Five Ten Men's Anasazi VCS Rock Climbing Shoes

3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 42 ratings

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Golden Tan
Size Chart
US Shoe size
Brand SizeUK SizeEurope
2133
2.51.534
3234.5
3.52.535
4335.5
4.53.536
5437
5.54.537.5
6538
6.55.539
7639.5
7.56.540
8741
8.57.541.5
9842
9.58.542.5
10943
10.59.544
111044.5
11.510.545
121146
12.511.546.5
131247
13.512.548
141348.5
151449.5

Product details

  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.7 x 6.1 x 4.3 inches; 12 ounces
  • Item model number ‏ : ‎ Anasazi VCS-M
  • Department ‏ : ‎ mens
  • Date First Available ‏ : ‎ December 15, 2012
  • Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Five Ten
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008XEU6CC
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 42 ratings

Product Description

Five Ten, the Brand of the Brave, is a leader in performance, high-friction footwear. From downhill mountain bike racing to rock climbing, from wing suit flying to kayaking, Five Ten makes footwear for the world's most dangerous sports. The Redlands, California-based company has been producing cutting-edge designs and proprietary Stealth rubber soles for nearly 30 years. With the help of top national and international athletes and guides, combined with a world-class rubber-testing and R&D facility, Five Ten is the shoe brand of choice for the world's most exciting athletes.

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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
42 global ratings

Customers say

Customers like the quality, comfort, and stability of the climbing shoes. They mention that it's a great all-around shoe with great toe and heel rubber. That said, opinions are mixed on the fit.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

11 customers mention11 positive0 negative

Customers are satisfied with the quality of the shoes. They mention that it is a great all-around shoe, with great toe and heel rubber.

"...Great toe and heel rubber, very sturdy. The price was great too...." Read more

"...Good rubber.Good all-round climbing shoes.Recommended." Read more

"Order street shoe size in these. Great all around shoe, edges well, smears well, may take some time to get used to the aggressive heel cup...." Read more

"...But for vertical, technical climbs, this shoe is one of the best out there. Great edging, great support, super sticky and durable rubber. Love it." Read more

6 customers mention6 positive0 negative

Customers like the comfort of the shoes. They mention that they are the most comfortable non-lace climbing shoes they have used, with great support.

"...But if you're looking for a well performing shoe that will be comfortable for long days at the crag, then you've found it...." Read more

"...to make sure my foot doesn't move while climbing but not super uncomfortable to be unbearable...." Read more

"...For me it's precise enough with very suportable disconfort, but I bought have a number down - I can even say it goes better than expected." Read more

"...Great edging, great support, super sticky and durable rubber. Love it." Read more

3 customers mention3 positive0 negative

Customers like the stability of the shoes. They say the toe and heel rubber is very sturdy and durable.

"...Great toe and heel rubber, very sturdy. The price was great too...." Read more

"...Great edging, great support, super sticky and durable rubber. Love it." Read more

"Powerful combo of edging, smearing, and stability..." Read more

3 customers mention3 positive0 negative

Customers like the stickiness of the shoes. They mention that the rubber is super sticky and durable, and they have epic grip on slabs.

"...heal hooking than my Rogues (though no great), edge well and have epic grip on slab...." Read more

"...The heel fits amazing though, and the rubber is very very sticky." Read more

"...Great edging, great support, super sticky and durable rubber. Love it." Read more

13 customers mention6 positive7 negative

Customers are mixed about the fit of the shoes. Some mention that the shape fits their feet quite nicely, while others say that the heel cup is a bit too large and the sizing is tiff.

