To climb the hardest routes and boulders, a shoe must excel in all areas; to find friction wherever it appears. Edges, smears, heel and toe hooks; any of these may be needed to ensure a successful ascent.  With the Boreal Mutant, there is no compromise.

It combines the following features:

Zenith is a unique high performance climbing rubber compound developed by Boreal. This compound provides outstanding friction and excellent hold on small edges.

Zenith rubber is a high performance rubber developed by Boreal. Zenith is designed for no-compromise performance, and features incredible friction properties combined with an ability to hold micro edges. This ultimate compound is featured on our highest performance rock shoe models. 

The Lateral Torsion System is the latest development in rand tensioning technology. A tensioning band is used in conjunction with varying rubber thickness to produce a highly supportive yet supple hold on the foot.

At the heart of the Lateral Torsion System is a tensioned band running around the heel and under the instep. This band provides both high levels of support to the foot while standing on smaller holds, and excellent heel fit. However the Lateral Torsion System does not stop there; by utilising thinner rubber in key areas, the flexibility of the shoe can also be enhanced. This combination provides the ultimate balance between support and sensitivity, ideal of any high performance bouldering shoe.

Friction Skin is the name given to our special coating designed to enhance friction on the top of the shoe. Granules of our ultra sticky Zenith rubber are combined with a durable glue to create a thin and supple rubber layer over the toes.

Traditionally, shoes designed with toe-hooking in mind have used thin sections of sheet rubber over the toes. While this increased friction, it was at the expense of reduced comfort and sensitivity. To address this issue, Boreal developed Friction Skin.

This coating comprises granules of our highly acclaimed Zenith rubber mixed with high quality glue. The coating is durable, flexible and thin, acting like a second skin and still allowing the shoe upper to mold around the contours of the toes. This results in superb toe-hooking ability without compromising the comfort and sensitivity of the shoe.

BOREAL | Mutant by James McHaffie from BOREAL Outdoor on Vimeo.