Adidas/Five Ten

What the hell is going on with their catalog? I haven’t seen any updates from trade shows or gear blogs regarding anything new on the horizon. Is Adidas leaving five ten for dead?

Yes. 

Most climbing gear manufacturers were not at this summer's OR show.  So, that's why you haven't seen any trade show updates.

heard from gym staff that adidas is discontinuing 5.10 climbing shoes, that is why the gym was getting rid of all 5.10 shoes this spring 

rock climbing wrote:hey Charlie S what happen at OR this summer? 

Honestly, not much. Walked the show in about 2 hours. If you were into textile suppliers or other things, there was some stuff to watch. But there was no Petzl, BD, Trango, La Sportiva, Scarpa, etc.

Charlie S wrote:

Most climbing gear manufacturers were not at this summer's OR show.  So, that's why you haven't seen any trade show updates.

Except Adidas was. They had a pitiful little climbing section in their mainly activewear focused behemoth of a booth. It seems like they’re just running 5.10 into the ground 

Jessica Colley wrote:

Except Adidas was. They had a pitiful little climbing section in their mainly activewear focused behemoth of a booth. It seems like they’re just running 5.10 into the ground 

Was so small I must have missed it on my walk.

Even the website selection is pitiful now too.

For this sad husk of a brand, my Pinks were murdered.

The king is dead, long live the king.

I dunno, I think the Grandstones are pretty sweet. I really like the Crawes too. The pinks are different but after a harsh break-in they a reminiscent of an old friend. 

Adidas is probably trying to figure out how they're going to make a climbing shoe that can be used for the hardest climb, but only last for one pitch, kinda like their running super shoes that only work for one marathon.

Long Ranger wrote:

Adidas is probably trying to figure out how they're going to make a climbing shoe that can be used for the hardest climb, but only last for one pitch, kinda like their running super shoes that only work for one marathon.

Lest someone think this is snark... I'm going to bet that this has a lot to do with it for real. Plated and springy running shoes are now flying off the shelves at $280 per pair and lasting a couple months at most as climbers resole their shit for the 11th time while griping about the changes to their favorites*. Profit optimization bots are just going to cut losses.

*says the person with twice re-soled guide tennie hightops

It's true: all of it, 

rock climbing wrote:

I don’t think the 5.10 shoes are that bad. And they are as well made as Butura or BD similar build.
Adidas probably bought 5.10 thinking that they would dominate the climbing shoes marked.

We just have to figure out who is the executives that uses 5.10 as their own toy company and make them sell it. 

Rumor has it that they really only wanted the mountain biking shoe market.  Climbing shoes were never a priority.  Or selling rubber.

rock climbing wrote:

Why not sell 5.10 instead of just shutting down?

hey Charlie S what happen at OR this summer? 

The 5.10 is too valuable for them to get rid of it. They may not care about the climbing line, but the bike segment is huge.

My next set of bike shoes will be 5.10s. My son is on his second pair of 5.10 bike shoes, and my wife has a pair of them as well. GREAT bike shoes

Maybe 5.10 is waiting to release new climbing shoes to coincide more closely to the Olympics. Janja Garnbret is an Adidas athlete and got gold, Miho Nonaka got silver. (No men in the top 5 are 5.10/Adidas sponsored from the last Olympic results)

I guess the other question is: does 5.10 need to release new climbing shoes? The shoes I wear (not 5.10) where first released in like 1996. I feel the pain when a good model comes out just to be cancelled. Seems climbing shoes take a while to get a following, so cancelling a model after just a few years can make for cranky customers. 

Long Ranger wrote:

Maybe 5.10 is waiting to release new climbing shoes to coincide more closely to the Olympics. Janja Garnbret is an Adidas athlete and got gold, Miho Nonaka got silver. (No men in the top 5 are 5.10/Adidas sponsored from the last Olympic results)

I guess the other question is: does 5.10 need to release new climbing shoes? The shoes I wear (not 5.10) where first released in like 1996. I feel the pain when a good model comes out just to be cancelled. Seems climbing shoes take a while to get a following, so cancelling a model after just a few years can make for cranky customers. 

