Mad Rock Shark 3.0- thoughts for those who have it

Has anyone on here tried the sharks 3.0, I am curious how they are being received,

I sized 1/2 size down from the original drone HV and the shoe is still at least a 1/2 size too big. I like the new heel shape, but the heel is quite a bit wider than the drone heel. Idk if its the new molding thing theyre doing but both these and the new drones feel so insensitive to me, however these do feel a little bit better than the new drones in that regard. They have lots a rubber for toehooking and theres an adjustable strap and elastic band inside the shoe to tighten the material atop the foot, which seems kinda gimmicky to me. I actually don't like the elastic band bc it can stretch while youre pulling on your toehooks and they just dont feel as secure as you would think with all that rubber. I can't think of anything else of note with the shoe, the shoe is okay but I probably wont buy again.

Trying to revive this thread because they’re sold out again and surely more people have tried this and have feedback by now!

How is Mad Rock incapable of keeping their handful of decent shoe models in stock? Let me buy your damn shoes!

I use the Remora for gym bouldering and figured the new sharks would be a good outdoor model to replace my dilapidated old sharks/M5s (which are much more comfortable to fall in than Sportivas/Scarpas given the latter's aggressive heel cup/achilles band) but they're perpetually out of stock in the sizes humans wear.

Ive had the shark 3.0 for a day now. In the 2.0, I wore a size 8, but they always seemed too big, so for the 3.0, I went down to a size 7. They will break in, but they are unquestionably really tight; I should have ordered a size 7.5 instead. The 3.0's heel fits better, and climbing in them was fantastic. The 3.0 feels a little more delicate and smeared easier. Standing on little foot chips was not an issue for me. The new toe hook rubber is hefty and a little strange, but it sticks well. They feel like a more comfortable pair of scarpa instincts vs. 

I encountered someone with a pair while out climbing this week. They had a few other shoes and I tried them on and got their take.

I normally wear the Scarpa LV shoes. The heel on the Shark 3.0 felt like it was baggy and when I flexed my foot it sagged so they're a no go. I did wear them on a climb to just get a feel for the toe box and found them less sensitive than my Scarpa Instinct S. I would not buy them.

The climber said that they are not digging them so far. For reference they also had a Drone CS, Scarpa Instinct VSR, and a Scarpa Vapor on them. They tried the Drone 2.0 and found that it was less sensitive than the Vapor so they got the CS instead. They find the Shark 3.0 like a weird version of the original Drone, but the heel doesn't fit them as well and they actually don't like the toe hooking- something to do with the actual profile of the shoe and the material moving around on the top of the foot. They bought them thinking they would be equivalent to a Scarpa Drago so they offered to sell them to me, but I tried them on and they didn't fit. They are likely going to just sell them and get a Drago.

Karl Walters wrote:

I encountered someone with a pair while out climbing this week. They had a few other shoes and I tried them on and got their take.

I normally wear the Scarpa LV shoes. The heel on the Shark 3.0 felt like it was baggy and when I flexed my foot it sagged so they're a no go. I did wear them on a climb to just get a feel for the toe box and found them less sensitive than my Scarpa Instinct S. I would not buy them.

The climber said that they are not digging them so far. For reference they also had a Drone CS, Scarpa Instinct VSR, and a Scarpa Vapor on them. They tried the Drone 2.0 and found that it was less sensitive than the Vapor so they got the CS instead. They find the Shark 3.0 like a weird version of the original Drone, but the heel doesn't fit them as well and they actually don't like the toe hooking- something to do with the actual profile of the shoe and the material moving around on the top of the foot. They bought them thinking they would be equivalent to a Scarpa Drago so they offered to sell them to me, but I tried them on and they didn't fit. They are likely going to just sell them and get a Drago.

Sounds like they had a similar experience to mine. I ended up selling the shark 3.0; I thought they'd be a soft shoe with the beloved drone heel, but that's definitely not the case. The heel is way wider and in terms of sensitivity they're not even in the same ballpark as a drago/theory/zenist/etc. I like the ideas behind all of their shoe innovations, but the drone 1.0 is better than any of their current offerings imo.

I LOVE my new Shark 3.0s! I’ve climbed in them for a total of 15 hours or so. I’m an older climber (above 50) and I insist on at least semi-comfortable climbing shoes. With the sharks, I can leave them on for hours without much discomfort. I have wide feet and normally wear 8 or 8.5 sneakers. Since size 8 was out of stock, I ordered 8.5. I find them satisfyingly snug but I might try a size 8 next time.

As for performance, they’re just great for me. I got my second V7 in these shoes and am excited to try them out on some real rock sport climbs soon. In the gym, I find I have more confidence with these shoes than I’ve ever felt before with any of my La Sportiva shoes (Solutions, TC Pros, Finales). The Sharks feel sticky and certain. I haven’t done any toe-hooks yet, but I’m looking forward to it.

Anyway, best climbing shoes I ever had! So pleased!

I just noticed the odd heel profile - can you walk around in them comfortably on a hard surface and does it feel normal to fall in them? I'd imagine with an uneven surface under your heel they have a tendency to roll, which for a bouldering shoe sounds super undesirable.

Hi Matt, I haven’t noticed anything odd while walking around, and I’ve had them on for quite long stretches. But then again, I was probably on mats most of the time. I’ll see if I notice anything next time though because of your query. :)

I experimented some with walking around on a hard surface and jumping off the wall onto the mat. I didn’t notice anything odd or different in either scenario. I can tell that the ridge is there if I walk on the outside edge of my foot on a hard surface, but even then it’s not bothersome. I hope this helps! :)

I'd love to buy some Mad Rock shoes but I can't find a place to try them on (to find my size) and I can't even find them online in sizes that might fit me.

