Five Ten Grandstone Review

The perfect Indian Creek shoe is an elusive thing. You want it to be comfortable, so when your jamming your toes into cracks the pain is minimized as much as possible, but not so sloppy that you can’t milk the occasional foot hold for all it’s worth. You also want them to be durable, because they are going to take a serious beating if you’re spending any significant amount of time there. The new Five Ten Grandstone combines all these things into what I think is pretty close to the perfect crack climbing shoe.

At first glance, these look like they were designed for some kind of medieval warfare, which I guess could be an adequate description of climbing in the Creek sometimes. With extra rubber covering the toe box, and high tops that cover your ankle, these things look like they can take the worst that climbing can dish out. And at first I had to wonder, is all this necessary? I mean when you hold it for the first time, it seems like a bit much. After some serious time in Indian Creek, however, this is my new favorite shoe for sandstone splitters.

Even though my toes don’t lie completely flat, I’ve found these to be as comfortable as the Mythos I used to wear. Part of this I attribute to the rubber on the toe, which seems to add to the comfort when jamming in cracks. Unlike the Mythos, however, I can also stand on small edges confidently, which is a welcome relief after a stretch of relentless jamming. Also, the high tops keep your ankles protected nicely, even when struggling up the wide stuff. Speaking of which, I’ve found that this shoe really shines on 2” cracks and larger. It’s adequate for 1.5” cracks, but for that size and smaller most folks will prefer something a little more aggressive like the trusted Five Ten Moccasym. I wear an 11.5 street shoe and got these in a 43.5, and this size has proven to be the perfect balance of comfort and precision that I couldn’t be happier with. For climbing on granite, I’d probably go another half size down to get a more precision oriented fit.

Initially the shoe was fairly stiff, but after breaking in, I found it performed well, even on slabby face climbs where a stiffer shoe just can’t provide the sensitivity I want. The fit at first felt inconsistent, but again after a break in period, it feels pretty good and I have no complaints. So far my only gripe is that because it’s such a high top, I have to undo the laces from the first grommet to get it on my foot. It’s not a big deal, but a minor inconvenience each time you lace up.

I used to swear by the La Sportiva Mythos for desert climbing, but my love affair with them has sadly come to an end. They have serious durability issues with the laces and the shoe coming apart after prolonged use on splitter cracks. Thankfully the Five Ten Grandstone has taken its place as my Indian Creek shoe of choice.

Disclaimer: This product was provided to SplitterChoss.com for the purpose of reviewing.