Black 5.10 Teams Rubber

I found this pretty interesting and was looking for opinions--I had a pair of black Teams that came with Mystique rubber that delaminated after minimal use. I contacted Five Ten and they were extremely helpful and within two weeks I had a brand new pair (all I paid was shipping to Five Ten--how's that for customer service!). When the new pair arrived yesterday, I discovered that they have HF rubber (same rubber they put on the Dragons), not Mystique. I looked at their site and it appears that all the new Teams have HF. Does anyone know why they changed from Mystique to HF or when it happened? Does anyone have a personal preference or could give me some sort of comparison of the two rubbers?

Sean Hoffecker wrote:I found this pretty interesting and was looking for opinions--I had a pair of black Teams that came with Mystique rubber that delaminated after minimal use. I contacted Five Ten and they were extremely helpful and within two weeks I had a brand new pair (all I paid was shipping to Five Ten--how's that for customer service!). When the new pair arrived yesterday, I discovered that they have HF rubber (same rubber they put on the Dragons), not Mystique. I looked at their site and it appears that all the new Teams have HF. Does anyone know why they changed from Mystique to HF or when it happened? Does anyone have a personal preference or could give me some sort of comparison of the two rubbers?

There's some sort of conspiracy here. Mystique has vanished from all models of 5.10 shoes.

It was my favorite- I have a small hoard of red and black blackwings that eventually i'll run through and never know the glory of mystique rubber again.

its pretty much the same rubber. Mi6 is different from Mystique/HF.

Stealthy wrote:its pretty much the same rubber. Mi6 is different from Mystique/HF.

Disagree- HF is much less durable and somewhat softer than mystique.

It definitely feels softer than Mystique. Can't say anything about mI6 because I haven't worn it.

I'm sold on MI6, I won't resole with any other rubber in the future. Rumors of it being too soft and wearing too fast are not what I have found. I climb with mine at least two days a week for the past 6 months and have found very little wear, maybe a little more that C4. The only downside I can see is thin edging where smedging is not an option.

Kevin Mokracek wrote:I'm sold on MI6, I won't resole with any other rubber in the future. Rumors of it being too soft and wearing too fast are not what I have found. I climb with mine at least two days a week for the past 6 months and have found very little wear, maybe a little more that C4. The only downside I can see is thin edging where smedging is not an option.

Right- mi6 is good in its own right. We're not concerned about it. The concern is that mystique, a great rubber, is no longer available and an inferior substitute, HF, is being used in its place.

perhaps if you spent more time climbing and less time on MP you wouldn't need this or that rubber to climb hard. Unless you're climbing 5.13 slabs, i doubt the difference in rubber is going to make or break your send. I'd rather spend my money on working less than a brand name rubber. YMMV

eli poss wrote:perhaps if you spent more time climbing and less time on MP you wouldn't need this or that rubber to climb hard. Unless you're climbing 5.13 slabs, i doubt the difference in rubber is going to make or break your send. I'd rather spend my money on working less than a brand name rubber. YMMV

There is absolutely nothing wrong with innocently discussing experiences with different types of rubber. It seems that every climber has at least some personal preference after climbing on a few different types. And yes, the differences between brands can be significant, IMO. This is fine.

Nobody here made any claim about needing a certain type of rubber to "climb hard". I was enjoying reading this harmless discussion until your negative comment.

You don't need to climb .13 slab to appreciate different rubbers!!

eli poss wrote:perhaps if you spent more time climbing and less time on MP you wouldn't need this or that rubber to climb hard.

Burn!! Especially coming from someone who has more post per day since joining MP than anyone else who posted in this thread... hmmm.

aikibujin wrote: Burn!! Especially coming from someone who has more post per day since joining MP than anyone else who posted in this thread... hmmm.

It especially hurt coming from such a bold, talented, strong climber.

But Anyway...

Maybe we rubber junkies with too much money and internet time should start a petition to bring back Mystique rubber.

You know I haven't tried the hf rubber yet that are on my new black wings but now you got me depressed it's not nearly as good as the old mystique like how would you compare it between the current rubbers that 5.10 has? Where would you put it in the lineup?

Lukus wrote:You know I haven't tried the hf rubber yet that are on my new black wings but now you got me depressed it's not nearly as good as the old mystique like how would you compare it between the current rubbers that 5.10 has? Where would you put it in the lineup?

HF is still a good rubber- just not quite as stiff or durable as mystique.

Mystique was almost as sticky as HF (i can't tell the difference), somewhere between C4 and Onyxx for hardness, and more durable than either of them.

aikibujin wrote: Burn!! Especially coming from someone who has more post per day since joining MP than anyone else who posted in this thread... hmmm.

sorry, I did not mean that as an insult in any way. I just meant that the differences between brands of rubber are often very slight, and a good fitting shoe matters a lot more than the type of rubber it has.

and FWIW I climb almost every day, although not always outside (I'm looking at you, Mr. rain cloud). I frequent MP because almost every time I come here, I either learn something or am entertained. It's like comedy central and the discover channel in one.

Dick rating
At least I only took the low road