Customer Reviews

Mad Rock Men's Flash Two-Strap Velcro,

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This has got to be one of the most popular climbing shoes (based on my rigorously scientific survey of my gym over the years) and with good reason. It is reasonably priced and has pretty decent performance. I have heard some complaints about discomfort, but for the years that I used it I always found it very comfortable. I have since moved on to a more advanced shoe (FiveTen Gambit which I have also reviewed).

While I'm glad to have moved on, I definitely recognize that this is a great beginner shoe. As I mentioned the price point is great! The rubber is reasonably sticky and this shoe certainly gets you up the wall. While others found the beefy heel ideal for heel hooks I actually found it to be hard to hook on these shoes. While the ridged heal is a good idea, they made it out of a much harder rubber than the toe; this makes it much more durable but a lot less sticky. All in all though, for a beginner, you won't likely be making many big moves with a heel hook and would use it more for support - it works great for this task!

Although I would no longer buy this shoe, the sport and its footwear take some getting used to so I still give it 4 stars as great introductory shoe. Once you get a little better though, you might want to look for something more technical.

The incredibly popular Flash just got better with their new Science Friction rubber. I have to say it is super sticky. Sure these aren't super high-end Italian made construction. But for the money these shoes are unbeatable.

I don't recommend anyone buy climbing shoes online unless they've tried the exact model and size before because they are designed to fit tight, and every model fits differently. A specific fit to your particular feet make the difference between good comfort and unbearable pain. This is especially true the higher performance the shoe.

The Flash are designed to fit tight with toes full curled. This is good for beginners only if they know they want a higher performance shoe that fits tight with toes fully curled and don't mind a little less comfort. This shoe has great performance for even advanced climbers who want a no-nonsense all around shoe.

Unlike sizing for other climbing shoe companies, these give a good tight fit in regular street shoe size. I wear size 10 street shoes, and these fit tight with my toes curled in size 10. 9.5 was super tight, 9 was even tighter, and I could barely squeeze in 8.5 with pain. 10.5 was comfortable with toes still not flat. 11 was almost flat, but the volume of the shoe became too large to fit right. Bottom line again is these aren't shoes meant to fit with your toes flat.

They are unlined leather so I expect them to stretch a half size to a size. I recommend street shoes size which may be a little uncomfortable at first, but should stretch and mold to your feet as they break in. For more performance half a size down. But again, try on them on and several other brands and models before you buy online.

Owned these shoes for about 4 months now. Absolutely love them! normally a 11.5-12 street shoe and ordered these in size 11. They are great, I would say get them tight since the leather does a great job of molding to your foot. The stick and grip on them is also stellar, I can really smear if I have to. Toe point is prime for support on tiny ledges.

Highly recommend, I will buy again when these wear out. Worth every penny - and with a 1 year warranty you can't go wrong!

Simply a good climbing shoe, comfortable.yes I said comfortable!
Nice and sticky.Velcro straps a plus! GREAT SERVICE ALL AROUND!
I would order again if needed.

For the price, this can't be beat. I bought a size half a shoe size smaller than what I normally wear. They took a week or two to break in, stretched out very nicely. My feet are a little squeezed and pointed, which is just what I wanted. They feel great and are holding up well 5 months later. I've climbed with them indoors and out and they do well no matter what I ask of them. Would buy again.

For the price, it's hard to beat the shoe. A great one for beginners. However, don't expect to get too technical with them. They seemed to fit true to size for me (12/13 in most brands to a 13 in this shoe), and about as comfortable as climbing shoes can be.

I have only had these shoes for a month and a half, so I am not sure of their durability. How ever. I thoroughly ejoy these shoes, the sizing was accurate, the rubber is sticky, and they are just flexible enough. I would definitely buy these again. My only.complaint is that the velcro doesn't get the Shie as tight as I would like and the shoe becomes uncomfortable after more than about 20 min on your foot.

Good shoes, I wear size 9 in addida and these i bought a 9.5. Fit's pretty true to standard American size. First time i used them they turned my feet orange though. : ) Would recommend to a friend.

As a beginner rock climber I felt that this shoe has been perfect. I would reccommend buying either a half or a full size up though. I had to buy a half size up; I normally wear a 9 1/2 but with these I needed a 10. The shoe is not only comfortable, but it does improve ones climbing. The back of the shoe has a series of divets in the heel for optimal grips. I would definately reccommend this product.

OK! Now I think I got it right! Sold to a friend the MR-Flash 7,5 and bought myself a 9,5, and now comes the true review of it!:

What I can say, very good rock shoes, very sticky rubber, the shape is very good for my kind of foot, the heel fits like a charm, you barelly have empty spaces.

Im comparission to MadRock Drift, I can say, the Flash ones are much more thigh and hard, the Drift ones I bought is half size smaller (9) and still much more confortable and soft than MR Flash.
The rubber on the heel is amazing, soft but stick like superbonder on the rock... the special shape like scales absorb the impact really well.
I would suggest this shoe for special routes with very small crimps or intensive heel hook work, I don't think it is a good idea to use it on long routes as it's asymmetric shape stress too much the feet.

I'll keep the 04 stars rating because it is pretty good rock shoe but there is still room for improvements.

==== old review below =======
I've purchased this rock shows in the beg of 2011 taking in consideration the size I use with LA SPORTIVA, but unfortunatelly their matching are completelly different... for lucky I ended up selling to a friend and taking the money back. so the best solution on this case would be try this shoes on a phisic store before you buy it.

Positives:
The Shows are really nice, the rubber seems really sticky, the knee desing is awesome, the strap in the back are very well positioned.
The Strap on the front are also good, didn't see what people say they are too long or such stuff..

Also the quality of the material used is really good, can't tell if will still in good condition after long period os usage but I can say the seams look very hardy and there is no loose seams inside of the shoes, everything lead to feel Mad Rock has a very good quality control over their production.

4 Stars because i didn't have a true chance to test it...
==== old review below =======

Kind regards,
Johnny