Customer Reviews

FiveTen Men's Freerunner Freerunning

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I looked around for a while for a good pair of Free Running shoes. After checking out the main site for these people, these things would have you thinking that you can walk on water upside down. The premise is cool, take the rubber from a pair or rock climbing shoes and slap it onto a running shoe. The result is what you would expect, a rather sticky tractioned shoe.

I have to say, it does work. I have gotten far more steps into a wall run that I managed on my Cons. Anything that has even the slightest texture becomes perfect footing for all of your steps. I found that they stuck rather well to metal rails too (but they were painted and not polished). The only problem I ran into with the rubber was dust and dirt. As soon as I set one foot into dirt, the traction is gone. This also happens from picking up dust on walls and on sidewalks. Not an issue for the true city dwellers, but I live in a dust bowl.

The layer of the rubber is also rather thin, something around half a centimeter. Given how soft the rubber is and the rough stuff I run on, I can't imagine these lasting all that long. This layer is likely thin due to the stiffness of the rubber.

By stiffness, I mean that. When I first got these things, they did not bend. Even after a few weeks, they are still a bit stiff. This is a rather large issue for me since it means the difference between slamming my tiptoes into a wall and bending my shoes up to catch the wall on the balls of my feet.

The shoes are well padded, I can't argue that. That alone makes them so much better than my throwaway sneakers for falls.

In summary, these things are a bit pricy for what they are but they do it well. I find them a bit stiff and heavy in comparison to what I like, but the trade offs are good. I would give them a 3.5 honestly, but I can't see a 5 in them due to their stiffness and lack of comfort. They will help you get that extra step up a wall as well as help you land that jump, but you will whack your toes several times before you get used to them.

These shoes are perfect for Parkour and Freerunning. I owned them for about a month and I'm very satisfied because they provide amazing grip (except metal surfaces) and enough cushioning. I let my friends try them on and they could feel the difference against regular shoes.

Great shoes, nice looking and not too hot for the summer days.

Slightly narrow at the toes for my broader-than-average-feet, which leads to cramping, blisters and general unpleasantness. Before training in such a shoe, I recommend running a few KM every day, just to break in the shoe and get used to its subtleties, gradually increasing length of run. Before long the shoes will fit properly. (if you have the right size)

*for people with broader feet*

The initial blisters and rubbing (pinky toe side of the foot for me) can be delayed with woolly socks, and the cramping is just temporary. 2 high-impact days, tops. (woolly socks and junk can be phased out after a few runs.)

I'm used to running distances and training in Vibram Five-Fingers (which toughen the soles of your feet, but leave you unprepared for brutal attacks to the side of the foot) which have little to no excess padding whatsoever. So with the FiveTens, you can really bash around in them!

Unfortunately, the hype for the 'phenomenal grip' proved to be freerunner propaganda (five fingers stick to more surfaces). but still great nonetheless. :)

In summery:

Freaking awesome looks, best grip I have encountered with sneakers, and beefcake durability can keep you going for quite a while, but treat them with care and respect! Don't trail run in areas of sharp, snagging bush, or shift piles of potentially sharp things with your feet. And another thing; try not to feel invulnerable while playing in them! It's easier than you think. Big jumps may be exhilarating, but think of how your body will cope with the force. ALWAYS roll after jumping down heights taller than your head, distances/speeds you cannot land from, and play it safe :| peer pressure does not always result in mastering a new talent.

My son wanted these for parkouring. He is totally impressed with the grip these shoes have. They seem to be holding up well. They must be comfortable because I haven't heard any complaining. If you need a grippy shoe these are the ones to get!

Hi, im 13 and iv'e been using these for parkour about 1 year and a half. They have fantastic grip on brick and concrete and they stick to wood ok. the EVA midsole provides great padding for landings. Also, they are very versatile, so balance on rails is a cinch. Now for the downsides. It says "non marking", but mine made black marks for about 3 weeks after purchase. It goes away with time, though. also, the stealth soles peel like crazy. Iv'e re glued mine about 5 times in the last 6 months. Overall, a beginner to intermediate tracuer should consider these shoes, but, if you have a bit more money to burn, maybe consider something else. Hope this helped,

Hayden.

