UKC

Does Boreal rubber improve with use, by any chance? I bought some Jokers (velcro) - comfortable pair for doing routes and warming up - but they don't seem to stick on anything small or sloping. I'm now sporting an impressive weeping bruise on my knee from where my foot popped off a sloper a number of times. Put on my old, somewhat knackered Anasazis and stuck it first go.

This is what happens when you buy comfortable shoes.

In reply to dyfed:

I have real trouble finding shoes that fit me properly. After my anasazis, with their baggy heel, I decided to try a shoe that fit perfectly irrespective of how "technical" it was. At the time, the Boreal Spider was the best fit, but in terms of grip they were atrocious. I ditched them before they properly wore out and whilst I had them I still used my holey anasazis for anything at my limit.

I now have Sportiva Miura VSs, which both fit perfectly and grip well. I'd have to be very strongly persuaded to buy Boreal again.

In reply to dyfed: I think Boreal rubber has a poor reputation of late.

In reply to dyfed:
I've got a pair of velcro jokers, took me a couple of weeks to get used to them after being in katanas before that, but now i feel more secure in them than anything else I've tried despite me meaning to replace them for about 6 months (I still have the katanas, but almost never use them these days - the jokers are much better at sticking to small things!)
Of course this is probably affected by foot size (mine are small, so katanas are stiff and difficult to get good surface area on rock/holds, whereas my comfy jokers are nice and flexible so I get max surface area) and foot strength (it took me a while to develop this after coming out of stiffer shoes, esp on overhangs).
I suspect this is going to be different for everyone - anasazis may well be stickier, but I'll never know as they are the wrong shape for my feet

I'm not sure whether to stick with and give them a chance or sell them now, having only been used a few times. They do fit really well and are seriously comfy in comparison to the weapons of foot torture otherwise known as Anasazis.

In reply to dyfed: I've used Boreals successfully indoors and out but I do prefer 5:10 rubber. (this sounds well dodgy!)

What I found is that Boreal rubber seems to ooze off holdswhere as 5:10 rubber grips like mad but then explodes off the hold when it reaches the limit of the available friction, a friend of mine actually demonstrated this to me. He loves his boreals as they fit his feet where as I love my 5:10's as they fit my feet. At the time we were both climbing about the same grade but I preferred slabs and he preferred jamming cracks. This was probably as a direct result of that fact he can always feel his feet slowly moving on smears where as when jammed in a crack it made little difference. Where as my feet stuck to the smears and I was scared of the pain involved with jamming badly

In reply to dyfed:

If the rubber truly is pants, you could have them resoled. Probably cost as much as you'd lose selling them on..

In reply to dyfed:

The hardest thing I onsighted during the whole of the last year was a long and near holdless limestone slab pitch, and that was in Boreals, so the rubber didn't feel pants to me! May take a bit of getting used to though, and any new and therefore quite stiff sole won't smear nearly as well as a well worn in soft pair.

In reply to dyfed:

I have had Jokers and now Joker Plus. I would agree that when they are new and stiff they don't grip well. Got a similar smacked knee using them indoors when they slipped off small holds. After a few trips out on grit they scuffed up, softened and now grip well. Stick with them (pardon the pun!)

In reply to Submit to Gravity:

Boreal rubber has had a poor reputation since 5.10 came on the scene (I think).

I have had several pairs over the years, and currently have a couple of pairs of Spiders. The rubber is definitely a different consistency to other used by Scarpa, Red Chili and 5.10, but different is not necessarily bad. I find that the Spiders are not that great indoors on polished plastic, but they seem to stick nicely to polished limestone. I suspect that no one rubber is the best for every surface.

So, for hard limestone sport climbing I will wear my newest Spiders, but for the wall I will wear some Red Chilis, and for hard grit/granite bouldering I will wear my Evolvs. For general cragging, I will wear whatever is comfiest as the type of rubber you have on your feet doesn't make a huge difference apart from when you are really pushing things.

