Ongoing Five Ten availability

All these super sales on Five Ten have me worried... are any shoe models going away? Blancos? Verdon?

To add, can anyone comment on why so many models have seen a reduction in price? There's been a $15 reduction across a variety of models - Pinks, Quantum VCS, Hiangles - anyone know why? Change in manufacturing facilities? New materials?

Stealth rubber is my favorite rubber, but my recent Five Ten shoes have all started falling apart on me, so it's time to grow comfortable with Vibram and switch over to LS.

Ryan Pfleger wrote: All these super sales on Five Ten have me worried... are any shoe models going away? Blancos? Verdon?

The Blancos are gone, only 5.5 left last I checked.  They have been trying to sell off old stock for some time.   It looks like they are reducing the number of models.  I have been waiting for the new Grindstone to come out but I am not going to hold my breath that they will make it to store shelves.

They recently moved production of the Pink to China, so I doubt that is going anywhere. However, I’ve seen plenty of people complain about the quality and fit of the Pinks ever since the change.

I’m not sure what else they have moved to China but that might have something to do with availability and price.

Another thing I noticed earlier this year:  Five Ten no longer have a dedicated website (at least not one that shows up in a Google search in the U.K.). You have to go to Adidasoutdoor.com. That, and the Adidas logo showing up on some of the approach shoes has really turned me off of the brand, and I used to be 100% loyal to them.

Ryan Williams wrote: They recently moved production of the Pink to China, so I doubt that is going anywhere. However, I’ve seen plenty of people complain about the quality and fit of the Pinks ever since the change.

I’m not sure what else they have moved to China but that might have something to do with availability and price.

Another thing I noticed earlier this year:  Five Ten no longer have a dedicated website (at least not one that shows up in a Google search in the U.K.). You have to go to Adidasoutdoor.com. That, and the Adidas logo showing up on some of the approach shoes has really turned me off of the brand, and I used to be 100% loyal to them.

Were Five Ten shoes made stateside before? The fit for a number of their models has apparently changed. The most vocal reviews I've read have been about the Hiangles. I purchased a pair of Hiangles late last year and they were awesome... up until the sole split away from the rand about two months in. It looks like they changed the model/made an update earlier this year to the cheaper $150 version and it's sized much differently. 

Yeah, the sole/rand thing has been happening to a few of my shoes now that you mention it including the Anasazi Pros.  Weird that they would only make the Pink in China...where are the rest made?

Around the time of the buyout (2011) and for at least a few years after, all their climbing shoes were made in California, while the rest of the footwear was made in China. Charles Cole stated publicly that they could not make a high quality climbing shoe in China. Instead they decided to charge more for a better shoe from California.

I’m not sure when things changed or how much of their climbing line has been affected, but we currently have a few old Pinks in stock that were made in the USA and a bunch of new ones from China. The new ones seem narrow to me and I don’t remember the old ones feeling that way, but I always owned the VCS and the Verde... never the Pink. 

I’ll have to look into it a bit more to see where they make everything else.

So no more Blancos? :'-(

Ryan Williams wrote: Around the time of the buyout (2011) and for at least a few years after, all their climbing shoes were made in California, while the rest of the footwear was made in China. Charles Cole stated publicly that they could not make a high quality climbing shoe in China. Instead they decided to charge more for a better shoe from California.

I’m not sure when things changed or how much of their climbing line has been affected, but we currently have a few old Pinks in stock that were made in the USA and a bunch of new ones from China. The new ones seem narrow to me and I don’t remember the old ones feeling that way, but I always owned the VCS and the Verde... never the Pink. 
I’ll have to look into it a bit more to see where they make everything else.

Interesting that the sizing would change. You would think everything would remain the same - it's the same last, build instructions, etc. Maybe the quality declines due to change in adhesives or materials; the person building the shoe... but you would think the sizing would stay the same? Or maybe I don't know enough about shoe making. 

TenTon Kodiak wrote:

Interesting that the sizing would change. You would think everything would remain the same - it's the same last, build instructions, etc. Maybe the quality declines due to change in adhesives or materials; the person building the shoe... but you would think the sizing would stay the same? Or maybe I don't know enough about shoe making. 

To be honest the new ones are so far from a good fit for me that I question if I’m just remembering wrong. Like I said, I never owned the Pinks... only the Verdes and the VCS and I haven’t tried them on or bothered to look where they are made now.  

But I’ve heard quite a few other people comment that the fit (of all the models) has changed over the years. Maybe that’s just their excuse for not buying from Adidas. 

The brand has definitely lost traction in the U.K. though. Sportiva and Scarpa dominate the market, Tenaya and BD are around more, and Unparalleled is getting popular as well. 

Ryan Pfleger wrote: So no more Blancos? :'-(

It’s been well over a year, maybe even longer that they stopped production of the Blanco.   If you are on the ball you can still find new old stock by sellers on EBay, I bought a few that way but the stock is quickly running out.   My advice is when you find a shoe you like buy as many pair as you can, I did that with the old Grandstone and more recently with the Blanco.   I never assume any model will be around forever. 

Ryan Williams wrote:

To be honest the new ones are so far from a good fit for me that I question if I’m just remembering wrong. Like I said, I never owned the Pinks... only the Verdes and the VCS and I haven’t tried them on or bothered to look where they are made now.  

But I’ve heard quite a few other people comment that the fit (of all the models) has changed over the years. Maybe that’s just their excuse for not buying from Adidas. 

The brand has definitely lost traction in the U.K. though. Sportiva and Scarpa dominate the market, Tenaya and BD are around more, and Unparalleled is getting popular as well. 

I was in Flagstaff in early June and had some time to kill, so went to check out gear in the local shops. One shop carried a few LS models and multiple Unparallel models. Talking to some staff members, they said the UP shoes were selling well and they're looking to add more options to the lineup. I didn't bother trying any on and I should have... looks like UP might be the way to go if people are looking for a classic Five Ten shoe.

The Tans are still going strong, and it seems like every freaking comp kid (especially women) wear HiAngles, so I think Five Ten will be ok.

Kevin Mokracek wrote:

It’s been well over a year, maybe even longer that they stopped production of the Blanco.   If you are on the ball you can still find new old stock by sellers on EBay, I bought a few that way but the stock is quickly running out.   My advice is when you find a shoe you like buy as many pair as you can, I did that with the old Grandstone and more recently with the Blanco.   I never assume any model will be around forever. 

This.

I ordered a like-new pair of Techno X the other day, b/c for $60 vs resoling an old pair... why not!?! $20 more for basically new shoes - sure. Toss them in the closet and wait. 

Anonymous wrote:  This is a complete hunch but, I'm fully expecting them to make a full move to Adidas inspired climbing shoes at some point and move away from the FiveTen brand and models.

I hope not. I bought a pair of the Aleon and was not impressed with the knit. If it was leather I think it could have been a winner.

Kevin Mokracek wrote:

It’s been well over a year, maybe even longer that they stopped production of the Blanco.   If you are on the ball you can still find new old stock by sellers on EBay, I bought a few that way but the stock is quickly running out.   My advice is when you find a shoe you like buy as many pair as you can, I did that with the old Grandstone and more recently with the Blanco.   I never assume any model will be around forever. 

That's why I bought 3 pair of the camp 4 mid hiking boots when they were unloading them for sub 50$, best hiking/approach shoe I've owned.

Doug Chism wrote:

That's why I bought 3 pair of the camp 4 mid hiking boots when they were unloading them for sub 50$, best hiking/approach shoe I've owned.

I did the same with the high top guide tennies.