Gear Review: Five Ten Anasazi Moccasym Climbing Shoes
Value Rating: 9
Durability Rating: 9
Overall Rating: 9
Location of Test: In the gym, Smith Rock, Ozone, Broughton Bluff
Duration of Test: 4 years on and off
Product Name: Anasazi Moccasym
Product Brand: Five Ten
Best Use: Gym climbing, crack climbing, slab climbing
The Full Review:
Everybody loves a comfortable climbing shoe that performs great, and (depending on how you size it) the Anasazi Moccasym from Five Ten is just that. The Moccasym is an unlined leather slipper-style climbing shoe with extremely soft and sticky rubber, which helps you stand on holds that may have seemed to not exist. I've worn these shoes off and on for several years and have climbed a lot both indoors and out with them. While they are not a "quiver of one" shoe for most people, I think for the right person and the right uses they perform excellently.
Let's get to it. Here is what I love about these shoes: They are really sensitive, they stick to everything, and they are comfortable and easy to get on and off. The sensitivity means that it is really easy to feel holds through the shoe, which allows you as a climber to know and be confident that you are standing on the part of the foothold you want to stand on. Confidence is also inspired by their stickiness: when I'm trusting a smear or putting all my weight on an iffy foothold, I know for sure that the shoe is not going to slip off. Even on polished gym holds they stay secure and locked on. These things combined with how comfortable they are and how easily they slip on and off have made them my go-to gym shoe. I sized them the same as my street shoe which may have made them slightly less performance-oriented, but it allows me to climb comfortably all day and still get great performance.
I have climbed with these shoes all over, and while they are a great shoe for many applications, there are a couple of things that they're just not meant for. Because of their flat last and slipper style, they don't do too well on steep, overhanging routes. The flat last doesn't allow you to toe in very well on incut holds, and the slipper construction can tend to slip off while heel-hooking, at least in the way that I sized them. They also are not great for longer vertical routes -- at Smith Rock, for example, standing on tiny nubbins for eighty feet in these makes your feet tired pretty quickly. Since they're such a soft shoe, there's just not quite enough support to be able to stand on those little footholds all day without your feet getting tired.
Despite these two drawbacks, these shoes have definitely found a place in my climbing, and they perform excellently at what they are intended to do. For me, they've become a solid and comfortable gym shoe, but they also work great on slab and, while I don't do a lot of trad climbing, they are an extremely popular crack climbing shoe for someone looking for a crack shoe with a soft feel.
The Good:
Sensitive, sticky, and comfortable!
The Bad:
Not downturned enough for steep routes, not stiff enough for long vertical routes.
The Bottom Line:
A great shoe for someone looking for something comfortable, soft, and easy to get on and off, or for a crack climber looking for a soft crack shoe.
The Full Review:
Everybody loves a comfortable climbing shoe that performs great, and (depending on how you size it) the Anasazi Moccasym from Five Ten is just that. The Moccasym is an unlined leather slipper-style climbing shoe with extremely soft and sticky rubber, which helps you stand on holds that may have seemed to not exist. I've worn these shoes off and on for several years and have climbed a lot both indoors and out with them. While they are not a "quiver of one" shoe for most people, I think for the right person and the right uses they perform excellently.
Let's get to it. Here is what I love about these shoes: They are really sensitive, they stick to everything, and they are comfortable and easy to get on and off. The sensitivity means that it is really easy to feel holds through the shoe, which allows you as a climber to know and be confident that you are standing on the part of the foothold you want to stand on. Confidence is also inspired by their stickiness: when I'm trusting a smear or putting all my weight on an iffy foothold, I know for sure that the shoe is not going to slip off. Even on polished gym holds they stay secure and locked on. These things combined with how comfortable they are and how easily they slip on and off have made them my go-to gym shoe. I sized them the same as my street shoe which may have made them slightly less performance-oriented, but it allows me to climb comfortably all day and still get great performance.
I have climbed with these shoes all over, and while they are a great shoe for many applications, there are a couple of things that they're just not meant for. Because of their flat last and slipper style, they don't do too well on steep, overhanging routes. The flat last doesn't allow you to toe in very well on incut holds, and the slipper construction can tend to slip off while heel-hooking, at least in the way that I sized them. They also are not great for longer vertical routes -- at Smith Rock, for example, standing on tiny nubbins for eighty feet in these makes your feet tired pretty quickly. Since they're such a soft shoe, there's just not quite enough support to be able to stand on those little footholds all day without your feet getting tired.
Despite these two drawbacks, these shoes have definitely found a place in my climbing, and they perform excellently at what they are intended to do. For me, they've become a solid and comfortable gym shoe, but they also work great on slab and, while I don't do a lot of trad climbing, they are an extremely popular crack climbing shoe for someone looking for a crack shoe with a soft feel.
The Good:
Sensitive, sticky, and comfortable!
The Bad:
Not downturned enough for steep routes, not stiff enough for long vertical routes.
The Bottom Line:
A great shoe for someone looking for something comfortable, soft, and easy to get on and off, or for a crack climber looking for a soft crack shoe.