Boreal Unisex's Joker Plus Sneakers

Product Information

There's enough support in the forefoot for decent edging performance, but not so much that you can't get a good smear on slabbier ground. By modern standards they are neither precise nor aggressive, but I do think they offer a good level of foot support for beginners, and the sort of all-round middle-of-the-road performance that should suit climbers operating in the more accessible grades, be that a traddy HVS or sport climbing at the lower end. When you're looking down at your foot, something that's important - but often goes unremarked - is your ability to see where your edge is and place it on the hold accordingly. I would say this is critical, because it allows you to be precise with your foot placements, and no matter how strong you are with your arms, good footwork is vital. The Engage lace is a medium to narrow width, with a pretty regular volume. Being fully laced, this shoe will adapt to lots of different foot types and you can reduce the volume. However, if you have a wide foot you may struggle. As ever with footwear, try before you buy. Summary:

New heel construction in microfibre reduces weight and dramatically enhances "next to skin" comfort in the Achilles area. Ideal for beginner climbers or as a comfortable and inexpensive second pair, the Alpha features the same super-comfortable semi-asymmetric last as the top-selling Joker model. A low tension rand means there is less unwanted pressure on the foot and the shoe retains shape over time. The unlined microfibre upper feels comfortable next to the skin straight from the box. The Mocc is a flat-lasted, moderately assymetric shoe. In terms of width and volume it sits somewhere in the middle. It could even be on the narrower side, but as someone with a wide foot I haven't found this to be a problem, because the unlined upper gives around the shape of your foot. As a result of this, I have found that they are - once worn in - an extremely comfortable shoe. If your item is super urgent, please drop us a message at support@dyno-climbing or on our live chat and we’ll see what can be done. FREE DELIVERYAs with the Dharma and Synergy, I took my Satoris in an EU 44 and wear a street size EU 45. Overall the shoe fits really well: the heel is snug, the forefoot has a nice close fit, my toes are right at the end of the shoe and there's no movement inside. However, as I mentioned, the toe of the shoe doesn't quite work for me so do take my sizing advice with a pinch of salt - perhaps a tighter pair would give a better fit at the toe. The lined synthetic uppers of the Satori haven't stretched much at all, up to half a size at most, so I wouldn't size them too tight in the hope that they'll stretch out. Like the Dharma and Synergy, the Satori is fairly high volume. A female (aka low volume) version is also available. That’s why we’ve pulled together this list of key factors for Boreal Alpha Men’s Climbing Shoe below, to help you choose if it’s the right product for you and your budget. That got us thinking though, that we’re looking at every possible item from Boreal so it would be good to narrow our search down even further and only look at Boreal branded products within the Climbing Shoes category. The cost of Boreal Climbing Shoes The uppers are made from lined microfibre, which certainly gives the NIAD a comfortable feel. Five Ten believe the use of this material helps the shoe to 'maintain a consistent fit,' whereas in reality the shoe's shape changes considerably over time. That's not to say this is a bad thing – the Anasazi always changed over time, and as previously mentioned, what this means is that the shoe's purpose changes too: from an edging machine to a sensitive smearer. By streamlining the key features, Alpha provides a durable, comfortable and great value shoe for any newcomers to the sport.

