adidas Men's Bc0884 Track Shoe

Product Information

The Pink is our favorite shoe for vertical face climbing, and one of the most time-tested, high-performing all-arounders money can buy. Once I got to the gym, it didn’t take long to realize the Anasazi Pro is not really a Pro performer in anything in particular, at least not enough in a way that is reasonable to market. Hot take, I know. I wish I could say I was impressed or discouraged immediately with any specific outcome, but it was a little more nuanced than that and really depended on what I was doing. In my mind a Pro-influenced or designed shoe would have pro features baked in and apparent, here the additions to the old design seem like a well-executed afterthought. The suction effect generated from the heel gives you a really secure fit. During my time testing these shoes I’ve never had any issues with the heel slipping or moving when doing prolonged sections of slabby smearing or occasional heel hooking. Rubber Asymmetric design puts power over the big toe, making it easier to climb seams and smudge off small edges

Haven’t really tested the toe hook patch. Not sure it’s really required as this isn’t a bouldering specialist shoe. In the years following I have rarely passed up an opportunity to tell 5.10 bros how bad of a choice they were making and even managed to convince a couple of them to come to the light . I took my persuasive ability as confirmation that I was in fact correct: Sportiva > 5.10 and anyone who disagreed had to be some gym gumby who thinks a crimp is a type of English biscuit or a gaston is some sort of Disney anti-hero. So what if Chris Sharma sent Realization in these? “His hands are too strong,” I’d say, “he could have done that climb in heels. Plus he’s an Evolv climber now and is obviously sending harder since he stopped repping 5.10. Don’t buy the hype guys! Wanna smell the fresh resole I just got on my Cobras?”

Basics

On the whole, always hard to tell after just a few sessions but I’d say it’s not much different to the original Anasazis (other than the sizing). Then again, I thought the same about the new Anasazis, which some people didn’t like apparently. May be my footwork is so bad that I can’t tell the difference 🤣 Sizing - this has definitely changed from the original and is probably the same as the updated Anasazis, i.e. I need to go up half a size. The strategically placed velcro straps are easy to overlook but are an essential contributor to the comfort, and performance, of the shoe. Most double-strapped velcro shoes opt for a lower first strap, often placed around the ball of your foot. Something I need to get off my chest before I get into the nitty gritty here: I am a La Sportiva Fanboy. There, I said it; since the mid-nineties I have owned (almost) nothing but Sportiva shoes and they have always just felt right on my foot. The following review is stinking with bias, hearsay, conjecture and malice. *ahem* Further Confession of Bias: The Pinks have handled most styles of climbing I have thrown at them. From slabs to vertical and slightly steeper walls, they feel great. Be warned though, that the Pinks will reach their limit on very steep sport, bouldering, or modern competition routes.

Haven’t really noticed the heel feeling any different. A bit less volume on the outside so perhaps better for smaller heel hooks. Likeits predecessors, the NIAD VCS LV is a very comfortable shoeprovidinga decent level of performance. This is a flat shoe on aneutral last which maintains the narrow width of the Anasazi and addsa lower (height),narrower heel cup. Despite this, and though it is still a low volume shoe, we found the NIAD somehow accommodates more foot shapes than the Anasazi. For me personally, this means the NIAD fits my foot much better than the Anasazi did -much of this is due to the slight adjustment of the toe box shape (more on that later). Bringing the top of the heel cup slightly forward towards the toe box has done this shoe a couple of great favors. The added rubber on the heel has been carved to an angle that is actually helpful for heel hooking (more on that later) and hey, no foot fart! So… yay? This could also be another reason why standing flat in the Anasazi Pro feels so awkward at times. Like my weight is being forced towards the front of the shoe a bit, as if my toes are on a tiny curb and my heels are in the street. (I’ll talk about this more when we get to performance). Let me draw a mental image for you. Picture a straight line coming 90º from your heel through the center of your foot and out of your toes. Standing barefoot most pinky toes are considerably farther away from that ‘center line’ than the big toe is; something to do with how our feet evolved from grasping to standing kinda needed that to happen, I guess. I dunno, I’m not a foot scientist. In my mind there is one unifying purpose of all climbing shoes: to gather those little piggies up and pool their resources in a messed-up fleshy Voltron– turning our feet into singular en-toe-ties (get it? entities, but like, with toes ? Ah nevermind) allowing maximum force and surface area, pushing us to send the gnar. Sportiva’s lasts by my experience have always done that gathering from the little toes toward the big one which really focuses as much pressure as possible onto the strong boi, the hallux (still not a foot scientist, I just asked wikipedia.) The Anasazi Pro feels more like there is a rubberband around all of my toes, gathering them together like a stinky bouquet and pulling them all towards that centerline which seems counterintuitive and ultimately makes this shoe uncomfortable to me. Let me open Photoshop and draw you an actual picture: Fig 1. A Bare foot; Fig 2. A Symmetrical Last; Fig 3. An Asymmetrical LastOverall, I have been really impressed with the Anasazi VCS, so much so that I decided to get them re-soled instead of throwing them on the used pile. If I could change anything about these shoes it would be to have more toe rubber and a wrap-around heel… So basically the Anasazi Pros. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!

