Unparallel shoes / Five Ten

Jordan Rogerswrote:

Can anyone comment on which of the more aggressive/downturned shoes has a heel fit closest to the UpMocc? No other shoe has fit me as well as the UpMocc and I love them outside but they're not as well suited for gym/board climbing I think. Looking at the bottom up views on their site I'm thinking either the Vim or the TN Pro? 

I'm looking for pretty much the exact same thing Jordan. I have narrow heels and a wider (but still medium-ish) forefoot and the Up Mocc heel is absolutely bomber for me. I went one size down from street and the fit is a little tough on my toes though. I've been wearing them for training all winter and I've been considering the TN Pro & Sirius from UP. I tried the new Shaman velcro which seemed to work from my memory. I've also heard good things about the Mad Rock Drone heel. 

Let me know if you find something that works well. For now I'm just taking solace that my feet are getting strong in neutral soft slipppers - especially on the boards.

Not sure if I'm late to the party on this but Backcountry is now carrying a few UP models. Good news if you want to buy online and be able to return them without going through the hell that is returning an unparallel.com order 

Dan Danwrote:

I'm looking for pretty much the exact same thing Jordan. I have narrow heels and a wider (but still medium-ish) forefoot and the Up Mocc heel is absolutely bomber for me. I went one size down from street and the fit is a little tough on my toes though. I've been wearing them for training all winter and I've been considering the TN Pro & Sirius from UP. I tried the new Shaman velcro which seemed to work from my memory. I've also heard good things about the Mad Rock Drone heel. 

Let me know if you find something that works well. For now I'm just taking solace that my feet are getting strong in neutral soft slipppers - especially on the boards.

Well I was hoping to be able to tell you how the Vims fit since I ordered a pair with the restock, but in the seemingly endless cycle of UP not having their shit together they just told me (after I sent an email asking where my shoes are) that they are backordered in my size. 

So PSA to anyone ordering from UP, just because the website lets you order it, doesn't mean they actually have it in stock... and they'll sit pretty with your money with zero communication until you ask. 

Wish I knew that beforehand lol. I ordered a pair of lv flagships from their site thinking they had some of it in stock. But got an email later saying it wasn't and may take up 3 weeks to be "available". Wondering if I should ask for refund or wait it out.

I did manage to try a pair of UP's Lyras from Backcountry. I was definitely impressed with the construction and toeboex of the Lyras. Sadly there was a significant amount of heel slippage. Will be sending those back. 

Miles Johnsonwrote:

I go through a lot of shoes as sort of entertainment but also to learn how they work and don't work. It's just fun to me.

I've burned out two pairs of UP Uprise Pros, one pair of Blue Tomoa's and one pair of Flagships.

By far, with the exception of heel hook power being lower than Mad Rock Red Straps or Drones, the Tomoa Blues were the most versatile shoe I've ever worn. While they shouldn't micro edge, they did amazingly on insanely thin razors. While they shouldn't crystal toe point that well, they did amazingly. Both of these operated with a very real caveat though, there was a countdown timer on both microedgesa and crystal pointing. I could reset the clock when needed and didn't mind because the shoe would allow creativity and fake-moves when you needed to that other shoes just would not. Street Size took some sessions to break in but afterward they became perfect performance fit and also must fit my feet very well bc I can wear these tight shoes longer than others.

In sharp contrast the UP Uprise Pros were very good for certain types of bouldering and trad but lacked in the true smear and fake-move department. On large crystal granite like VOO and E-rock you could pick crystals out where you would have just smeared in other shoes. That might be great if you prefer precise micro holds over sketchy seeming smears. Of course the rock dictates what is viable. In both pairs of Purples the pull tabs blew out first and while the shoe is completely operable cilmbing when I open my drawers to choose shoes for the day I am less likey to pick one up that is hard to put on. The purple UP Pros did have a learning curve as it is much easier to get foot-stuck in cracks with these rubber monsters. TBH I prefer these Purples for certain types of bouldering rather than a do-all trad shoe. If I need a bomber heel and a shoe to do weird grabbing this is the one I reach for besides a Red Strap because the stiffness helps sometimes over the insanely grippy but soft Red Strap. These don't really break in so it may be good to get the size right the first time if you live near a good store which is rare.

The Flagships feel great but in performance on the fine grain granite and larger crystal granite i frequent I enjoy the Tomoa's much better. I think if I hung out on more limestone sport routes the Flagships' attributes would stand out better. The Flagships fit supremely well in my street size.

I just received Gold Tomoas a few days ago and after a few sessions I hope they perform much like the TN Blues and don't feel much different. Many times I found myself overjoyed to be standing on something impossible looking with the TN Blues so I'm hoping for a repeat experience. I attempted to order more TN Blues but they went OOS and the Golds showed up.

i probably have 25 pairs of shoes and overall the UP have been near the top of the heap in performance and durability -  I've had longer durability with them than other top models I really enjoy like 2022 Katana Lace which is amazing but blew out quickly, TC Pros and Miuras which I blow out pretty quickly, and Mad Rocks which seem to pop apart more often than others but are worth it due ot amazing performance. 

