Anyone have experience with the "Unparallel" shoe brand?

https://libertymountain.com/up-rise-zero-ntn19790.html

Looks like these shoes haven't been around on the market for too long, but I tried them on the other day at my local climbing store. They fit pretty well, but hard to tell how they climb.

Does anyone have any experience with these shoes or other shoes from the Unparallel brand? 

If you don't have experience with this brand - what's a good all-around climbing shoe (mostly outdoor sport/multipitch 5.fun - 5.11) you would recommend?

Thanks!

Supposedly started by some old FiveTen folks who didn't go to Adidas or got laid off during the takeover. They had a try-on day at my gym a while before Covid and I heard good things, but didn't try them myself.

I think the majority of their models are just rebranded 5.10 models, same lasts same rubber, since like the poster above me said they are just old Five Ten guys that reopened shop after the Adidas buy out. 

I have the Up Mocc (moccasym equivalent). Great experience with them. I've only had experience with this one modeI since I'm still on this single pair I bought three years ago. I can't speak for the others, but the fit and performance is essentially the same, if not a little better. Been doing the majority of my indoor and outdoor climbing on this shoe and it is just starting to wear down to the point where I think I need to get new ones. 

Hot take is the brand and shoes would be more popular if not for the uninspired names and colors. But I won't complain since it seems like they are putting that marketing money into making quality shoes.

Killer shoes. If you liked pre adidas 5.10 you'll most likely be into these. Similar lasts to Old 5.10 but some tweaks so its not apples to apples. For myself most of the fit or quality issues were cleared up in the new shoes. The rubber is the good stuff too they actually have the stealth formula of old. Sizing is pretty consistent too. With the exception of the moccs I wear the same size in all the models. Basically foot size. (not shoe size but what your foot actually measures on a brannock device) is a great place to start maybe 1/2 size down if you like em tight. The pricing is great too compared to other brands. 

I have the UpMocc and they are great.  Toe feels slightly more pointed than the regular moccs, so ive enjoyed using them on thin cracks.  

I always wanted the blanco 5.10’s to fit but the heel cup was baggy. Anyone have experience with both brands and want to comment?

bearded sam wrote:

I always wanted the blanco 5.10’s to fit but the heel cup was baggy. Anyone have experience with both brands and want to comment?

I've climbed a lot with a few of their shoes and found the heel cup issue was actually a lot better with UP than with 5.10.  That said, they changed the sizing of one shoe from one year to the next and it's pretty obvious, so I would definitely suggest buying the pair you try on. 

UpMocc is great. Be advised that Five Ten is totally revamping its line of shoes so UP may be your only source for previous models

I have the UP lace, and it’s great. Kind of like an Anasazi pink, but a bit stiffer with a soft feeling fabric and a better heel.

I own the original Five Ten Dragons, and the UP Regulus (HiAngle) and Sirius (Dragon).

The Sirius is a solid alternative to those who enjoyed the original dragon as far as overall fit and performance. The shoe tightens down well, and is one of the few models of any brand to fit like a glove from toe to heel, especially when it comes to pinching slack in the heel cup, which is an issue I encounter 9 times out of 10 with any shoe. The shoe is super sensitive and climbs like a soft slipper, which I love, and heel and toe hooks are solid. My only complaints are that the Sirius toe is more rounded than the old Dragon, and I ran into some QC issues with delamination around the toe rubber, as well as the pull tabs ripping. They may have addressed this, but I haven’t purchased again after my first pair.

The Regulus is a much stiffer, single strap slipper style, and although that shoe also conforms to my foot well, it’s a bit too stiff for my liking. I never bought the original HiAngle  so I took a chance on this shoe, and it got sidelined after a while for softer alternatives. Same QC issues with the pull tabs also, but I bought from the first run, and they may have addressed these too. 

I tried my friend’s Unparallel shoes and they were pretty great. Nice stiff toe like I like. The company was started by the guy that started 5.10. I was told that they did the minimum needed to make the designs different than 5.10 so they don’t get sued. I believe they are using an older 5.10 rubber version. All in all they seem like a god brand and very similar in sizing and design to 5.10. 

