UKC

My beloved blancos have died a death, can anybody recommend a good alternative preferably with a better heel, it will mainly be used for skating around polished Yorkshire limestone!

Thanks!

Try the equivalent from Unparallel

https://www.outside.co.uk/climbing-gear/climbing-footwear/rock-climbing-sho...

Scarpa Maestro?

tenaya masai is a similar fit. I have a pair of each. I find the 5.10 is a bit stiffer

Not directly the same type of shoe, but ideal for the same purpose, is the Muira VS.

I would agree with Exile that the Miura VS are a pretty good alternative. They are slightly different and I would choose, if possible, Blancos over the VS for certain limestone such as Malham, Goredale etc. But, I would also be happy to wear VS's  at those crags if I couldn't get any Blancos.

The Sportiva Kataki is possibly a better analogue to the Blanco; they're lace-up, stiffer and less down-turned than the Miura VS.  Obviously whether they are a suitable replacement entirely depends on the shape of your feet, especially as the Katakis have a hard band wrapped around the heel that is really uncomfortable on the achilles until it softens.

Scarpa Instinct, either the VS or Lace. Hard to say which is stiffer.

Howdy,

I can imagine your recommendation for the Lace Up for stiffness and quality and stickiness of the rubber. But, the but is that plumpness of the toe of the Lace Up that makes it less ideal and different then the Blanco.

Shape wise Muira’s and Tenaya’s Masia’s are probably from that perspective better alternatives, but still no Blanco’s.

Hope Adidas takes note of this and will come back with a real Blanco’s. Oh needless to say real 5.10 quality! Their last batch of Anazai Pinks are now made in China, different last and different rubber, different sizing. 

Hint to Unparallel come with a shoe with the same characteristics as Blanco. Their rubber is very good. 

Have you got a narrow foot

If so i can just about understand your liking for the white but there are literally dozens of boots out there that surpass the performance of these in every respect plus have a level of comfort too.

Flat lasted straight not asymmetric shoes just do not climb anywhere close to as well as modern downturned shoes. 

I'd try the kataki or otaki  from sportiva  ,instinct vs or chimera  from scarpa or tarrifa from tenaya 

I always found the Masai quite soft.

Remind me again, what are Steve McClure's weapon of choice ? Just think how hard he could have climbed with  a decent pair of shoes !

Ha ha i wondered when this would be dragged up

Who else do you see climbing trully hard stuff in whites?? Maybe a select few who might just be sponsored by 5.10

It's funny how they couldn't give them away due to general poor uptake in the climbing community due to many things including just being plain uncomfortable , and that was the first time they were released.

Take two and what happens,oh they can't give them away again , so what do they do ,give them away to rock and run who give them away to anyone who will take them for 40% of RRP

Let's face it he doesn't even do the laces up, he could climb 9a in any boot

If rumors are true they were designed around his requirements and foot shape which might be quite individual 

Steve is amazing but it ain't the Anasazi white that is key to his success, just pure talent

Hence saying the blancos are stiffer they're more like a pink in terms of stiffness but still a fantastic flat technical shoe!

Honestly, while I would agree in the general case, on certain rocktypes the Blancos almost feel like cheating. I have four pairs for the slate. Any other shoe I've tried only performs like that there when brand new.

Thanks, that's interesting. I haven't tried the Kataki's yet but may well do so when I have run out of Blancos and they are not available any more.

Sorry, I should have been a bit more specific, I meant that I feel the Masais are a very different category of shoe to the Blanco in terms of stiffness. I'd totally use them as a replacement to the Pink but I wouldn't really consider them as a replacement to the Blanco.

I used to wear the Miura Laces for this sort of use, I didn't even need to do the laces up to edge, and I'd still wear them if anyone actually stocked the stupid things...

Fresh Miura lace-ups are probably my favourite rock-shoes; great precision edging; stiff yet sensitive.  My problem with them was that after a comparatively short time they always bagged out and softened alarmingly; felt like floppy clown shoes whilst still fairly unworn.  The Sportivas with the P3 platform, like the Miura VS and Otaki, retain their shape and stiffness much longer so are a far more practical option for me (but if I was a sponsored hero, I would insist on a new pair of Miura lace-ups every month!).

They are very slightly too narrow for my feet, which makes them remain stiff to the end without being uncomfortable. It’s interesting how different a shoe can be, depending on your anatomy!

Who do you see climbing ‘truly hard stuff’ that isn’t sponsored? Of course a 5.10 sponsored climber will wear a 5.10 shoe. When climbing hard but not steep routes Steve, Sonny Trotter, Pete Whittaker or Tom Randall chose Blancos over one of the many excellent down-turned shoes (teams, hiangles, dragons) they could have.

Not on plastic or in caves perhaps but stiff flat shoes have their place on shit footholds on vertical rock. Your analysis is tired, simplistic, and wrong. 