If UP would make some hightop like a Grandstone or a hightop with the nice toe like the new Katanas I'd defintely try them out! Has UP ever made a high-top? 

How have the TN golds stretched? Just got a pair of 7s and they're tighter than anything I've worn before - but not painfully so, just very hard to put on + very curled toes. I know they're synthetic but I'm wondering if it'll become bearable or if I should just return these for a 7.5

Adam Reinholdwrote:

How have the TN golds stretched? Just got a pair of 7s and they're tighter than anything I've worn before - but not painfully so, just very hard to put on + very curled toes. I know they're synthetic but I'm wondering if it'll become bearable or if I should just return these for a 7.5

I find they break in after a few weeks but wouldn’t say half a euro size. Near the end of their life they seem to get a little sloppier though but on each pair that is right when it’s time to resole or get another pair 

Miles Johnsonwrote:

I find they break in after a few weeks but wouldn’t say half a euro size. Near the end of their life they seem to get a little sloppier though but on each pair that is right when it’s time to resole or get another pair 

Hey Miles, you said the Tomoa blues were great. Did you mean the UP Duels that are a blue slipper designed by Tomoa? I'm thinking about picking up a  pair. 

Sean Sandbachwrote:

Hey Miles, you said the Tomoa blues were great. Did you mean the UP Duels that are a blue slipper designed by Tomoa? I'm thinking about picking up a  pair. 

I’m not sure but I think the old blue TN Pros are a unique shoe that was discontinued into a new gold model that is currently available. I think the UP Duel is a different shoe entirely.

Why not just send the shoes to Rock and Resole? They have UP rubber and fast turnaround.

Karl Walterswrote:They have UP rubber and fast turnaround.

Not trying to be rude, but the turnaround the last time I looked it was around 8 weeks. I was afraid to look again. 

Is 8 weeks "fast" these days?

Long Rangerwrote:

Not trying to be rude, but the turnaround the last time I looked it was around 8 weeks. I was afraid to look again. 

Is 8 weeks "fast" these days?

Unfortunately yes, most are 15+

damn y'all are waiting 15 weeks for shoe resoles?  I just did 4 pairs at the NY place and had them in three weeks. 

Positive Resoles has UP rubber (RS 3.5mm and RH 4.2mm). I’ve been using Positive Resoles regularly for about 10 years now and they always do a fantastic job. Their work is much better than the single pair I’ve had resoled by Rock and Resole.

I expected more from R&R. It might have been the particular person who did the work, but I was quite disappointed, unfortunately. No reason for me to use them again, considering the consistent excellent work from Positive Resoles.

https://positiveresoles.com/

You can pay $10 for 1 week turn around.

And considering UP is 3-4mo at best and many other resolers are 2-3mo at best, yah I think that is pretty fast and appropriate.

Karl Walterswrote:

You can pay $10 for 1 week turn around.

And considering UP is 3-4mo at best and many other resolers are 2-3mo at best, yah I think that is pretty fast and appropriate.

Can you please explain where we can get a 1 week turn around for a resole? That is fast and I’d gladly pay $10 extra for that.

I thought you may mean a resole from UP, but I can’t find this info on their website.

David page in Seattle has a 1-2 week turnaround. Prices are not crazy either. Though it can be hit or miss if you happen to get a newer worker as he doesn’t do all his resoles personally anymore. My brother had his shoe delaminating the second time he did it. I sent in 4 pairs and while 3 were great, the one pair I wanted to specifically have a thicker sole on was shaved/thinned down.

UP is NOT doing resoles currently. I emailed them a few weeks ago to ask and they said it’s closed off for new resoles for now.

Dan Danwrote:

I'm looking for pretty much the exact same thing Jordan. I have narrow heels and a wider (but still medium-ish) forefoot and the Up Mocc heel is absolutely bomber for me. I went one size down from street and the fit is a little tough on my toes though. I've been wearing them for training all winter and I've been considering the TN Pro & Sirius from UP. I tried the new Shaman velcro which seemed to work from my memory. I've also heard good things about the Mad Rock Drone heel. 

Let me know if you find something that works well. For now I'm just taking solace that my feet are getting strong in neutral soft slipppers - especially on the boards.

Okay, I finally got my Vims in and my impression is that the lateral and rear heel fit is extremely similar if not slightly better than the UpMoccs but the fit directly under the rear of the heel (circled area in photo) is a little bit baggier but still way better than any other downturned shoe I've tried. The toe box is a little narrower but not painfully so. I went with street shoe size for the Vims since reviews said they run extremely tight, so maybe that under the heel fit would be better if I'd sized down, but 10.5 feels like it will break into the sweet spot in all the other dimensions. 

10.0 UpMocc on left and 10.5 Vim right: 

Terry Ewrote:

Can you please explain where we can get a 1 week turn around for a resole? That is fast and I’d gladly pay $10 extra for that.

I thought you may mean a resole from UP, but I can’t find this info on their website.

You request it in the notes when checking out with Rock & Resole

Karl Walterswrote:

You request it in the notes when checking out with Rock & Resole

Betting that service goes away pretty quick if people now know how to use it.

It went up to $20. Climbers are cheap.