The flat last design gives good comfort and ease of fit. The tongue is made from BD's 'Engineered Knit Technology' which is said to give a softer toe compartment, although we felt that this isn't really noticeable. The new Vapour V uses Scarpa's 'FR' last, which is the lowest volume in the range. When it comes to width it's realistically on the regular to narrow end of the spectrum. The sizing is - I am happy to say - in line with other Scarpa models, which is usually one (European) size down from your street shoe size. The reason the Booster sits higher up the list is partly a reflection of just how soft the rest of the range is, but also because there is that little bit of support - albeit quite minimalist - in the forefoot. This provides a little edging ability, but understandably not too much as a result of an extremely soft midsole. A shoe for small footholds on vertical limestone, this is not. Price – as you’d expect the price of a product can be an instantly recognisable factor on what sort of quality you can expect. Whoever came up with the phrase “you get what you pay for” pretty much hit the nail on the head. Whilst it’s not always the case and there are many bargains to be had, you can as a general rule, expect the higher priced products to offer better quality than a the cheapest option. We’ll dive into the price of Boreal Alpha Men’s Climbing Shoe in more detail in a moment. While both models are shod with 3.5mm soles of Vibram rubber this is where the similarities end. Firstly, they use different rubber: the Quantic uses XS Edge while the Quantix SF uses XS Grip 2. Unsurprisingly, XS Edge is designed to be slightly firmer, which should help the Quantic hold micro edges. Meanwhile the XS Grip 2 is focused primarily on friction so is slightly softer. The soles and rands on both pairs are wearing well and, noticeably, having had the Quantic (with XS Edge) for a number of months longer than the Quantix SF, its edges are still really sharp and feel great on little edges. I've used them a lot on quarried limestone where edging is the norm and they have been superb.Don’t use price as your guide. Chat through the type of climbing you do and what you are planning so that we can help you make the best choice. The downside to buying online is that you can’t actually get hold of the product to try it out first. The achilles heel for most slippers is, literally, the heel; and a large part of whether or not you feel they work for you will come down to how they fit your foot shape. If they fit well, they'll work well, if they don't - they won't. Our recommendation, with footwear in particular, is - as always - to try before you buy.

The rubber is Stealth C4 and I personally believe there's nothing better. It gives me the confidence to use the most marginal smears, or commit to horrible slopey volumes indoors. This has been a large contributing factor to Five Ten's success over the years and the NIAD Lace is no exception. This shoe is pitched as an all-rounder. Out of the box, it's an edging machine. It's got a stiff, supportive midsole that stretches the entire length of the shoe, making it a great option for long routes on edges. Over time, the shoe softens up considerably, giving it a new lease of life – its forte becomes smearing, ideal for gritstone or sandstone where you really want to feel what's beneath. These shoes do feel more 'old school' than some of the equivalents from other brands, but I think they will work for people that have been used to a more traditionally constructed climbing shoe and particularly those whohave fond memories of less techy FiveTen shoes from a decade or so ago. There’s so much information available online when we’re shopping now, that it’s easy to find lots of detail about products like Boreal Alpha Men’s Climbing Shoe. This is of course really helpful, but there’s almost too much information available, so it’s important to know exactly what you’re looking for.While superficially nearly identical to the Quantic, the Quantix SF actually have some quite different things going on under the hood

The uppers are virtually all leather with BD's own 'Engineered Knit Technology' for the tongue. The latter feature gives a soft feel and is said to breathe better than a 'solid' togue, although there is relatively little tongue exposed so this difference has to be minimal. It is possible that the leather uppers may stretch a bit, and they do have a certain amount of give which will allow a more flexible fit. Having said that, our pair seem to be pretty good with regard to stretch after a few months' use - ie there hasn't been much. There is a heel tension strap but it has no more power than the Momentum's - comfort for sure, but not the semi-aggressive performance you would expect in a mid-range shoe. The fit is basically the same between the two models despite the slightly different soles and rands. Scarpa has a massive range of climbing shoes, and one of the interesting ways they distinguish between models is by fit. On the whole, always hard to tell after just a few sessions but I’d say it’s not much different to the original Anasazis (other than the sizing). Then again, I thought the same about the new Anasazis, which some people didn’t like apparently. May be my footwork is so bad that I can’t tell the difference 🤣 On my narrow feet the LV version is a much better fit. There is no bagging in the forefoot and the ankle cuff fits under the ankle bone much better than the original Flagship, which dig my ankles a bit.Another factor that can be a great indication of product quality is the brand. Brands like Boreal are of course extremely well known, especially for Climbing Shoes.