UKC

The Float is a great performer on a wide variety of rock types, and for a range of disciplines, and would be a good choice if you're looking for one shoe to do a bit of everything. It has oomph, but without crippling your feet, says Rob Greenwood.

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Best used with tongue out

One day there will be a photo of me climbing without my tongue sticking out...

No there won't! 😀 Have you ever bitten it when falling? Nice looking shoes! 

Rob, any thoughts on the fit of the heel please? Any similarities to the old 5.10 dragon/blackwing? How do they size up compared to Qubit?

Good question, and in retrospect this is something I should have covered within the review. In fact, I'll get it added now.

It's been a long time since I last used the Dragon, and I've never used the Blackwing or Qubit, so will keep my observations fairly broad. Visually it does bear resemblance to the Dragon, but I don't think it's anywhere near as tensioned as that was, but like I say - it's been a long time since I last used them (and I don't have any left kicking around to compare them to) so I might be wrong.

The heel on the Flat is neither particularly wide or narrow, sitting somewhere in the middle in terms of volume. I have a bit of dead space on the bottom, but I do have quite a bulbous heel, so that's hardly surprising. I've not had any issues with performance and if there is a heel hook I couldn't use then the blame would firmly be on me and not the shoe!!

Next time I'm out with Tim, who reviewed the Quibit, I'll try and get a photo of the two side by side to compare.

They look quite a different shoe to the Dragon, the Unparallel equivalent of which is the Sirius