I just got the new UP Lifts, feel free to ask questions about them

My new pair of UP Lifts just showed up in the mail today. I have seen literally nothing about them online yet besides the product page, so feel free to shoot me some questions and i’ll try my best to answer!

(for the record, I ordered these from ClimbOn in squamish and they sent them to the states with free shipping, I generally do not recommend ordering from UP directly.) 

Following. What is the comparison to the UP Lace (blue)?

Are they as stiff as they claim in their description?

Why did you choose these shoes?

What is your foot shape? (greek, egyptian, etc.) (narrow, medium, wide)

Following...

• How do they compare to TC's?
• How wide/narrow is the shoe in the forefoot?
• Is the heel the same as every other 5.10/UP last (i.e., slightly too deep for the average foot)?

FYI, ClimbOn only accepts returns from within Canada

How’s the rubber and instep height? Do they get all floppy and deformed and miserable after one pitch or if it warms up above like 50 degrees?

I'm curious how the lowest two eyelets/laces hold up to foot jamming over time. Seems like they're not protected against abrasion like TC Pro laces are

Also curious if you have a low/normal/high volume foot and how they fit in that regard

Hello everyone!

Sorry I started this thread and then immediately became very busy and did not respond. But I am back to answer all of your burning questions. One cavaet is that I have really barely climbed in them yet, but I will keep this thread going over time or write up a proper review down the road.

Lets start off with a general description:

 They are very stiff like they claim. Historically UP has been incapable of making a stiff shoe, but these are similarly stiff to the UP Rise Pro (purple Tom Randall shoe). If feels like a plastic midsole under the whole toe area, and actually extending down into the flex point of the shoe. The are not the single stiffest shoe I have ever tried on, and I expect them to soften up quite a bit, but they are much stiffer than shoes like the UP Lace and mocc which have paperboard midsoles. 

The other very defining feature is that this shoe is TALLLLLLLLL. I have taken some pictures with measurements here, but bottom of the sole to the top of the rand on the outside edge is 1" 3/8. Bottom of the sole to the top of the rand at the toe tip is a bit over 1.5" (size 12). They genuinely look a little absurd. All of this height, and the shoe is really not all that wide. I would say the sole is a similar midfoot width to a finale, or maybe a tad narrower. But like with many UP shoes, because the rands are so tall there is a lot of space for a wider foot to fit and kinda squish out either side over the sole. The toe itself is very rounded, similar to something like the TN pro or regulus but a little more square. The heel It still is a classic deep UP heel, but it does not protrude very far backwards like some of their other models, I think it will fit more people's heels than many of their other shoes. Similar in width and construction to the TN Pro heel.

So why did I get these shoes? A few reasons really. I have quite high volume and square feet, and I have fit pretty well into UP shoes over the years. I really liked the look of the very square and wide toe for comfort, and I thought I would give them a shot. They do work for my feet, and I think they will be comfy. Another thing is that I am a bit heavier climber (around 220 lbs these days) and I really wanted to try the harder RA rubber. I have been struggling with softer rubbers like Acopa's RS sliding and rolling when putting my full weight on small edges, so I thought these may be a good option specifically for hard edging. 

So far I do like them. The crazy tall fit works for me, and what I was really looking for was a stiff face climbing shoe for my quiver. I am a little disappointed in them being so tall because of crack climbing performance (I genuinely think I might struggle to get anything more than a rand smear below #2s), but I have other shoes that work well for crack climbing. I do think this limits their appeal as a true all around trad shoe for things like big wall and alpine where you need to cover a lot of different terrain, but for my needs climbing single pitch face climbs I think they will do very well. I have had the Flagship, Regulus, Mocc, TN Pro all in size 12 so I ordered the same for these. They are what I would consider an all day performance edging fit for me in that size, toes curled 35% but still very comfortable. If I was planning to use these for a lot of crack climbing, I would have wished I was up half a size for a flatter toe fit.

This is a bit of a weird shoe overall. Sang Lee told me a while back that these were designed to be their all day super comfortable multipitch shoes, so I guess that is not exactly the same as a trad shoe, but I think they may struggle to compete with shoes like the TC and Altura because they cannot fit into any cracks. My other worry is that the rands are very soft, and I am afraid that as they break in my big toe will hang over the front edge, really limiting their edging performance.

Time will tell, but I will do another long writeup once I have gotten to break them in a bit. Until then feel free to ask more questions!

Cosmic Hotdog wrote:

I'm curious how the lowest two eyelets/laces hold up to foot jamming over time. Seems like they're not protected against abrasion like TC Pro laces are

Also curious if you have a low/normal/high volume foot and how they fit in that regard

I think that you are right, abrasion in the laces will be a problem. Unfortunately in my experience, UP shoes are a little on the disposable end and by the time they are ready for a resole they tend to have mostly fallen apart. There is a chance the rest of the shoe will wear out before the laces do. The laces themselves are nice and thick, way thicker than the ones on the TC Pro.

Sam Ehmann wrote:

I think that you are right, abrasion in the laces will be a problem. Unfortunately in my experience, UP shoes are a little on the disposable end and by the time they are ready for a resole they tend to have mostly fallen apart. There is a chance the rest of the shoe will wear out before the laces do. The laces themselves are nice and thick, way thicker than the ones on the TC Pro.

Appreciate this response and the detailed reply above man, thanks!

Hello folks!

I was hoping to get a few more days out climbing in these before doing a follow up, but unfortunately I broke my ankle memorial day weekend so it will be a while before i can climb again :(

That said, I did get one day out climbing in them working a V7 high ball slab on TRS so here are a couple more impressions:

They are quite stiff, and feel like they will stay pretty stiff unlike most UP shoes. They are not very sensitive, especially compared to something like a TC which I am okay with overall. And I LOVED the rubber. I like most of the UP rubbers, I think they are the best out there, and as a bit heavier climber the RA is the most confident I have felt on full weight micro edging in a long time. I don’t know that these are the perfect shoe or a TC/generator replacement for most people because of how high volume they are, but I find them comfy and I am excited to have them as a dedicated face climbing/edging shoe. 

Sorry I don’t have a more in depth review, but I hope that’s enough to answer some questions if you were thinking about buying them too.