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Gear : Reviews

Reviews by kobaz (3)


Phoenix - discontinued (Manufacturer link) Average Rating = 3.51/5 Average Rating : 3.51/5

In: Gear: Shoes: Climbing Shoes: Lace Up

Terrible shoes 1 out of 5 stars

Review by: kobaz, 2012-02-28


My rock gym was selling these used, they were cheap, and only used once (I see why).

The rubber is incredibly stiff. Terrible smearing shoe, semi-okay edging shoe, terrible steep climbing shoe. There's no defined toe point, so good luck trying to stand on anything small.

I wanted a new pair of gym beater shoes, but I got my one use out of them.

If you want to climb harder than v1, don't get these shoes.


Super Ice (Manufacturer link) Average Rating = 5.00/5 Average Rating : 5.00/5

In: Gear: Shoes: Boots

Works for wide feet 5 out of 5 stars

Review by: kobaz, 2008-02-02


I have moderately wide feet and these boots work very well for me. I first tried Koflach and my feet would be sore after a few hours. I switched to the Vasque Ice 9000 and they had too much arch support and not enough width. I can wear these all day without pain or discomfort... YAY!


Smoothy (Manufacturer link) Average Rating = 3.00/5 Average Rating : 3.00/5

In: Gear: Shoes: Climbing Shoes: Lace Up

Too bad I couldn't give this thing negative stars 1 out of 5 stars

Review by: kobaz, 2007-04-01


Got them on super sale at mountain gear (30 bucks). They were so cheap I figured why not have some shoes to climb in while my other pairs were getting resoled. After about 10 climbing outings the front part of the sole started separating from the rand, after 20, the front was fully separated from the rand.

I sent them back to mountain gear for a free replacement (go mountain gear!). 10 climbing outings later the sole was separating from the rand. After about 3 months of gym climbing I broke through the first layer of toe rubber. I'm just going to use these in the gym till they fall apart (which will be quite soon), it's not even worth getting them resoled.

Under the same usage conditions I've had scarpa, boreal, and 5.10 shoes last 8-10 months before even hinting at needing a resole, I would avoid these shoes like the plague (unless they are on super sale and you want shoes you can trash).