The women's hiangle is one of my staple shoes. I'm very fond of them. They're out of stock on the adidas site, have been for quite some time, and are getting harder and harder to find via other sellers. No REI, no Backcounty, my local shops don't have them. They're vaporware. It sure feels like they're discontinuing them, but I don't know. As LR points out, they're really well represented in both high end outdoor and competition climbing. Off the top of my head, you've got Janja and Miho, Mejdi Schalk, Yannick Flohe, Will Bosi, Dru Mack, Dave Graham, a bunch of other well-known names too I'm sure. 

The idea of waiting for new releases closer to the olympics makes sense, but what about just restocking what they've currently got?  

I’ve been climbing in 5.10 shoes since 2005, with the Anasazi VCS and Galileo being my go-to. Galileo was discontinued many years ago, and fortunately I was able to snag a few pairs. Currently on my last one.

Since Adidas bought 5.10, quality has gone downhill. Your best bet is to jump ship, and the best option is UnParallel (former 5.10 designers, etc). I recently tried them for the first time (the Flagship) and have been very happy.

End of an era with 5.10 for sure. RIP

rock climbing wrote:

People say that the quality went down because they don’t like the new designs. But the actual build of the shoe is better. Much better. 

I do kind of agree with this. As a 5.10 user, almost exclusively since the mid ‘90s through the early ‘10s, 5.10 never really did have the best quality build (literally had a couple different models rip apart at the heel). The recent Adidas models do look pretty bomb proof, but they just do not fit well. 

I own the old pairs of Five Ten Dragon laces, blue smurf feet hiangle and Team VXI (green). I've loved the vintage 5.10 shoes and haven't found comparable quality (stickiness) in other rubber compounds like Vibram XS grip2 and so on. I know Adidas discontinued a lot of the old models the older climbers have known and loved for years, but I genuinely can't find a bad thing to say about the newer models. Currently have several pairs of hiangles, a hiangle pro, aleon (great shoe—have only heard good things from others as well). Five Ten being under Adidas allows for technology and materials like primeknit to be the upper construction of a shoe like the Aleon and all these newer models had Fred Nicole design them. My girlfriend wears the niad women's and I went and purchase a pair of kirigami's to lead climb in comfortably. Outside of Five Ten, I also wear Scarpa Drago's, instinct vsr, unparallel flagship and la sportiva solution. Nothing bad to say about any of them. My go-to for hard bouldering outdoors is and probably will always be the hiangle though. Thought I'd weigh in because I always see negativity surrounding these shoes but I think most climbers would really enjoy them. The absolute best thing about the brand, is the supply chain here in the states. I usually get my new shoes within 2-3 days, free shipping and returns, and I think that sets them apart from unparallel by a mile.

Cheers.

Peter Tran wrote:

I own the old pairs of Five Ten Dragon laces, blue smurf feet hiangle and Team VXI (green). I've loved the vintage 5.10 shoes and haven't found comparable quality (stickiness) in other rubber compounds like Vibram XS grip2 and so on. I know Adidas discontinued a lot of the old models the older climbers have known and loved for years, but I genuinely can't find a bad thing to say about the newer models. Currently have several pairs of hiangles, a hiangle pro, aleon (great shoe—have only heard good things from others as well). Five Ten being under Adidas allows for technology and materials like primeknit to be the upper construction of a shoe like the Aleon and all these newer models had Fred Nicole design them. My girlfriend wears the niad women's and I went and purchase a pair of kirigami's to lead climb in comfortably. Outside of Five Ten, I also wear Scarpa Drago's, instinct vsr, unparallel flagship and la sportiva solution. Nothing bad to say about any of them. My go-to for hard bouldering outdoors is and probably will always be the hiangle though. Thought I'd weigh in because I always see negativity surrounding these shoes but I think most climbers would really enjoy them. The absolute best thing about the brand, is the supply chain here in the states. I usually get my new shoes within 2-3 days, free shipping and returns, and I think that sets them apart from unparallel by a mile.

Cheers.

I, a totally human person not attached to a corporation and definitely not a bot, am also impressed by the great technology of Adidas. I especially love their corporate governance structure, and their accurate quarterly earnings reports. I feel it improved my lead bouldering greatly.

All Praise Be To Adidas and their above average supply chain. adidas.