Five Ten Anasazi Blancos

Anyone using the new blancos yet? It's still ice climbing season here in the Northeast but I'm curious what people think of them. At $195 they better be really good! My last 2 pairs of shoes have been TC Pros, size 42. Can anyone comment on performance and/or comparison/fit against the Sportivas?

You're going to get a lot of opinions as answers, so take this with a grain of salt...

I love the Blancos. They're super comfy for all-day use. The edge is solid, the rubber is good, and they're one of the only Five Ten shoes that actually fits me. I've climbed cracks, faces, and even some juggy roofs in them.

That being said, the heel is kind-of wonky. It puts a lot of pressure on the soft tissue on the underside of the ankle bone. The back heel cup also digs in to the Achilles quite a bit. That breaks in over time, but some of my associates have had to put bandages or tape behind their heel to prevent chafing/blisters.

I haven't worn TC Pros, so I can't personally compare. Just figured I'd let you know what I've found specific to the Blancos.

I have the new Blancos, but have only worn them for a couple of hours bouldering in the gym so far. The fit for me is vastly different between TC pros and the Blancos. I like shoes with a stiff sole so I dig both, but the TCs I size up a lot so I can comfortably climb multi-pitch and cracks in them. The tension rand on the back of the Blancos is really tight so it makes the heel a bit baggy, which is fine, but it means you have to wear them tight otherwise the heel is going to be REALLY baggy. This makes it a single pitch shoe for me. I had the old version and they were my cragging/redpoint shoes for single pitch only. The new version seems to have a slightly different fit, but only slightly.

Interesting bit about the heels from both of you. Wish I could try on a pair but no one has them locally and Rock and Snow said they aren't even planning on stocking them at all. What size do you wear for the TC vs the Blanco as you said you wear one tight and one sized up? I sized my TC down a full size from 43 to 42 since my last pair and now that they have stretched slightly they are perfect.

I believe my TCs are 43.5 and the Blanco is 11. I know that's not the same unit, but I don't remember the other size for either of them.

For reference, I wear a size 11.5 street shoe.

I just bought a pair of the Blancos(size 10). I am a 10 shoe, wear a 42 in the Katana Lace and I have to send these back because they are simply just too small(which was shocking to me). I found the heel to be slightly awkward as well since you don't sit flush to the back of the shoe.

To be clear, sized right, I don't think the baggy heal is a problem on the Blancos. I've done a few heel hooks and it was secure and worked well. My only concern is if you size them bigger that could make them less tight and more likely to come loose on a heel hook move.

Love the Blancos, love the TC's. I wear a 40 (comfort) and a 39 (try hard) in the TC's. Blanco's are an 8. If I were getting the Blanco's for pure thin edging, then I would probably go down to 7.5, but I like them with a little more room for thin crack type stuff (they're still very tight). From my perspective, the Blanco does not compare to the TC in terms of striking a good balance between comfort and performance. If you size the Blanco up to make it comfy, then I believe you negate the performance aspects of the shoe, and you may as well buy one of the other (much cheaper) flat-lasted, relatively stiff shoes available. In short, get them TIGHT!

(But of course, ymmv)

I'm talking the 10's are so tight my big toes legit are numb within 20 minutes.. Would you really stay with those? Full disclosure, I got mine 25% off through a friends shop.

Fivehoie wrote:I'm talking the 10's are so tight my big toes legit are numb within 20 minutes.. Would you really stay with those? Full disclosure, I got mine 25% off through a friends shop.

Take them off between pitches. They are not shoes to keep on while belaying/hanging out. If you wear a size 10 street shoe then a 10 in the Blanco is probably fine. Mine are touch smaller, comparatively. They edge and climb pockets better than any other shoe I know of, so it's worth it to put up with some discomfort.

I've felt them. They're unfortunately not as stiff as the old ones. In the old ones I am an 8.5 (super tight) and 41 in all Sportiva shoes (super tight, except 40.5 in Solution). But I'm a 10 in Teams and Dragons/Blackwings. So who knows

Thanks for the input everyone, I think for now I'll be sticking with the TCs until I see the Blancos go on sale.

For an update. I got the 10.5 and even though i've never bought a shoe larger than my running shoe size(10) they are actually perfect in this case. Slight curl of my toes now but no excess room anywhere. If you're looking at these shoes they 100% run small.

How do they perform?

How do they compare to the old Blancos in terms of sizing?
Similar?

Sorry, wish I could tell you.. I'm a relative newbie - Only climbing for a year now. All I can say is that in terms of everything else I had tried on these were at least 1/4 size smaller.

Verdon VCS - 9.5
ANasazi Pink - 10
Anasazi Blanco - 10.5
Katana Lace - 42

So they're smaller than the Anasazi Pinks?

I've had a pair of Anasazi Pinks, Verdes and old Blancos and all had them in size 8. (I wear a 9 street shoe size).

I'm wondering if I should go 8 or 8.5.. I have no way of trying them on before. Retailers around here only sell La Spo and Scarpa.

I loved every Anasazi model I've had but nothing beats the Blancos. Edging machines!

Consensus is to size up from regular Anasazis, so I'd probably go with 8.5. Downsizing stiff shoes like that is just asking for pain...

Size up half a size from Pinks!  My Blancos (new, size 8, thanks Dom) have the same sole length as 7.5 Pinks*. Definitely feel tighter on the feet than the Pinks but the Pinks are really well broken in.

*actually they're size 7 Pinks, but after a lot of use and a resole they have the same sole length as my size 7.5 Pinks did before a resole.