[Updated October 2022] The Five Ten Hiangle is no longer available.
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Five Ten Hiangle Climbing Shoe Review, by Dave Westlake.
Overview
Performance
The performance of the Hiangle was excellent, and the tried and tested C4 rubber worked well on sandstone, gritstone and other rock types. Being a little firmer than some of the other compounds out there, C4 works in partnership with the stiffer midsole – meaning small edges feel much more secure than they do in a softer shoe. The Hiangle is also quite a versatile beast. I used it primarily as a bouldering and training shoe, where it excelled, but I also found it comfortable enough to use on longer climbs. Having said that, on multi pitch routes or situations where you might want to take the shoes off from time to time I would usually favour a lace up for greater ease of getting on and off. The Hiangle features a more moderate downturn than other performance models, which makes it great for people who want to transition towards more downturned shoes from flatter models. The toe has a well-designed wrap of rubber which covers you for toe hooking, giving a good balance between sensitivity and durability. Over the last few months the only time I found myself reaching for a different pair of shoes was when I needed to use pockets, as the rounded profile of the Hiangles made them less useful for precision guiding your toes into small pockets.Fit
The Hiangle comes in high and low volume versions (blue or pink). The unlined leather construction means that the shoe moulds to your foot, stretching between a half and a full size (depending on how tight you fit it initially). I’d recommend ordering them with this in mind. Mine were very tight out of the box, but I found they started to soften up pretty quickly and it wasn’t long before they felt great. For the first few wears I found them a little difficult to get into, but once on your foot the single Velcro strap made them feel more secure than standard slippers. The toe box feels more rounded than many performance shoes, which – along with the stiffer midsole – is why this shoe is great for edging. I usually find that five tens seem to fit my narrow heels very well, and these were no exception. I imagine anyone favouring a sensitive heel cup will get on better with this than some of the stiffer moulded heels found on other performance shoes.Summary
The Hiangle is a great addition to the Five Ten range, and I can see why so many Five Ten devotees have switched to it from the Dragon. It gives a great ratio of comfort to performance and as such it has fitted nicely into my shoe armoury (!) as a do-nearly-everything-shoe. The Hiangle combines a soft, comfortable upper with a supportive midsole that deals well with those footholds that you really need to stand tall on. The shoe is less good in pockets due to the more rounded toe box, but for general bouldering the Hiangle compares well with much more expensive models. All things considered, the Hiangle it a very attractive choice for anyone wanting to push their climbing to the next level.
