adidas Scope GTX – £125

Review

Previous adidas approach shoes were somewhat hampered by rubber that was somewhat less than stellar in the stickiness department, so when the giant sportswear brand bought Five Ten a year or so back, the next step was logical – adidas approach shoes with the impressive Stealth rubber compound.

The Scope GTX is the result – there’s also a smoother-soled Solo – and an impressive one. For a start it has that impressive Stealth rubber compound, the grippiest here we think, but adidas has also added proper lugs and a pronounced heel with big grips and Adiprene cushioning.

There’s a de rigeur toe rand and rock boot lacing too along with the excellent tongue-top stiffener we first saw on the original solo. Up front there’s plenty of bend for comfortable walking, and it is, we think surprisingly comfortable, but the lack of EVA and lots of lateral stiffness means it edges really well with a proper precise feel.

Initially we thought the lack of padding up front would make for uncomfortable walking, but that doesn’t seem to the the case and we reckon the shoe should be well up to longer walk-ins.  The Gore-Tex liner should help on damper days too.

Verdict

Early signs are excellent. The rubber compound is impressively grippy, the serious looking forefoot edges nicely and the shoe is both comfortable for walking in and has enough lugs that it should cope with softer terrain as well as the rocky stuff. How well the Stealth rubber wears remains to be seen, but we reckon the Scope works really well on the rock, but is still comfortable enough to reach it in the first place. Impressive so far.

For more information visit www.adidas.co.uk.

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Mammut Redburn Pro – £100 / 440g

Review

Like the Crux, Mammut’s Redburn Pro approach shoe is designed with more than a nod at the traditional rock boot. That means toe rand, lacing that reaches far down towards to toe for improved forefoot hold and a pronounced, asymmetric fit.

Also like the Crux, it uses a sticky rubber sole  unit with a smooth climbing zone. In this case the rubber is Mammut’s own Gripex APX compound, again with a smooth climbing zone at the toe and some added heel grip. Expected off-road life is 600 miles says Mammut.

Padding underfoot is EVA, though the board-lasted Mammut feels slightly stiffer than the Crux. It also has a snugger fit thanks to both a sleeker last and slicker lacing which makes it easier to snuff things up.

It’s a nice all-round outdoor trainer and the semi-sticky sole gives reassuring grip on pure rock plus a little more underfoot stiffness than the Scarpa, but it still struggles to stay on smaller holds thanks to the EVA mid-sole.

Interestingly, Mammut has just launched a new slightly stiffer approach shoe, the Ridge which might make more sense for full-on scrambling and via ferrata use.

Verdict

Comfortable, close-fitting and with decent grip, the Mammut works well for general walking about in rocky terrain and is happy enough on easier scrambles, but the sole, like the Scarpa, can fold on smaller holds. Nicely made though and a good outdoor trainer.

For more information visit www.mammut.ch.

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Scarpa Crux – £99.99 / 384g

Review

Scarpa’s Crux is a lightweight approach shoe with a sticky Vibram sole unit, a reasonably generous amount of underfoot EVA padding and a rock boot-style toe rand. The styling’s got definite climbing heriate with lacing down to the toe and a reasonably snug fit.

Compared to the rest of the shoes here, it’s pretty flexible underfoot and while that’s fine for wandering in to the bottom of a crag or simply chilling out and not so bad for padding your way up easy slabs, its not great if you try to edge on smaller holds when the combination of underfoot EVA and lack of lateral stiffness means the shoe simply rolls off.

We’ve also noticed that with wear, the suede upper can get a tad baggy. On the plus side, the semi-sticky sole unit gives decent enough rock grip, the shoe’s comfortable in a well-worn trainer sort of way and it uses a decent proportion of recycled material in the liner, laces and even the outsole.

If you want a stiffer Scarpa option, the new Zodiac looks like an interesting beast. It’s effectively the lower half of a B1-graded boot, so super stiff and with a Vibram Mulaz sole unit plus a close fit thanks to Scarpa’s Sock-Fit technology. Looks serious.

Verdict

Many Scarpa-loving scramblers still pine for the long gone Mescalito scrambling boot, but the Crux is at the opposite end of the spectrum. Decently comfortable, but underfoot flexibility counts against it when standing on smaller holds. As with the good old Mescalito, the suede upper isn’t too happy in the wet either.

For more information visit www.scarpa.co.uk.

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Advice on sticky rubber

Quite a few approach shoes and scrambling shoes now use a variety of sticky rubber similar to that on rock shoes. It ranges from the Five Ten Stealth rubber used by adidas, an of course Five Ten itself – through less tacky, semi-sticky compounds from Vibram and own brand soles.

You don’t absolutely need the stuff but it’s nice to have particularly on harder grade routes and in the wet. The difference from ordinary rubber is that the sticky stuff moulds itself round the tiny irregularities in the rock and gives better traction.

The extra grip is confidence inspiring and very nice to have. Try twisting your foot with your weight on it and you’ll instantly realise how much harder the rubber grips. Top tip: if you are using sticky rubber on slippery holds, try weighting your foot for a second or two before transferring full weight onto it. It gives the rubber time to conform to the surface and can be enough to make the difference between slipping and not.

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Advice on scrambling soles

It’s not just about the rubber though. You get the best mechanical grip on rock with a completely smooth sole, which is why rock boots have no lugs, but that’s impractical for a shoe used for normal walking as you’ll simply slide around on soft ground, wet grass and the like.

Check out the shoes above – left to right: Scarpa, adidas, Mammut, Hanway and Zamberlan – and you’ll see that all of them have a smoother ‘climbing zone’ under the toe area to improve grip on rocky holds when climbing. The rest of the sole unit has lugs of various depths and there’s generally some form of heel as well to add traction when descending on slipper slopes.

Finally, most scrambling shoes – often developed for use on via ferratas – have stiffened soles which protect the foot from rocks and standing on staples and ladders, but also allow you to edge on smaller holds. That said, on many approach shoes, the EVA form in the forefoot will simply fold over on really small ledges,  but taking it out can cause discomfort when walking – Haglofs Roc Legend for example, is good on rock, but has no forefoot padding making it uncomfortable for longer walks.

As ever it’s a balance, though one that the adidas Scope might just have got right.

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