REASONS TO BUY
Easy on and off
Pointy toe is great for pockets
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive
Numerous durability complaints
Soft yet insensitive
Five Ten Aleon Review
An enormous price tag for an overall average performing shoe
Credit: Backcountry
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Our Verdict
Despite its name, there's nothing otherworldly about the Aleon. One of several new additions to the Five Ten lineup — and also one of the priciest — the Aleon performs like a lot of other single strap shoes from the past. Although our testers do appreciate that the heel is fully encased in rubber and the extra coverage on the rand enhances toe hooking, these niceties do little to differentiate it in a crowded climbing shoe field. We acknowledge that its pointy toe is ideal for pocket climbing, but aside from that, we weren't impressed with its sensitivity or ability to edge. The Aleon is still a decent shoe, but in our view, there are far better choices at the same price point.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Five Ten Aleon | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  Best Overall Climbing Shoe | Best Shoe for Trad and Crack Climbing |  Best Value for a Trad Shoe | Best Value for a Well-Rounded Climbing Shoe | |
| Price | $189.95 at Backcountry Compare at 2 sellers | $164.19 at REI Compare at 4 sellers | $164.19 at REI Compare at 3 sellers | $119.89 at REI Compare at 3 sellers | $96.69 at REI Compare at 4 sellers |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | An average shoe for a heft price | An awesome shoe for long climbs requiring a variety of crack climbing and edging techniques | With this shoe, you can climb pitch after pitch without pain | A simple shoe with solid performance for trad climbing | A bargain price for a climbing shoe with respectable performance |
| Rating Categories | Five Ten Aleon | La Sportiva Katana... | La Sportiva TC Pro | Black Diamond Aspect | La Sportiva Finale |
| Comfort (20%) | |||||
| Smearing (20%) | |||||
| Edging (20%) | |||||
| Pulling (20%) | |||||
| Cracks (20%) | |||||
| Specs | Five Ten Aleon | La Sportiva Katana... | La Sportiva TC Pro | Black Diamond Aspect | La Sportiva Finale |
| Style | Velcro | Lace | Lace | Lace | Lace |
| Upper | Microfiber | Leather / Microfiber | Leather | Leather | Eco Leather / Microfiber |
| Width Options | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular |
| Lining | Textile | Pacific (in forefoot and back) | Sentex / PU Foam | Hemp | Unlined |
| Rubber Type | Stealth C4 | Vibram XS Edge | Vibram XS Edge | NeoFriction Force | Vibram XS Edge |
| Rubber Thickness | 4.2 mm | 4 mm | 4 mm | 4.3 mm | 5 mm |
Show full specification details ▼Hide full specification details ▲
Our Analysis and Test Results
Performance Comparison
Bouldering legend Fred Nicole was apparently involved in the design of the Aleon. Aside from this factoid, this shoe does little to distinguish itself in a crowded field.
Credit: Jack Cramer
Edging
The single hook-and-loop strap makes taking the Aleon on and off a cinch, but it doesn't provide the same secure fit as a two-strap design or lace-up closure. There is thus a little more lateral play in the forefoot that reduces this shoe's edging performance. The sole of the Aleon is medium stiff, which offers better sensitivity but makes standing on small edges for long periods of time more taxing. Taking these issues into account, we don't consider this shoe very good at edging overall.
Single strap designs don't lock your foot in quite as well for edging as other two strap or lace up designs.
Credit: Jack Cramer
Cracks
When sized properly, the Aleon creates a moderate downturn that's great for hooking pockets on steep terrain. Another aspect of that downturn, however, is that it necessitates a curl in the toes. With the toes curled, it is much more painful to jam them inside cracks of any size. That said, if you decide to size the Aleon large, your toes will lay flat and feel substantially more comfortable while crack climbing. With this strategy, this shoe's low-profile toe also makes it pretty effective for thin cracks, while the extra rubber on top supplies additional grip and protection.
The elastic on the upper of the Aleon is stretchier than on most shoes. This makes taking it on and off much less of a chore.
Credit: Jack Cramer
Comfort
The Aleon offers near-average levels of comfort. Counting in its favor is the single strap hook-and-loop closure, which combines the relaxed feel of a slipper with the option to crank the shoes down tight for a particularly tricky crux. The medium stiffness of the sole enhances comfort compared to the softest shoes but doesn't provide the same support for longer pitches as many stiffer models. The biggest mark against the Aleon is the strongly asymmetrical shape of the toe. This shape helps the shoe feel more precise, but it's unlikely to fit most people's feet ergonomically.
Our favorite aspect of the Aleon is its pointy toe which makes it great for sneaky inside tiny pockets.
Credit: Jack Cramer
Steep Terrain
While the asymmetrical shape of the toe harms the comfort of the Aleon, it improves its performance for steep climbing. This shoe is pointier than most, which means you can get more of it inside tiny pockets. The concave sculpting of the underside of the forefoot, along with the moderate downturn of the whole shoe, also enhances your ability to pull with your toes on steeper climbs. Finally, the vertical profile of the toe is also minimal, which lets you sneak it inside narrow slots. All these aspects mean that the Aleon is particularly adept at overhanging climbing.
Sensitivity
Out of the box, this shoe comes with 4.2mm of Stealth C4 rubber paired with a sole of moderate stiffness. With these materials, the Aleon provides moderate sensitivity. Our testers were pleased with their ability to feel some features on smaller holds, but the performance wasn't as impressive as some shoes made with less rubber or more supple midsoles. That said, the Aleon provides better durability and support than the most sensitive models.
There are plenty of great choices for a bouldering shoe. Unless you're a Five Ten devotee, spending top dollar for the Aleons doesn't seem to make sense.
Credit: Jack Cramer
Value
Adidas is charging a pretty penny for the Aleon. This doesn't really make sense to us because the Aleon doesn't feel like an ultrahigh-performance shoe. And you don't have to search online very long to find numerous complaints about quality issues like the toe splitting from the sole after only limited. If you can find it on sale, however, the Aleon could still offer a reasonable value.
Conclusion
With considerable marketing hype and an Editors' Choice award from Climbing Magazine, we had high hopes for the FiveTen Aleon. Those hopes were dashed the moment we tried a pair on. The quality of the Aleon's feels sub-par, and that's supported by a considerable set of online customer complaints. Aside from their performance in pockets, we were unimpressed in all other areas. If you're a huge fan of single-strap bouldering shoes, they might be worth considering. Otherwise, their astronomical price simply doesn't seem worth it.
—
Jack Cramer
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