As a rock climber, I'm a big fan of FiveTen, so when they released a freeruninng/parkour shoe I had to give it a try. The shoe is soled with climbing shoe rubber, which is quite durable, and covered in a micro texture to give it better grip. I must say this makes a HUGE difference in any wall related maneuvers: vertical wall runs, horizontal wall runs, cat leaps, tacks...With the right footing I can get a 12'4" (or higher) vertical wall run off of one foot! These things do not slip at all! They don't grip very well will when they get dusty though, so depending on the environment your training in, you may find yourself wiping off your soles a lot. I should also mention that they have 0 friction on snow and ice, so I would not recommend wearing them as your everyday sneakers in the winter. However they're tons of fun when sledding because you can literally ski on them!

Other things to note: Yes, they are very stiff right out of the box, but it does not take long to break them in

If you're flat footed like me these are great parkour shoes because they have no arch to them. I wear the shoes with foam inserts to correct my ankle pronation, and as a plus it provides that much more cushion for vertical drops. If you have plastic orthotics don't expect them to fit inside the shoe comfortably.

They wear out kind of fast. I wear mine everyday, regardless of whether or not I'm going to be doing any parkour, so that has a lot to do with it. If you're going to use them solely for parkour, you should get a lot of use out of them before they start to wear out, and even then, a simple sewing kit, and some gorilla glue will fix most of the wear and tear you will experience with these shoes. I use them as an approach, and climbing shoe even, when I go backpacking, so they have a lot of versatility.

I'm on my second pair in 3-ish years, and I got them well over a year ago, it looks like they've made some changes to the design of the shoe since then.

I gave em 4 stars because they do wear out, and require maintenance, and because they're a bit pricey, but if you shop around you can usually get a good deal on em. I've also read or heard somewhere that they can be resoled...I'll have to look into that. If it's true, then these shoes are definitely worth the price.

I saw these shoes when i was looking for a birthday gift for my boyfriend and I thought he would like these because he didn't have any shoes and he likes the color green and they werre specifically for parkour so...I casually mentioned a pair I saw to him and long behold thats the pair he's been wanting for a while! I got them for him and he loves them so much when he does parkour! he said they basically can stick to anything except metal. He said with metal they're super slippery lol. I hope this helped for anyone!

My son is so pleased with these shoes. The bottom of the shoe is great for quick stops and "gripping" walls. They almost look like flat suction cups on the bottom, and on some flooring it sounds like it when he walks across the room. We got them at a very good price; more than half off the retail price. We also got them very quickly from the seller. Thank you!

I was really nervous about buying these shoes online. I thought for sure, they'd be either too tight or too big, but after using the foot sizing guide these shoes fit perfectly. I really like these shoes. I wore Nike shoes before and compared to those these shoes are slight more loose on the toes; this is a big plus - less "work in time". I am a beginner at Parkour and these shoes do an excellent job for me. Drops are more comfortable and I find I have lots more traction for climbing and wall-runs. I can sense the terrain better in these shoes too :)

Pros:

Increased traction due to intricate rubber soles

These shoes look like everyday shoes

Thicker padding in the forefoot helps with drops and helps me land more correctly

The shoe is "bendy" which is good for running

I think they are much more comfortable than my old Nike shoes

The shoes don't get too hot

Cons:

Shoelaces need to be double knotted or they will untie themselves

It's easy to create black marks with the rubber soles

To keep maximum traction new shoes will probably have to be bought every 6 to 12 months

The FiveTen logo on the back of the shoe looks like a California License plate (people make fun of it)

I would love more color combinations with the shoe

I tie my shoes really tight for Parkour. My feet slightly fall asleep if I tie them that tight and don't move around for hours.

Summary:

These shoes are great! I'm thinking of buying more pairs!

The grip on these shoes is phenomenal for brick and most rock-like surfaces (I gained about a foot or more on my wallruns), but the grip is worse than average on metal. Also they have little tread so slip on grass a lot. The rubber is very strong, so it will last a long time, but this also means that the shoe is very stiff. This means that your rail balance will take a serious hit. I have been stretching mine to make them more flexible. Also there is a little too much padding for my taste. Less padding allows for greater feel, but requires more skill. They are also quite loud, so you will have to re-learn what a good landing sounds like with these shoes vs normal shoes. Ultimately, they are the grippest shoes available, but they do have serious drawbacks.