"...Fit was just snug enough to make sure my foot doesn't move while climbing but not super uncomfortable to be unbearable...." Read more

"...That said, they fit like 5.10's, so the toe box is a bit wide...." Read more

"...Otherwise nice - perfect format for my foot.Good rubber.Good all-round climbing shoes.Recommended." Read more

"...Way way too small. I went a full size up to an 11.5, and they are barely too small, but I suspect will stretch a bit...." Read more

Initial Impression—Impressed!!
4 Stars
Initial Impression—Impressed!!
Hi There!!I’ve only spent about three hours in these shoes so far, so I want to point out that my review is currently biased to a break-in fit and feel. I wanted to share the initial impression with y’all while it’s fresh—I aim to update this later on when I can say I’m much more familiar with the shoe. As of right now, I’m impressed!Another disclaimer: I sell these. I’m no brand loyalist, though, I’m a huge fan of a free market and really fascinated by all the advancements and gimmicks that healthy competition provides. I’ve stuffed my pups and hung on a flake & a prayer in La Sportivas, Evolvs, Scarpas, Tenayas and Mad Rocks up to now—I’ve found things to love and...well...not love, in each manufacturer’s shoes I’ve tried. I’m not paid to write this review (... ...lol, though I’d love to start getting paid for this...), but even if I was, I’d strive for a balanced verdict.==Subjectivity & Foot Shape==I’d like to compare these 5.10 Anasazi VCS to the Tenaya Inti VCS for the purposes of this review. I’d also like to let you know I have something of a “Greek” foot shape, where my second toe is longest, my big toe and third toe are about the same length. My left foot is also very slightly longer and narrower than my right, which is almost always felt in any activities' footwear I've tried. Like folks with bunyons, Morton's kind of limits me to a symmetrical toebox in my climbing shoe, so the Tenaya Inti is about as asymmetrical as I can get without everything about footwork stacking pain multipliers on top of a swear word kill skill. The front and back of my foot are considered high volume, but I also have high arches, which makes the spot just ahead of my heel pretty narrow...more like a swimmer’s foot. If that’s you, too, then hopefully my review helps. If not, hopefully I can point out what could just be because of my foot shape. (Yes, I know this sounds like a lot of personal information, but I'm sure you know that things like foot shape matter in the world of climbing shoes. A lot.)==Tenaya Inti Overview==At first, my Tenaya Inti fit great, and sported a nice, accessible degree of downturn I wasn't used to, having come from mostly crack climbing shoes like the La Sportiva Nagos. They have Vibram XSgrip soles, which I found very stiff at thick points but also very flexible at the arch. They are pretty well balanced between grip and durability, in my opinion. When I got the Tenayas, I was rehabbing from an injury, reached a peak, and then re-injured due to a different activity. (Sidenote: I painted them, the red & black accents pictured are not standard.) The rehabbing and downtime changed my conditioning level, which also changed my foot geometry over time, even though the shoes themselves didn't change much. Initially, I really liked the asymmetric toebox, as I found it helped me focus my footwork when edging or clawing for thin stuff on overhung routes. That little bit more bite went a long way, for awhile, anyway. I saw my climbing improve by a couple grades, at first.What I was--and still am amazed by, is how profoundly these shoes work during backstepping movements that require the unconventional outer edge of the toebox. The stiff, leaf-spring type design of the sole extends all the way to the outer edge of the smaller toes and provides tons of comfort and confidence during really neat crossover and traverse maneuvers using the outside of the foot, like a goat hoof. I didn't mess with that much at first having come from such gummy, flexible crack slippers in the past, but once I discovered it by accident, it became a staple in my movement repertoire. Now, sadly, I am beginning to believe that was a luxury only the Inti afforded me. However, they did not keep up with changes in my feet as my foot strength improved, and by the time they should have felt like a sock, they were painful before I even finished a route. They also put a ton of strain on the arch of the foot during stands and hooks on the front of the toebox as they broke in--something they used to be really great for. You can see the residual torsion in the frontal picture of the toes of each shoe really well. For someone whose climbing skill and conditioning remains constant, and has more like an Egyptian foot shape, the Inti would likely be perfect...you're going to get a supportive, springy and slightly aggressive shoe that will break in while still feeling new in common areas where leather shoes balloon and blow out with use.