Anasazi VCS Blue vs Golden

Whats the difference between the VCS blue (petroglyphs) and the Golden?

C4 rubber on blue, Onyx on Gold

What's the difference?

Many discussions around the different rubbers. See one here: mountainproject.com/v/what-…

I'm going to quote Locker from that discussion, it's probably the most informative post in there:

Two best rubbers currently available to resolers.

Stealth C4 and Onyx. Both made by FiveTen.

C4 is the stickiest of all the rubbers. Has a couple drawbacks. In the warmer months can "Give" and rubber wears faster than many of the others. Overall it is BY FAR the rubber of choice. Best rubber for "Friction/smearing"

Onyx wears longer, is a little stiffer, can feel better in the warmer months for some, and is the preferred rubber (C4 vs. Onyx)for "Edging". Some disadvantages are edges can "chunk", isn't the best for "Smearing", performs worse in cooler temps.

Vibram also makes many good and available rubber for resolers. XSV is great stuff! Great for JTree in the warmer months!

Vibram XS Grip is another good choice as an "All around" rubber.

Best rubber to use in the gym is C4.

For those that may not know. Not all rubber on the different climbing shoes is available for resoling. That of course means you are forced to choose a different rubber, than what the shoes originally came with.

Everyone assumes the only difference between the Anasazi shoes is type of rubber, color, and laces vs Velcro. And Five Ten's crappy web descriptions sure don't help to clarify the differences.

The missing factor, which can be huge, is the amount of tension coming from the tensioned heel rand (which is the factor some people HATE about Anasazis but I prefer a flat last and some heel tension rather than downturned). The Blues have less tension than the Golden/Tan Anasazis and since the Blues have C4, they feel a little softer. This makes the Blues a little more comfortable but slightly less aggressive. I can use the Blues on longer routes but the Tans are my go tos on harder sport routes.

In my unscientific testing, the heel tension (which translates to how aggressive the shoe feels goes from least to most: Mocs, Blues, Verde (and I assume the new Pinks), Tans, Blancos. I found it amusing that many thought the Verdes and Blancos were the same shoe in a different color/rubber because they are much different shoes.

On a related note, I wish they didn't label their new shoe the Anasazi Guide because the toe is much more blunt than the rest of the Anasazi line and it feels like a beginner shoe. Anyone like the Guide (I only tried on in a store).

Doug Hutchinson wrote:Everyone assumes the only difference between the Anasazi shoes is type of rubber, color, and laces vs Velcro. And Five Ten's crappy web descriptions sure don't help to clarify the differences. The missing factor, which can be huge, is the amount of tension coming from the tensioned heel rand (which is the factor some people HATE about Anasazis but I prefer a flat last and some heel tension rather than downturned). The Blues have less tension than the Golden/Tan Anasazis and since the Blues have C4, they feel a little softer. This makes the Blues a little more comfortable but slightly less aggressive. I can use the Blues on longer routes but the Tans are my go tos on harder sport routes. In my unscientific testing, the heel tension (which translates to how aggressive the shoe feels goes from least to most: Mocs, Blues, Verde (and I assume the new Pinks), Tans, Blancos. I found it amusing that many thought the Verdes and Blancos were the same shoe in a different color/rubber because they are much different shoes. On a related note, I wish they didn't label their new shoe the Anasazi Guide because the toe is much more blunt than the rest of the Anasazi line and it feels like a beginner shoe. Anyone like the Guide (I only tried on in a store).

Really? I own one pair of each in the same size and I always thought the only difference was the rubber. My tans are at the resoler right now but I'll have to compare side by side when I get them back.

I can't say I really noticed much in the way of different performance but then again the tans are newer and I probably would have attributed any increased performance to that and/or the stiffer rubber.

When Onyx came out and I posted that I felt it was less sticky than C4, I got a lot of "really?, I can't tell the difference" too. Same with heel in the Blancos - it has twice the thickness of rubber to tension the heel compared to the Verdes but I have friends who thought they were just buying a cooler looking white shoe when the Blancos are really a much stiffer, more aggressive, better edging but also a more uncomfortable shoe compared to the Verdes.

These can all be considered subtle or very subtle differences but the Blues are different than the Tans - but most climbers will not notice or care about the differences. For example, the Velcro straps on the Tans are backed with a higher-end pleather? material and the Blue's straps are backed with a cheaper nylon material. Probably has no effect on how they perform and most climbers would never have noticed the difference but Five Ten was trying something different with the Blues (maybe a Galileo replacement?)

The one other difference between these shoes is probably what stiffeners are being used for the midsoles, but I won't begin to speculate on the differences there.

