UKC

In a market saturated with soft downturned rock shoes, the stiff and supportive Ace will be a breath of fresh air for trad climbers, says Rob Greenwood - provided they fit you!

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In reply to UKC Gear:

I was really excited to see this review until I saw the caveat re wider feet. Yet another pair of rock shoes I will not be buying!

In reply to Mike Rhodes:

Fine for me though!

In reply to Mike Rhodes:

I didn’t get on with the Ace at all. The Ballets are a much better bet if you have wide feet... 

Tom (supported by Boreal)

In reply to Tom Ripley:

That's interesting Tom - looking at the Ace and the Ballet side by side on the Boreal site, the Ballet looks rather like just a high top version of the Ace - a bit like Scarpa do their techy trad shoe, can't remember the name, as a 'lo' and a 'mid'. But it sounds like from your experience the Ballet is quite a different last? I think you said you have quite wide feet don't you?

I remember trying on Ace and Ninjas back in the 90s and they seemed SOOOOooo ridiculously narrow, that they were completely wrong for my wide feet. I've tried Jokers in a shop once too I think, and they were too narrow - so I've basically just had Boreal written off in my head as "not for me". The new Ballets look quite cool though in a retro/I'm into offwidths sort of way!

In reply to TobyA:

Hey Toby,

They might look similar but the Ace have rubber across the top of toe box, making them narrow. The Ballets are more conventional, and I imagine, fit a wider variety of foot shapes. 
 

You could always ask Dan for a pair to review...

In reply to UKC Gear:

Back in the day I had more pairs of Aces than any other shoe/boot ever produced and had them resoled more than any other. Had to be the black with lime green card icons though. When they went mauve they spoiled them.

Al

In reply to Tom Ripley:

How does putting rubber on top make them narrow? Surely it's all down to the last?

In reply to Andy Hardy:

It stops/slows their stretching.

In reply to UKC Gear: Don't know why they call this an Ace - nothing like the origional. It will bend your big toe over and give you bunnions

  

In reply to UKC Gear:

I'm hoping that these are very similar to the previous Ace incarnation. I have 3 pairs that have been resoled at least twice each and I can't get on with any other shoes I've tried on (nad I've tried a few. My feet are big (11-ish), a strange shape and seem to be very sensitive - I can't climb in anything that crimps my toes. On the other hand my old Aces fit quite snugly but I can wear them all day on long multi-pitch routes. I guess I'll just have to get used to not climbing 8a though.

In reply to UKC Gear:

Thanks for this, I also read it as a devoted Aces, (the black ones - as somebody else said, not quite the same in dark red) user back in the day.

As an aside as a complete indulgence I bought a pair of Ninjas the other day for no other reason than I had fond memories of the original green ones I had.  The new incarnation are fantastic. 

In reply to UKC Gear:

I find the heal cup too high.  It digs in to my achilles tendon and hurts.  I can't wear them.

In reply to UKC Gear:

a replacement for the blanco's?

In reply to Dominic Green:

I would say not. The toe box isn’t as pointed, and the heel isn’t as tensioned. 

In reply to Tom Ripley:

I don't have a pair of Blancos to hand, so can't say with certainty, but I think the Ace are - if anything - more pointed. In the Blancos the point is further towards the big toe, whereas the Ace is much more central.

Totally agree regarding the heel though.

In reply to auld al:

Whilst I agree that it is different to the original, it's got a pretty flat/supportive last, so is less likely to give you bunions than a great many other shoes that are out there. That said, it all comes down to fit...

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

D’oh! I have neither Ace nor Blanco to hand. What I should have said is they feel nothing like each other - on my feet anyway.

In reply to Tom Ripley:

I completely agree with that  

In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:

thanks, I was clutching at straws there, I just missed a pair of blancos in my size going on the forums here! 

In reply to Dominic Green:

Unparallel do a shoe like the Blanco. Although the heel fits me a lot better.