Over several months (pre-COVID) I have traveled all over the US with this New and Improved version of one of the most ubiquitous shoes in climbing. From granite to sandstone, limestone to basalt and a whole lotta plastic, I’ve tried to give myself every opportunity to be right, which I happen to value more than is probably healthy. Here’s my experience: Feels Like the First Time (Blatant Foreigner Reference): When I first got the shoes I took them off maybe twice a session but after a little while, I was happy spending multiple hours in these shoes. I probably could have gone a half size down if I really wanted to go for that performance fit. After extended periods of time standing in the Anasazi Pro, I almost feel as if I have to stand bow-legged to compensate for the loss I feel of side-to-side balance, not to mention the pain from the pressure on the tops of my big toes that I’m still not used to after all these months. I ran around the house looking at all the shoes I owned; none of them are nearly this symmetrical. “Welp. Unless I rest most of my weight on my heels, chilling on a ledge for hours is probably out.” I said. The cat was nonplussed.

Pros

The NIAD VCS is, one of the most comfortable performance shoes I have tested. Of course, the neutral last has a large part to play in this, as does the semi-stiff, sensitive, profile. Five Ten has replaced the Anasazi dynasty with a three-shoe NIAD (Nose in a Day) line this spring — the Lace, VCS, and Moccasym, which reportedly retain the best parts of the original while improving shortcomings. has always touted the Anasazi line as a bit of a Swiss Army knife. With each iteration of the Anasazi over the past few decades, 5.10 has expanded the quiver into some pretty specific types and styles of climbing; each with its own bit of southwestern Native American motif that, I dunno, makes you hear the desert wind or some other form of cultural appropriation? Need that all-day shoe for yarding investment bankers up multi-pitch romps? Grab the Guides and get comfy. A shoe for hard, deep jams? Grab the Lace ups and send that splitter. Oh, so you’re a hardbruh in need of some tight technical footwork? Slap on a Blanco and crush that proj. But there has always been this bit of marketing hiding between the lines suggesting that no matter how specific the model was for ‘your style of climbing’ that the Anasazi (fill in the blank) was a great, ‘all-around’ shoe. I tested the NIAD VCS in the Sierra Foothills and Yosemite Valley this winter. The results were impressive: The flat-lasted (neutral) sole excelled on thin seams and vertical to gently overhanging faces. The chiseled toe design was precise enough to stand on small nubbins and powerful enough to smudge steep edges, while additional support came from heel tension (slingshot rand) that pushed my toes into the toebox. And reliable friction came from the 3.5mm C4 rubber on the soles.

That said, despite the fact that the Anasazi is now a relatively old shoe, you still see it everywhere. Whenever I see a photo of Ned Feehally he always seems to be wearing them; Shauna Coxsey often wears the extremely popular women's version in competition;, and on a recent trip to Leonidio I often saw a pair at the crag. The Anasazi Pro therefore has a lot to live up to! So what's changed and how would I get on with it compared to the classic shoe? What's new? Trad climbers can’t go wrong with the Pink. It’s a performance-oriented climbing shoe that’s also an excellent all-arounder. Of all the climbing shoes on the market, this is one of our favorites (and it’s been that way for quite some time). If you don’t like lace-ups, consider the Five Ten Anasazi VCS. It’s as good as the Pink, but will break in a little more comfortably over time and excel more in multi-pitch scenarios. And the Velcro model is much older than the Pink, so if you shop around you may be able to find some cheaper closeout models.The shape is fairly wide, yet has no problem with dead space, or uncomfortable pinching on the Achilles tendon. Because the slingshot rand is separated from the heel cup, it stretches further down the shoe before wrapping under the foot. This is a massive improvement over the original Anasazi, as well as the Anasazi Pro, both of which had significantly smaller rands that squeezed your heel to maintain a secure fit. The upgraded version of the Pinks boasts some new features compared to the old model, including an improved heel and a sole plastered with Five Ten’s famous C4 rubber. This shoe is in its element serving up technical footwork on vertical terrain.Unlike the Blancos, the Pinks have a medium-stiff sole that facilitates all-around use in your gym or local crag. The two main new features of the Anasazi Pro are the toe rubber and a much tighter heel. The toe rubber is something that was requested by Shauna and Ned for competitions and bouldering, whilst the heel is something that I think just needed improving. How has this affected the shoe? The Stealth C4 rubber brings a good balance between friction and durability that makes the shoe feel at home at the crag and in the gym.