Doug Hutchinson wrote:The Blues have less tension than the Golden/Tan Anasazis and since the Blues have C4, they feel a little softer. This makes the Blues a little more comfortable but slightly less aggressive.

Hrmm. That's interesting, i wish they'd advertise that. I have some problems on the back of my heal which make high tension shoes unbearable. I have a pair of tans and they climb superbly, but i cannot wear them for long. I'll have to try and find a pair of blues to try on. Right now my go-to shoe is the Galileo because of it's very low tension heel.

I would describe the Galileo as having no heel tension and the Blue definitely has some so the Blue may still not work for you. The Evolv Pontas is like a stiffer Galileo and also has no heel tension. I feel the Pontas, like a lot of Evolv shoes was a Five Ten rip off (copy of the Anasazi VCS) but doesn't climb as well - but it is not a bad shoe either so you may want to check it out.

The funny thing for me is I thought my dream shoe was the tan VCS without tensioned heel but getting the Blues made with realize a lot of the performance of the Tans comes from the heel. I did not notice this much when the Blues were brand new but as they wore, they became less aggressive whereas the Tans seem to stay the same throughout the life of the shoe. I suspect the Tans also have a slightly stiffer midsole too. The Galileos were a tad too soft for me.

Doug Hutchinson wrote:I would describe the Galileo as having no heel tension and the Blue definitely has some so the Blue may still not work for you. The Evolv Pontas is like a stiffer Galileo and also has no heel tension. I feel the Pontas, like a lot of Evolv shoes was a Five Ten rip off (copy of the Anasazi VCS) but doesn't climb as well - but it is not a bad shoe either so you may want to check it out. The funny thing for me is I thought my dream shoe was the tan VCS without tensioned heel but getting the Blues made with realize a lot of the performance of the Tans comes from the heel. I did not notice this much when the Blues were brand new but as they wore, they became less aggressive whereas the Tans seem to stay the same throughout the life of the shoe. I suspect the Tans also have a slightly stiffer midsole too. The Galileos were a tad too soft for me.

Hmmm...weird. Should I be able to tell this difference by looking at the shoes? I just got my tans back from the resoler.

At my disposal I have:

1) A pair of old, resoled, blown out blues.
2) A pair of newish but well used tans on their first resole.
3) A brand new pair of blues.

I'd swear they were all the same shoe just with different states of wear...but then again I don't really know what I'm looking for.

Odd that 5.10 doesn't advertise these things.

Doug Hutchinson wrote:I would describe the Galileo as having no heel tension and the Blue definitely has some so the Blue may still not work for you. The Evolv Pontas is like a stiffer Galileo and also has no heel tension. I feel the Pontas, like a lot of Evolv shoes was a Five Ten rip off (copy of the Anasazi VCS) but doesn't climb as well - but it is not a bad shoe either so you may want to check it out. The funny thing for me is I thought my dream shoe was the tan VCS without tensioned heel but getting the Blues made with realize a lot of the performance of the Tans comes from the heel. I did not notice this much when the Blues were brand new but as they wore, they became less aggressive whereas the Tans seem to stay the same throughout the life of the shoe. I suspect the Tans also have a slightly stiffer midsole too. The Galileos were a tad too soft for me.

I've got the Pontas, but I blindly ordered them when evolve had the on closeout ($35!), I think i got the a half size too small, they're too narrow and I have the same issues in them with my heel flaring up. Not really a fan of the toebox in them, it's narrower/pointier.

The galileos are definitely a stiffer shoe and much less sensitive than the tans, they just have no heel tension, so they might feel a little softer/less focused. Kind of a give-and-take thing there i suppose.

I would love it if they would put an anasazi toebox with the new stonelands heel. Those heels felt great, but that new square-ish toe box didn't feel right, I didn't like the outside edging ability of the shoe.

Anyway - to bring this back to the original subect, the blue sound like something i might want to try if they are in fact less tensioned than the tans. I too prefer flat-lasted shoes.

@Doug - Ughh. Super upset about my purchase of the Anasazi Guides.

From their website:

"We've built the new shoe on our award-winning Anasazi last, with a low-profile flat-toe foot position that's ideal for thin cracks and edges."

Umm...not sure what they're talking about. My grandstones give me a flatter toe profile (and less foot pain in cracks) than the Anasazi Guides. And Grandstones are NOT known for being thin crack machines. I DID size them for a flat toe profile as well.

Unfortunately I ordered from Rock/Creek and not bc.com, and it was over 30 days til I got around to giving them a shot.

Perhaps you'll see them in the for sale forum soon :P