

[wiain]

So whats the current nearest thing to a jet 7?

The wackbling (thanks Dave, I like that one) seems Jet7 like in shape but we are Dragon and Anasazi wearers so a Jet7 fan may spot differences we didn't. Wackblings seem lighter so might soften up quicker but I'm guessing now. We won't really know as much as I'd like about any of the new shoes until many more have gone out of the door and we've had feedback from people we can rely on.

[dave]

The wackbling (thanks Dave, I like that one)

my pleasure.

[Paul B]

I noticed that Cragx have the new Talons in (for those that posted earlier on), not to mention the range of spine-less offerings from 5.10