Here you go limestone-lovers, the news you've all been waiting for. 5.10 are bringing back the Blanco!
And just in time too. I'm pretty sure everyone who stockpiled Tighty-Whiteys when the last batch sold out must be down to their final pair by now.
Oh yes.
Rumours have been circulating that this would just be a limited run of a few hundred pairs, partly to halt the whinging from these guys, and partly because Steve McClure can't climb anything at Malham without them, but no, this will be a full production release, so it's back in the range! Well...at least until Five.Ten have another moment of madness and drop it again.
New perforated tongue on the Five.Ten Anasazi Blanco 2016 edition aka the Anasazi WhiteNew perforated tongue on the Five.Ten Anasazi Blanco
Potentially a new Clarino liner on the Five.Ten Anasazi Blanco 2016 edition aka the Anasazi White
Potentially a new Clarino liner on the Five.Ten Anasazi Blanco
Changes appear to be just cosmetic, we are assured it's built on the same last, same awesome Stealth C4 rubber, same stiffness, same heel etc. That bit of piping around the laces, the bit that always frayed as soon as you started toe-hooking has now gone, bonded Lorica rendering it obsolete. The tongue has changed too for a more comfortable, properly perforated one, same as on the Verdon.
There's just one more design decision to be made before production starts, and that's the lining. The sample we saw had a new Clarino lining - a synthetic leather-like material that's really soft and comfortable - but feedback from some of 5.10's sponsored athletes seems to suggest that this gets a bit slippy when your foot starts to sweat, so there may be a move back to the original canvas lining. Because let's face it, you don't buy a pair of these if you want comfort.
New and old Five.Ten Anasazi Blancos
New and old Five.Ten Anasazi Blancos
I don't know how Five.Ten do it. No other climbing shoe manufacturer manages to conjure up quite the same level of fawning reverence as they have. First with the original Pink Anasazi, and then the Blanco. All with what is considered to be old technology in the climbing shoe world. There's no down-turn, no radical curvature, no "No-Edge", just a shoe that fits a lot of people, great rubber and edges with laser-precision. For the sort of crimpy, near vert limestone sport we have in the UK, there's not much better. Ditto for slate, rhyolite, borrowdale volcanic etc.
We're expecting them to arrive some time later in the year, priced around £110.
**UPDATE** They're here! Price is considerably higher than expected, no doubt due to the plummeting of the pound post Brexit vote. However that's a small price to pay given that we'll be £350 million pounds a week better off haha lol jk. Click here to buy!
Posted by Simon Kimber - Outside Web Editor and Five.Ten Fanboy