Five Ten Anasazi Pink Review

Anyone remember the Phoenix Bouldering Contest? One of the original climbing festivals, it was a big party in the desert, on the sharp boulders of Queen Creek. I only made it down there once before they stopped running the event, but one of the draws was that companies would show up and unload discontinued items and cosmetic seconds at really low prices. It was there that I first picked up a pair of the Anasazi Pinks, and they were one of my favorite face climbing shoes until they got old and worn.

Since then, the Pinks were discontinued, and the Anasazi has gone through several iterations, including the Verde and Blanco models. But this year, Five Ten has gone back to their roots and resurrected the Pink as a do-it-all face climbing tool.

The big change everyone is talking about is the new heel, and indeed you may not even notice it, because it does what it’s supposed to do. And unlike the Blancos, in which you can really feel the heel pushing your foot forward, in the Pinks everything is working like it should, which means you get performance AND comfort.

The C4 rands are nice for things like toe hooking and rand twists in corners, giving you that slight advantage when it counts.

I’ve read other reviews out there, and I have to take issue with those who are saying it’s a stiff shoe. Compared to many of the modern soft slippers that are popular, sure, it’s stiffer. But it’s not nearly as stiff as the Blancos, and shoes like the La Sportiva Katana Lace or TC Pro.

So where do they excel? I’ve used them on limestone face climbing, sandstone trad and granite cracks. They felt at home on all of those, though when the going gets steep, I personally prefer something that lets me pull with my toes more. For vertical to just past vert techy face climbing, though, the Anasazi Pink is an excellent tool. They edge well and because they’re not too stiff, smear like you wouldn’t believe. In fact, I’m someone that generally doesn’t feel comfortable when my feet aren’t on something positive, but this shoe had me standing on sandstone smears like they were giant edges. I even had a chance to use them on a wet granite crack recently, and while my mind was convinced my feet were going to skate on the slimy rock, never once did they pop off.

If you are mostly climbing cracks, you can size them larger and they would be excellent, especially with the sticky rubber rands. For bouldering you’ll probably want something more aggressive. For fans of the Blanco, I probably still prefer those for anything with tiny edges, and they are being discontinued, so if you like ‘em, better go buy a few pairs.

Bottom line, this is an excellent, comfortable shoe for those who mostly climb slabby to slightly overhanging rock, which in truth is probably a good percentage of us. Retail is $150, more info and specs are available here.

Sizing: I’m generally a 12 street shoe in Five Ten. I wear a 12 in Dragons, Blackwings and Quantums. For the Pinks, I got 10.5’s and would even go with 10’s if I wanted a more precise fit for better edging, though the shoe is synthetic, so don’t expect a ton of stretch. In Blancos I wear an 11 or 10.5 for performance.

Disclaimer: Wait! Before you go handing over your credit card number, ask yourself, do you really need to buy more new stuff? If so, this product is worth a look. In the spirit of full disclosure, it was provided to SplitterChoss.com for the purpose of reviewing. Don’t worry, though, our integrity can’t be bought!