I agree with all this. If you have to stand on a single tiny shit foothold for 5 minutes to rest or arrange gear then you will see the advantage of the blancos.

You don’t notice the benefit as much if you can’t put much weight through your feet because either a) you’re  very light, or, b) it’s steep. The more weight you have on your feet the less stiff they feel. They’re specialised shoes, but they happen to be particularly good for a bunch of the hard climbing in the UK.

They’ve been dropped twice  not because they’re shit, but because that is what 5.10 do. They stop and start shoe lines. Maybe it is to sell a ‘new greatest product’ to the buyers at REI? These shoes would never have been their best sellers because they’re poorly suited to indoor climbing, and feel clunky when brand new, but, they developed a very loyal following the first time round. Many of us just found them the best (by far) in many situations. Because they discontinued them we all had to go and find a replacement option. Then when they bring them back they change them SLIGHTLY, so we all have to go through the bs risk of trying to work out how they size again and how they soften over time, and are they too stiff or too soft. And once you have worked out an alternative already, why take that risk all over again.. hence why they didn’t sell well again quickly after the re-make.

A lot of people on Malham catwalk were obsessed with the original Blancos and mourn their loss; enough "trully hard stuff" [sic] there to meet your standards?  I suspect other places with similarly hard and thin climbing were similar - the Torr?  

I never got on with them myself (far too narrow) but 5.10 dropping Blancos was probably not because they were a "bad" shoe, but more because they had a very niche appeal: high performance on vertical terrain. 

The current trend seems to be driven by indoor volume wrestling and steep limestone, with new models tending to the soft, sensitive, and downturned.  All very good for jumping between volumes and hooking feet into smears in roofs but poorly suited to just off-vertical pitches of standing on micro-crozzles.

Scarpa Boostic is the stiffest narrow fit shoe I have found. Unfortunately it is very hard to find a pair in a shop to try on.

I see many down turned shoes as shoes that effectictly 'flatten' as the climber puts weight through their feet.  The tension in the shoe does the work.  On a stiff, flat shoe, the insert provides the stiffness.

As the tension in a downturned shoe (elasticity fades) and or the instert become more maleable, they will lose their effective stiffness.

The net effect is that downturned and stiff, flat shoes can acheive the same result.  Downturned shoes have the benefit of being able to 'grab' holds on steep ground but can be generally less comfortable.

Does anyone else see it this way?

Sorry but: No. I have to disappoint you I don’t agree. Par example I take the La Sportiva Testerossa who is downturned it is good for lime stone pockets (short route) but for those tiny footholds I prefer a flatter and stiffer shoe for edging (5.10 Blancs, the former Pinks, Tenaya’s Masia’s , Unparallel Lace Up  tough not as pointy and not to forget Muira’s VC with P3). 

I’ve not owned the Testarosa’s, so can’t comment but why do you prefer a flat shoe for edging?

I’m not being rhetorical.  I’m genuinely curious.

ps. There’s a huge variety of downturned shoes out there.  A Scarpa Furia S is very different to a Scarpa Instinct VS, for instance.

Interesting question. It has probably or for sure to do with subjective and hardly to quantify “things”. With a downturned shoe there is more pressure on the point of contact. So it should be more secure then a flat stiff shoe. It is maybe the pressure and claw holding (may be "arquée", don't know the word) that gives me an insecure feeling, different from the plateau (? platform?) feeling with a stiff flat shoe. With a flat stiff shoe I place my foot on a small foothold (gratton minuscule)and don’t worry about it. It could be a question what you are used to. Maybe it is because you put less pressure on the hold that makes you less tired. Just like with fingers holds you know that you don’t have to use all the time all the force (crimp), a little less can make the difference that you can make the next move. Something like this. My answer is very woolly far from science. May be time for climbing therapie!

I’ve a pair of the pre-makeover Blanco V2 that I would sell. They’re UK 8 and have only been used for one route. PM if interested. 

Today at the climbing school: talking the suggestion came up for the La Sportiva Kataki as an alternative for the Blanco's. Would like to hear what the experience is since I don't know them.icable. 

Played on the slate in both shoes today and, yup. Got to agree on second thoughts. The blancos were in a league of their own although I wasn't even climbing hard they felt amazing on razor thick edges where the masais bent a lot.

Oh and I know a shop in Cardiff that stock muira laces

As previously mentioned the Scarpa Boostic is pretty stiff, they were brilliant at the Cromlech and Bosigran but I've uet to test them on the Slate. They fit me better than Blanco's and Instincts and feel less down turned than my pair of Miura VS, for reference I'm street shoe 45ish wear miura vs in 42.5 tenaya iati in 43 and boostics in a 44.  

I know, right! It's weird, there are times I wear them on the slate and have definite how on earth am I still on moments.

Oh, I'm interested! Especially if they do BMC discount!

To avoid looking like an advert, I'll message you but the shop is up and under.