Five Ten ANASAZI GUIDE Climbing Shoe Review

Check out the review on my website here! 

Background: Being a mostly trad climber, I often find my self wedging my foot into cracks of varying sizes and using very thin feet. I prefer shoes that are thin enough to fit the toe into finger cracks and have a good enough edge to smear and make the tiniest of rock good enough for a foot.

Five Ten has a bunch of shoes under the Anasazi name. For instance, the Anasazi Blanco (just a more aggressive but still moderate version of the Guides), the Anasazi VCS (velcro shoe) and the ultra classic Anasazi Moccasym (classic slipper style shoe). The Anasazi line is basically full of moderate to neutral shoes with their signature C4 rubber that are great for crack and sport climbing.

Initial Thoughts: I found the Anasazi Guides for $74 (originally priced at $145 i believe). Now for $74, I honestly wasn't expecting much. Right out of the box, I noticed the toe of the shoe was quite big. Ive had a couple other Five Ten Anasazis. The latest pair Ive owned were the Moccasyms which have a fairly average toe. Comparing the Guides to the Moccasyms you would notice the toe on the Guides is extremely bigger. Another thing about the Guides is the angle of down turn (non existent.) Now I didn’t purchase the shoe thinking it would be the most aggressive shoe out, but putting the shoe on a flat surface, the toe literally goes up.

Use: With the Five Ten Anasazi Guides sporting a toe larger than a giants, you won’t be squeezing it in finger cracks any time soon. Another down side to the large boxy toe is that you won’t get the high sensitivity that other climbing type specific shoes offer. With that being said, the Anasazi Guides are best used for crack climbing when the cracks are hands to fist. Anything below that size, I couldn’t imagine fitting my toe in. They seem to also hold their own for casual sport climbs as well as longer climbs without too much technical foot work.

Pros: 

• The comfort of the shoe, making it bearable and comfortable for super long routes and all day use
• Good enough edge to hold its own against other “high-peformance” climbing shoes
• A neutral/wide shoe working for people with oddly shaped feet

Cons:

• Boxy/large toe making hard to fit into finger size/think hand cracks
• Thick toe making small foot holds seem insecure

Thanks for the review on this. I've been looking at picking up a pair. Any thoughts on durability?