The recently released Five Ten Climbing shoe in a new color has been added to the wide array of Five Ten shoes. We were lucky enough to get our hands on a pair from Five Ten before they are available from their website (They are currently showing “Out of Stock”).
The Gambit is meant to be a less aggressive climbing shoe meant for comfort on long, trad, slab, or climbing gyms. Designed for beginners to intermediate climbers.
The Gambit has some striking similarities to other Five Ten Shoes. Specifically, the Verdon VCS. Although there are some differences that you will notice if you look closely. The Gambit has a dual compound, using the Stealth® C4™ rubber outsole and a different white rubber moving toward the heel cup.
The Leather uppers of the are similar to most Five Ten Climbing Shoes. The Gambit uses a standard buckle and Velcro closure. The tongue is made of a neoprene breathable 4 way stretch material that is very soft and comfortable. They call it Ariaprene and we really like it. It keeps the feet cool and allows more air into the shoe than a leather tongue.
The Gambit takes the comfort of the Rogue climbing shoe and the extremely popular Anasazi and meshes the benefits of both. It offers a deep heel cup, that still is comfortable for extended periods.
The fit of the Gambit is in line with most Five Ten climbing shoes. We usually go up 1/2 size from our street shoe, and we did the same for this shoe.
The mid-sole of the Gambit is slightly stiffer made from a molded thermoplastic. The flat buckle and strap along with the minimal stretch upper make this one of our new favorite all around shoes. from the crag to the climbing gym.
As you can see by the photo above the down turn for the Gambit is fairly mellow. However there is a nice edge on the toe that is seeming to wear nicely providing the edging of a more aggressive shoe with the comfort of a flatter profile.
While we haven’t had much time on these new shoes, they feel like they will need a few days and some sweat in them to get the broken in. We were feeling some major hot spots on the top of the foot and heel the first day in them.
The rand and toe a slightly smaller when comparing to a more aggressive shoe like the Verdon, but offers plenty of rubber to work with.
The Gambit comes in a Velcro and a Lace version each selling for $120 USD that is right in between the Anasazi (~$145-$165 Retail) and the Rouge ($100 Retail). We feel it’s defiantly worth the extra money to go with the new Gambit over the Rouge. While the Rouge may be more supple, with it’s 2mm outer sole the Gambit comes with a 4mm sole that is only slightly stiffer that the Rouge. The shoe is going to last a lot longer. It’s also got a breathable mesh tongue that the Rouge doesn’t have. It’s well worth the $20 to upgrade to the Gambit.