==5.10 Anasazi Overview==I read a *ton* about these before buying them, because I was going to pick up a demo model from my supplier and kind of had only one shot at that. Everywhere I went, I heard folks say “they’re synthetic—order your street shoe size”...so that didn’t bode well. I used to buy leather climbing shoes because they conform to foot shapes better, but I've gone Vegan and I have nonconforming feet...I fit a street 13, but again, I have different foot lengths, so I ballparked and ordered a 12.5.When I got them, I was surprised at how flat and neutral they’d looked. Almost like cones to wear on your feet. Just trying them on made me nervous, too. They felt tight in the toebox, loose in the arch and had a few discernible hotspots. On flat ground, it felt like there was too little material where I needed more and too much material where I needed less. My toes curl more in the left shoe, so the hotspots are more noticeable in that one. I was pretty certain I messed up and was trying to figure out a backup plan. When I got on the wall, however, they made a ton of sense. They have STEALTH C4 soles, which I find pretty grippy and soft. I don’t know how long they last, this is my first pair of brand new shoes with C4 soles. What’s really cool about it so far is that when I flex my calf, the shape of the upper allows the sole to cup and hawkbeak around pockets and flaky little holds, while still being supple enough to smear or stuff into cracks...they let your foot muscles do the work, the sole’s basically there just to add grip. The hotspots disappear when I’m actually on the wall, doing the work, and I’m actually surprised by how comfortable these are during the session—I only took them off on breaks out of habit, not necessity like with other shoes, especially the Tenaya Inti. I was really baffled by how, for a leather shoe, the Inti’s never really broke in, rather, they got more uncomfortable with time. As my foot muscles developed from a couple seasons’ worth of bouldering, I found myself unable to stay in them for long—sometimes they were too painful to even finish a roped route or boulder problem. The synthetic 5.10’s started out comfortable and responsive, though, and unless I manage to add some ridiculous amount of meat to my feet as I recover and improve again, I seriously doubt I’ll outgrow them.COMPARISON==Smearing==More natural feeling & more sensitivity with the Anasazi. Shoes are less supportive, but I feel that’s better for conditioning. Definitely agile feeling. The toebox feels somewhat free and open when smearing with sideways- or downward-pointed toes, which is normally a bad sign if accustomed to leather—makes me think I’m going to have lightbulb shaped shoes before long, but the synthetic material apparently won’t stretch much. The Anasazi feel like they would contour really well and report about subtle features on smooth faces.The Tenayas have “springier” footbeds & more support during smears, but they also feel stiffer. My foot doesn’t flex or deform much during smear maneuvers, but I also feel more disconnected from the work in this shoe. Often, the rubber “cage” that keeps the toebox from ballooning hurts during smears, which is really distracting. The arch of the Inti matches my natural arch most during smears, which gives more familiar points of contact while smearing. The Inti definitely perform well for smearing on jagged, cheese-grater type rock that typically hurts in more sensitive shoes.==Heel Fit & Heel Hooking== I'm not a fan yet of how the Anasazis heel hook, but I'm going to give it more time. Right now, the heel cup is too stiff to afford much contour for hooking--my heel pops out and I have a little moosh pouch between my foot and the hold. If the rubber doesn't stretch much around the back of the ankle, I'm going to try heating it up and flaring it back just slightly. I would very strongly recommend that the manufacturer try flaring that back even slightly in future versions of this shoe, but there's a good chance they know something I don't about the long-term with this shoe design. At this point in time, the only way I can get the heel cup to stay put is to flex the toes out so hard that it pulls on the upper and gives the sole a hawkbill shape while hooking...this usually results in a calf cramp and really distracts during the movement. All in all, I would say that the heel fit, however, is much nicer than the Inti, for someone with a larger heel. I feel like my heel stays in contact with the heel cup during most footwork other than a heel hook.The Inti's have an even more aggressive heel cup angle than the Anasazi's, but it sort of works, given the downturn of the sole. ... ...provided you put them on in a way that leverages this. I found I had to have my feet flexed in a downturned, hawkbeak shape WHILE PUTTING THEM ON to get the shoes to fit properly for heel hooking--otherwise the heel cup band just dug into my Achilles Tendons like it needed them for its shiny new meat bicycle.Comparatively: the Inti are better at heel hooking, but less comfortably fit at the heel, overall.