Does anyone know the place nearest to Bishop where I can try on drones?

Before I give my 2 cents on them, this is the position I’m coming from: I have been climbing for 10 years, on and off, majority was indoors and competition climbing nationally. Currently I climb 3-4 times a week indoors, and ounce or twice outdoors. My hardest outdoor boulder so far is V10, and my hardest flash is V8. On a MoonBoard (2016) I can comfortable flash V6/7 and have done a few V8’s. Throughout those 10 years, I have owned around 17 shoes: anything from laspo, scarpa, tenaya, evolv, and even 2 other pairs of mad rock shoes. Drone 1.0’s and the remora’s. Also important to note: I have no current, nor have I ever had, any sponsorships or affiliations to brands. My opinions are purely my own. 

Now that the CV is out of the way, I got a pair yesterday and here are my thoughts so far:

1. At first they seemed very cloddy and insensitive. The first 2 hours of climbing was me partially wondering if they were a good buy or if I should have just gone for my usual style of shoe. After about 2-3 hours of climbing they start to soften out and feel more usable. By the end I could feel the hold below my foot and actually “pull“ with my toes. 
2. Sizing: I went down a full size from my drones. My street shoe is EU40 and the shark 3’s are a EU39. I used plastic to fit them, and I don’t think I would have gone smaller or bigger. Overally they are quite comfy to wear after the 3D toe cap starts to soften.
3. Heel is quite different from a drone. Feels much wider and less deep. I find my heel is very shallow and doesnt fill the drone’s or even a drago or theory lv heel cup properly. The sharks actually felt fulling. the heel is also much more soft and malleable than a drone heel, which feels about as stiff as the old classic solution bulbous heel. However, due to the shoe lacking a sort of aggressive tensioning system (like scarpa/la spotriva) i am slightly interested to see how the achillies is supported as the shoe starts to soften out. 
4. The toe patch is as good as it looks. 10/10. Sticky, soft, and sensitive. You can blindly throw and best believe it will stick. Heel toe cams are bomber!
5. The fin on the heel does not impact walking at all. It works well in very specific situations where you can lock it behind an incut edge, but if you are not skilled at heel hooking it is not going to fix that. Kinda cheating but not really significantly beneficial. A skilled climber would be just as well off with a normal laspo heel.
6. The shoe feels more sensitive than a drone, but not close to a solution/muira/drago or anything along those lines. With the shark, you place it and Can partially feel it, and then have to just trust it.
7. The midsole under the main big toe does feel clunky at first, but I think it will sort of help as the shoe ages. It makes standing on smaller edges (8-20mm) confidence inspiring, despite the lack of extreme sensitivity. 
8. The drones are stiffer/have more tension running through the whole shoe  it feels more supportive for sure. the shark 3’s feel oddly like a bit of a Frankenstein between a remora and a drone. Idk how else to say it. XD  
9. the elastic tension system is kinda a gimmick. I currently have the shoes downsized 1 full size from street shoe and the elastic is at max expansion. perhaps when the shoe ages it may be useful to counteract the stretch. 
10. They are suprisingly good at board climbing. I tried some climbs I’ve done before on the moon and spray and they felt really good In the sharks. Slab climbing I haven’t put them through much yet, but they are far more at home on the overhangs than the vert. 

Overall, not a bad shoe. Certainly not comparable to your other “big name” brands such as Unparallel, Laspo, Scarpa, Tenaya. But at the price point it is not bad. In my country they are selling for roughly 60% the price of a pair of solutions, drago, or instincts. Also I think what people get wrong with mad rock is that their target market, is focused more of the regular every day joe‘s that climb v4-v7 and want something comfortable and enjoyable to use, as opposed to making the most extreme shoe that breaks your toes, but has the performance and precision of a laser. for indoors I would choose it over something like the instincts, but for outdoors the instinct would probably win me over due to the more precise toe. They are kinda just fun and novel to climb in. 

Taking them outdoors to Rocklands this weekend so will post an update after then!

I have a pair and would not recommend them.  Ash L basically nailed it above: these things are great for toe hooking and the heel ridge has some uses, but the toe itself is basically useless compared to the big guys.  These things are basically a gimmick shoe that can be brought out in a few situations, but absolutely should not be your main shoe.

So for outdoors on sandstone I would say they are only really good at smearing, toe hooking and some specific heel hooking and  cams. The toe is abysmal on small edges and feels as though it is prone to blowing off of holds. They are also not particularly pointy in style so when your feet are low down and you are looking for that narrow, talon style of pointy toe box to keep the tension, these tent to pop off on their own. Often I would try force myself to climb in these to give them a chance, but would end up back with my older tenaya’s or theory’s. The shoe has softened out substantially since purchasing them and it feels as though the tensioning system is literally just there for the first 2 sessions and now just for looks. The 3D moulded nature of the shoe has absolutely ZERO tension in it, and cannot replace having an actual rand. The only rigidity in these shoes for me is in the tiny midsole under the big toe. 

They are novel and fun and make for a great conversation starter at the crag, but try to climb anything above V5/V7 or on small edges, and these guys really aren’t it. 

For now they are being demoted to indoor training shoe. The rubber is quite durable so they should be good at that. Honestly I would rather go for the drones over these as they have a better toe for edging, and a more tensioned heel and toebox that actually holds the shoe together. First prize would be to just actually buy a “real“ pair of climbing shoes from the more conventional competition. While extremely hyped and touted having all this 3D moulded tech, I feel as though mad rock have lost touch with why and how a climbing shoe is meant to function and feel.