James Anderson wrote:

I tried my friend’s Unparallel shoes and they were pretty great. Nice stiff toe like I like. The company was started by the guy that started 5.10. I was told that they did the minimum needed to make the designs different than 5.10 so they don’t get sued. I believe they are using an older 5.10 rubber version. All in all they seem like a god brand and very similar in sizing and design to 5.10. 

Unparallel:  the god brand

I had the original purple Quantums from 5.10 (probably 8 or so years ago at this point), and saw that the UP Newtro was a direct replacement for them. Got them in the same size and have been climbing in them for a few weeks now. They fit great, feel great. Even with lace-ups, the heels can be a bit hard to pop over and on I find, but once they're on they fit incredibly well with minimal deadspace.

Having been disappointed with 5.10 for the past few years, and looking for a replacement for my anasazi blancos, I'll definitely be trying UP again.

The company was started by the guy that started 5.10.

This is not true.

I have used the sirius lace and the vim and the moccs for all climbing applications trad to bouldering on mostly granite and coarser sandstone and can confidently say they are my favorite shoe brand.They tend to be very uncomfortable for me if I downsize from street shoe. I have 10.5/11 street, 10.5 UP. 

The Vims are my newest addition to the quiver and I like them a lot for single pitch hard sport and bouldering on overhanging routes, but not for vert or slab, they're a little too soft. The Moccs could almost be a quiver killer if you can size them right, but the benefits from sizing down make them lose any great ability with crack and vice versa, but that's fairly common for a mocc. I would say RH and stiff midsole for granite/ igneous rock types, RS for sticky sticky C4 style rubber works well with limestone or sandstone. Both do okay in the gym, and with sales and price points being low already you could probably get a really good pair of gym burners for under 100 bucks.

I want to try the UPlace for my next crack shoe, but I'm still rocking some old grandstones. When they disintegrate I will replace them. 

TLDR they run tight, have good rubber, not really any quiver of one options right now but if I had to choose one it would be the mocc. 

I’m gonna put a pair of somewhat comfortable UpMoccs (1.5 sizes down from street) to the test in the valley this week. I’ll try to get back to you on how they perform compared to pink/moccs/tcs on 5.10-5.12- on granite. With plastic i could probably get 2 sizes down on, but I want to see how much performance I can get out of more comfortable shoes, cause i have some serious calcium deposits on my foot structures from hyper downsized 5.10 since age 12.

Haven't tried the shoes but the rubber is really good. Resolved my TCpros with RH and they climb really well. Holds an edge well and stick to smears.

I have a pair of the Up Moccs and the Up Rise Pro. I really like them both, for different things. The Moccs are pretty much the same as the old red moccs, but with a slightly better heel IMO. The Up Rise Pro are quite stiff, and designed for crack climbing. I have them sized for wearing with a thin sock, and use them for meat-and-potatoes crack climbing and guiding. Everyone has good rubber these days, but these do feel quite sticky on rock.

James Anderson wrote:

…..The company was started by the guy that started 5.10….. 

As stated above, this is not accurate. As many people here know, Charles Cole founded Five Ten in 1985. Adidas purchased Five Ten in 2012.

Sang Lee, was in charge of production at Five Ten, and founded UnParallel in 2017, when Adidas moved the company to Germany. As mentioned, a number of former longtime Five Ten employees work at UP, and for climbing shoes, they use the former Five Ten manufacturing facility, in Redlands, California.

UpMoccs performed just as well as my moccs used to. Rubber may be a smidge softer

Cornelius Yukon wrote:

I wear UpMoccs for slab, easy trad, and gym climbing, and they are the only shoes my 10-year-old climbs in. The soft rubber sticks like glue to granite and gym holds.

After a short, uncomfortable break-in, they are now beautifully molded to my feet -I climb two'ish hour gym sessions with the family and don't need to worry about taking shoe breaks.

Great description, same for me