That said, I personally love them and would call them “the type of shoe you want when you want no excuses to send a project”. It crushes my feet virtually into tight fists, is abrasive on my joints, and is overall uncomfortable enough that I could call them painful.įull disclosure, this is my first pair of Unparallel shoes and so it’s fully possible much of my experience with the shoes is just the brand being the brand. (I’m about a V9 boulderer for reference) This shoe is definitely quite advanced though. Insanely solid and for the first time ever, my hands felt like they were the limiting factor on a crimpy boulder. Toeing down on a small foot chip might as well feel like clipping a metal hook onto a carabiner. The shoe is quite sensitive for how hard it is. How do they feel? Honestly, pretty amazing. Notable features include, a pretty deep heel, a very hard toe for precision, a wide range of motion, and an overall tight fit for the sizing (it is not easy to put them on nor take them off). This really seems to come down to the shape of the individual’s feet, and after trying out a pair, I can confirm that this shoe is not for everyone. This is a really good shoe, that was made for people like me.īefore purchasing, I had read a lot that many people felt they fit well and many other people felt they fit badly. The stitching attaching the elastic to the synthetic upper is coming undone but this is not a huge performance problem.Īt the moment, these are my favorite shoes on the softer end of the climbing shoe spectrum! Thanks UP! Pull tabs are currently in good condition, and overall, the shoe has only a few minor areas of delamination around the heel rubber and toe area. So far these have had the least issues of any pair of UPs I have owned. When I first got them, I needed to put a plastic bag over my entire foot to get them on, now I don’t need a bag whatsoever because the heel has loosened up nicely. The main differences post break-in are that the upper softens up significantly, and the heel tensioning becomes more supple and flexible. These have stretched probably about a quarter size. I assume this sizing and type of fit best suites the design of the shoe. I can wear them for about 20-30 minutes before my feet are pretty much numb. They are very tight but not uncomfortable. Held up to my foot, the Flagships end at about the base of my big toe (~1 inch shorter than my foot). I wear a 7 USM street shoe, a 7 USM in the Sirius LV (6.5 USM for a tight fit), 6 USM in the Regulus LV for a tight fit, and a 5 USM in the Up Mocc for a tight fit. I ended up cutting the strap shorter because of this. My high arch and low-volume mid-foot means I have to crank down the strap to pull the upper around my mid-foot. I have a relatively low volume heel (though that might be changing due to cramming my feet in climbing shoes for so long now) and I still seem to fill out the entire heel cup. The higher volume toebox also allows for me to get my toes very curled without having too much pressure over top of them. My feet bulge past the edge of the sole rubber, but this personally does not bother me (in fact I prefer it). I feel like I still fit well in the shoe because the soft upper stretches around my foot nicely. This is peculiar because I happen to have a wider, lower volume foot. I would say that the Flagship caters to a narrower, higher volume foot with a high arch. The moderately soft RS sole rubber provides excellent grip, and when combined with the stiff midsole (aka the stiff material between the rubber and the upper) it also allows for reasonably good edging. This is rarely a problem for me, but due to the flexibility of the split sole, the heel can roll off of holds if you are pressing off a heelhook with the outside of your foot. The stiffer RH heel rubber allows you to crank on small features as well as smeary heelhooks. If you fit the shoe tight enough, then the tensioned slingshot rand will be fully engaged and the heel will not be baggy. The heel is similar to the Up Mocc, but with a great deal more tension. The soft VD toehooking rubber stretches around your foot and provides excellent padding and grip for toehooks. I personally think this design is excellent, because it allows for full foot dexterity while still creating an excellent edging platform. You can fold the shoe up and put it in your pocket but at the same time the sole of the shoe does not bulge outward if you squeeze the shoe widthwise. Overall, I would describe the shoe as very soft, except for beneath the forefoot and behind the heel. I particularly like them on rounded sandstone features. The Flagship is currently my go-to shoe for almost everything in the gym, and functions as my go-to soft shoe for outdoor climbing (the Regulus LV is currently my favorite edging shoe). Awesome shoe! Bought these when they came out back in February and have climbed a great deal in them both outside and inside.
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