Five Ten Hiangle Review

When you start to venture into steeper terrain, you need tools to match the task at hand. Shoes with a downturned shape allow you to pull more with your toes, which is crucial to keep your hips close to the wall and get weight off your arms. The Hiangle, from Five Ten, is a new slipper designed to be the transition from more flat lasted shoes to downturned goodness.

The Blackwing is Five Ten’s premier slipper, but for those who want to test the waters of steep climbing, without going straight to a soft shoe, the Hiangle is the answer. Moderately stiff, the supportive midsole means you can stand on small holds with ease. It uses C4, which everyone knows and loves. The single strap closure is simple, and constructed in such a manner that it will hold up to many days of use, unlike some other velcro straps on the market. There is ample rubber on the toe area, so you can throw all the fancy foot jesery you want on those new wave boulder problems. And the leather construction means it will break in nicely to the shape of your foot.

For me, there were a couple concerns that stood out. First, they are somewhat difficult to get into, an opinion shared by a few others I spoke with. The opening just isn’t wide enough, so it takes some finagling, even if they fit you properly. Once on, I can wear them for a long time, but it takes some work at first. Second, the sweet spot isn’t right on the toe, like it is with many high performance shoes. Instead, it’s a little bit down towards the heel, see the red circle in the photo.

This takes a little getting used to, and makes them less than ideal for toeing into pockets. The last thing is a minor gripe, but worth noting: they turn your feet bright blue, like Mocs turn them red. It’s a little unsettling at first, and does take some time to wear off. Hopefully that dye isn’t harmful.

I’d give these shoes three out of five stars. I like them for warming up and climbing on stuff that’s not very steep with smaller footholds. Generally I want something softer and more aggressive when the going gets intense. That being said, for its stated purpose of helping people transition from more supportive shoes into a downturned slipper for steeper climbing, I think it delivers.

Retail is $150, you can get more info and purchase online here.

Notes on Fit: I generally wear a 12 in Blackwings and Dragons, and have these in an 11. As mentioned above, they are difficult to get into, especially at first, but they have stretched out nicely to conform to my foot.

On a separate note, Sachi Amma did Biographie in these things, so they seem to work pretty well for him!

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!