In reply to all: But didn't Boreal come up with a new rubber called "Zenith" rubber.

http://www.ukclimbing.com/videos/play.php?i=680

Don't get me wrong, I've seen and felt some Boreal rubber and it feels terrible. However I thought they changed to their new rubber, which is the stickiest I've ever seen

In reply to Monk:
I've had boreal and evolvs hated the rubber on both of them, evolvs were the worst, my personal preference is 5:10. I don't find it sticks noticeable better than scarpa/vibram but it lasts longer.

In reply to CurlyStevo: i wear boreal and am a massive fan, not only does the heel actually fit (unlike 5:10) but the rubber is just as sticky and it also lasts much longer than other makes, as monk said above, a new shoe wont smear as well as a well worn pair regarddless of the make or model or material! Boreal rubber does seem to have a bad reputation but im not sure why, as far as i can see, as long as they fit then its much more about your own footwork than what boot you are wearing!

In reply to dyfed: I have the same problem. I simply had to buy another pair of shoes. The rubber is crap imho. Not even that comfy for as the rubber bent back on the top of the shoe and pushed against my big toes nails. All in all a crap shoe for me. I now have Adidas erm 5:10 verdes, more comfortable (still a little painful) but the rubber is epic!

In reply to maybe_si:
I've not tried the new boreal rubber.

BTW I don't actually buy 5:10 boots (for the last 5 years or so anyway) I just get my boots resoled in it when they run out. I find scarpa and 5:10 rubber works better out of the box than after its been worn, well unless I actually wash my boots anyway. Boreal rubber comes kindof shiny and smooth whilst most other makes do not.

In reply to dyfed: Boreal rubber (especially spiders) have a shinier look to them new because most rock boots are actually wire brushed before they leave the factory so that they give an impression of being stickier.

In reply to dyfed:
I found Boreal rubber improved with regular use, it seems to develop a harder less sticky outer layer when left for a few months, I'd wondered if it was oxidation or something. It seems a lot more hard wearing than trax or stealth c4 but possibly not quite as sticky.

In reply to dyfed: Have had plenty of Boreals and never had a problem. Just moved to a pair of Kryptos after apair of Scarpa Forces and they are noticibly more precise and they seem to stick better, but then that may be the fit... I think people often overplay the rubber card - different shoes have a different fit and I think that makes a far greater difference in performance than exactly how sticky they are...

In reply to dyfed: I find that Boreal rubber is amazing.



















































If all you do is campus and fingerboard...

Andy f

In reply to dyfed: I like my Lasers but a mate had a few epics in Ailfroide with the Jokers. He complained about their lack of stickiness ever day...

In reply to dyfed:

Well, if it's worth anything I find them plenty sticky. I think comparing an old, well bedded in pair of shoes to a set of new ones is a little unfair. Give them a chance to bed in and I'm sure you'll become very happy with them. I've been using Boreal for years now and think they're fantastic, but of course, not all boots suit all people.

If you check the top ascents page for this week, you'll see that on Sunday Jordan flashed Paralogism (E7 6c) at the Roaches, the next day he made short work of the Keswickian (E8 7a) in the Lakes. The week before he'd made the second ascent of Loaded (E8 7a) at Ilkley....in Boreal boots.

In reply to andi turner: Given how strong Jordan is, footwear isn't an issue. And he is sponsored by Boreal, which may be why he wears them. I can't say I see many people at the big Yorks/Peak/N.wales limestone crags who wear Boreal by choice. They were brilliant, but lost the way when they did the IRS rand shoes and never recovered.

Andy F

In reply to andy farnell:

What an absolute load of uneducated brainwashed tosh, I thought you of all people should know better!

In reply to dyfed: When i were a wee lad i did loadz o sick ard slabz and bold things (for me anyway) they were done in an amazing pair of vectors! o yeah resoled in stealth.