Five Ten Hiangle - Women's Review

Performance Comparison

Comfort

Marketed as one of Five Ten's most comfortable, aggressively shaped shoes, the Hiangle is meant to be worn through multi-hour gym sessions and all-day cragging sessions. Of course, comfort is extremely subjective, so the following is simply one climber's experience. We sized them up a full number size above our other climbing shoes and a half size above our street shoe size. Even still, these shoes were incredibly tight and frankly uncomfortable for our wide-footed tested. Though they fit our foot length-wise, the Hiangle was tight width-wise in both the toe box and the heel cup. We would strongly recommend sizing these shoes up at least a full size from La Sportiva or Scarpa sizing in order to get a proper fit.

Sensitivity

Their softness and C4 Stealth rubber soles make the Hiangle a sticky and sensitive shoe. We grew to like these shoes on slightly over-vertical terrain where the combination of an aggressive downturn and a soft midsole made toeing in on smears and dishes a walk in the park. The slipper-like design makes these shoes form to the foot like a glove, adding to the overall sensitivity of the shoe. The heel felt a bit baggy in some spots and tight-fitting in others, which also detracts from the shoe's sensitivity when it came to heel hooking.

Edging

We didn't love the Hiangle for edging, mostly because we prefer a stiffer sole when standing on dime edges. The softness that makes them sensitive and supple on smears and even slabs makes them less impressive on routes where powerful edging skills will help you clip the chains.

Crack Climbing

For us, crack climbing in these talons was a no-go. Perhaps if sized up a decent amount, the Hiangles could work in some cracks, but we found them to be too downturned to be functional in pretty much everything from hand cracks to finger cracks. Though they are narrow overall, the toe is actually fairly blunt and rounded. This makes them hard to fit in small cracks, where a tapered toe box is a better bet.

Pockets

As mentioned above, the Hiangle has a rounded and slightly bulky toe box that takes away from the shoe's ability to get into small pockets. This, paired with the softness underfoot, made these shoes lower on the list in terms of our top picks for pocket climbing. That said, the rubber on top of the toe box makes a great shoe for toe hooking and scumming.

Ease of Use

Though we found the Hiangle's pretty hard to get our feet into, their design is meant to make them easy to get on and off. The downside to the Hiangle here is the fact that the shoe has a very narrow strip of stretchy material on the top. This makes it especially hard for wide-footed climbers to get their feet crammed into these shoes. Once on, the Velcro strap is easy to secure and adjust.

Value

In comparison to other top-end, aggressively downturned shoes from other companies, the Hiangle actually comes in at a slightly lower price. Their construction is of a slightly lower caliber than say, the Scarpa Instincts, but in terms of a high-performance sport climbing shoe, the Hiangle are of fairly good value.

Conclusion