==Instepping==The Anasazis are dreamy and perfect for instepping. No hotspots, no torsion issues toward the back of the foot, just nice, reliable grip with just the right about of report to sense invisible features and subtleties. I feel like it's easier for me to put these shoes where I need them with precision, too, but can't figure out why. Though they are not completely symmetrical in the toebox, they are more symmetrical than the Inti, and so my big toe and middle toe don't compete as much for space, which is great--I get to focus on CLIMBING instead of trying to run through all sorts of pain reduction technique--imagine that! The way the sole curls IN, rather than blowing out, during aggressive flexing of the foot seems to accommodate the instep coming from the foot, rather than the shoe; the rubber simply keeps me on the hold. More flexible, natural and accommodating than the Inti, less stiff and aggressive. My left instep feels flimsier than my right in the Anasazi, however, seeing as how my left foot is thinner than my right. Anyone with a thin, long foot may want to be wary of a shoe this soft if fit improperly.I really wanted to like how the Inti instepped. I did. They were great in the beginning--don't get me wrong, but they just didn't grow with me. All of the features on them would work great for someone who isn't experiencing much change in their foot geometry--someone who is climbing within the same grade window consistently and frequently, who hasn't been sidelined with injuries that made a roller coaster of their progression in skill and conditioning. Once my foot muscles became reconditioned, though, I realized that the instep came from the sole of these shoes, rather than the foot...at least at the size I own them in. If sized properly, that consistent climber will enjoy a consistent, stiff and aggressive response from the Inti instep that might be enjoyable for certain kinds of climbs. These also seem more tolerant of thinner, longer feet, but that toebox angle will matter, trust me.==Backstepping==This is the second area I really wish the Anasazi performed better right out of the box, but I'm going to give it time here, as well. I've fallen off a ton of holds by surprise, trying to backstep in these. The rubber is really grippy, but they're also really soft on the outer edge. It's to the degree that I'm worried I'm going to tear a chunk of the rand out on the wrong hold if I don't work on some outer edge foot strength first.The Inti are so far, hands down, my favorite backstepping shoe. The stiffness of the sole extends to the outer edge and makes these a confident choice for flagging, drop-knee and other backstep work. However, the soles are stiff enough that I don't feel like my foot muscles do any of the work of backstepping, they just "go through the motion", literally. As many times as I did backstep maneuvers in them, I now realize I have a lot more work to do than I thought to get those moves right. Somewhere between the Inti's stiffness and the Anasazi's suppleness at the outside edge would be absolutely perfect.==Front Stepping==WAY more precise with the Anasazi's, and stronger as a result. The Anasazi footbed fits a Greek footshape better than the Inti. Routes requiring frontstepping require less effort from me in the Anasazis compared to the Inti, and cause less pain to build up. I feel like they let my foot strength do the work--and I swear, the way the toebox flexes with the foot seems to act like a bellow, helping to pump lactic acid out of the toes. That could just be imagination, but it's a really different, natural feel. The only drawback is due to my size difference--the right foot feels a little flimsier when frontstepping.Front stepping is like grind work in the Inti; I hate it but I have to do it. The point of the shoe is strong enough, but everything's at the wrong angle for a guy with my foot shape...it ruins a good climb. On the upside, I can't say it was discernibly different frontstepping with either foot in these--they both sucked. I feel like the stiffness of the sole and the rubber cage across the tops of the toes SHOULD equate to some massive gains, but the angle of the toebox fights against my foot strength. If your big toe is your longest toe, however, like an Egyptian foot shape, you'll probably prefer this to something like the Anasazi.==Verdict==If you like a flexible sole for conditioning foot strength, have a Greek or Celtic foot shape, don't heel hook a lot and want a grippy, comfy all-rounder, pick up the 5.10 Anasazi. Same goes if you expect to work a ton of bugs out of your climbing form and need something more flexible than a "glass slipper fit".If you have an Egyptian or Germanic foot shape, want something more downturned and stiffer that won't balloon out much despite being made of leather, go for a Tenaya Inti, instead.Thank you for reading, and I hope this helped!
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