ProView – 5.10 Women’s Anasazi LV

When I was in college in Riverside, CA the Five Ten Outlet store was less than a 30 minute drive away, and being a poor college student, these discounted shoes were the greatest thing ever. I began climbing in my local gym Hangar 18, and started with bouldering since I didn’t need a partner. And as time went on and my passion for climbing grew, I moved on to sport, and eventually trad climbing.

For a while I rarely used aggressive shoes, since crack climbing required much flatter and more endurance-friendly ones. But in Boulder this winter I found myself back in a gym setting more often, and thankfully, I still had my old pairs of Five Ten’s with me. I was actually psyched to take a break from the trad world and focus on sport climbing again, with the occasional boulder cross-training session. I found my old Five Ten Galileo’s and ran them on hundreds of laps, happy to see that I still loved them. Over the years, one thing has remained consistent: I’ve never been disappointed with the quality of the Stealth C4 rubber and their edging ability. Despite wear and tear from both inside and outside climbing, my Five Ten’s have always held up well. I’ve never had a shoe fall apart on me and I’ve never replaced them due to inefficiency. I even have my pairs of Rogue VCS  and Coyote VCS still.

So what’s specific about these Five Ten Anasazi LV’s I’ve been wearing recently? The LV stands for low-volume, and is ideal for women with narrow feet and low insteps. I pretty much have the ultimate average foot, size 7/7.5 and neither wide nor narrow, and my arch is not too high and not too flat. This time around, I  wanted to size a bit aggressively with the plan to have them eventually replace my Galileo’s, so I got a size 7, which is interesting because my Galileo’s are a size 6 and are basically the same length as this Anasazi pair (they’ve stretched slightly over time, but still). I was really glad I didn’t ask for a size 6, otherwise it would be impossible for me to even force my foot in.

The 7’s are even a tad small for my relative comfort. I did some long single pitches up in Boulder Canyon, up at Avalon, and my toes were on fire by the time I reached the anchors, my heels feeling hot spots too. I’d be curious to see what a size 7.5 or even an 8 in these shoes would mean, which in the world of normal shoes, you’d think they be too big for me as a technical climbing shoe, but I should’ve known better as Five Ten’s do tend to run small.

Regardless of the size I chose, the shoe is still a very good shoe.

Pros:

• Sticky rubber
• Great sensitivity – edging and slab work
• Versatility for bouldering and sport climbing
• Easy adjustability with the velcro straps
• Quality brand
• Perfect for women with narrower feet
• Durable

Cons:

• Sizing runs small

My partner recommends I do the whole standing in the shower with your shoes on to stretch them out tactic, so I’ll try that next. I see the Five Ten Anasazi LV in the gym all the time, so women are definitely buying them. I suggest trying out a few different sizes first before purchasing, but you should do this with any shoe anyway!

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By Outdoor Prolink Editorial Intern Sara Aranda. Sara likes to climb, trail run, travel and adventure. She comes from California but is making Boulder, Colorado her new home. Sara also works at Movement Climbing + Fitness in Boulder.