Five Ten Dragon Lace-up Climbing Shoe

As usual the 5.10 rubber is excellent, the toe on these is also awesome, really precise and sensitive I am a 9.5/10 street shoe and I bought a 9 in these. The heel feels slightly shallower than the jet's and is excellent. My only complaint is that they do not toe hook well at all compared to the jet7 team, or solution.

Shoe sizes: I size my shoes as small as I can get my foot into
7.5 Moc
8 Verde
9 Dragon
8 Jet7
39 Solution

so classic. my buddy has some old old 5-10's and they're probably 8 years old, and he loves em and still uses em to this day. big fan of the lacing and his are super retro and old school. they hold up great.

Really nice shoe with comfortable fabrics and lining. Overall, a moderately narrow shoe with powerful toe and good sensitivity - probably not idea for stuff like slab or cracks but works wonders on steep faces and roofs. Heel fits me very well with no extra space and feels very secure, even with laces untied. Doesn't stretch too much but I still recommend sizing as small as possible. Rubber is super sticky and haven't had any issues with durability. Planning on buying another pair when the time comes.

Wearing five ten dragons in US 8.0 (for reference, i wear 39.0 in sportiva speedsters and cobras; 8.5 in v10(2nd gen)) - 9.0 street shoe

These are amazing bouldering shoes! I wear a 10.5 in street size and 10.5 is the perfect size for me. Hard to wear at first but they break in nice. Never are they comfortable but they climb great. Laces lock your feet in perfectly. I have tried 11's and they feel loose. Sizing these right makes a huge difference. The rubber is great and last well in the gym or outside.

Let me start by saying how incredibly painful it is when i first jammed my wide us11 street size foot into a size 11us dragons. It was so painful I thought id just return these shoes. It took about 4 days of wearing these at my desk to finally have them fully stretch out and conform to my foot. It feels tight like a glove and performs up to to expectations. If they made the rubber any stickier, ur gonna have a hard time pulling ur feet off the rock. Heres how i sized them. I wear 10.5us in my anasazi vcs, 8.5 in sportiva katanas and 11us in these. They are a full size smaller than the anasazi. You want them TIGHT otherwise its pointless. The heel is phenomenal. doesn't move an inch when hooking. I only use these during bouldering which i would think is the only purpose of the dragons. If ur looking for the ultimate bouldering shoe, buy these. Worth every penny. Oh and buy a bag of frozen peas from the grocers after putting in ur order. Ur gonna need to ice those toes before they fully break in. Fight through the pain and you'll love these shoes. Thanks Kipp in customer service for the support.

I based my initial sizing off of other reviews since I could not find these locally to try them on. Most reviewers said they sized up, sometimes two sizes. Therefore my consensus was to size equivalently to my street shoe size, because I prefer a tight, performance fit. The 10’s had too much toe and heel space for my taste, so I ordered 9.5’s which fit comfortably, but still had a tiny bit of excess toe space. My past experience is that even lined, synthetic shoes will stretch a little, so my rule of thumb is to find a size that fits your preference, and then size a half-size smaller to accommodate the stretch. I ended up with 9’s which fit absolutely perfect after a short break-in period. Initially they were a little uncomfortable, especially when standing on my toes, but soon conformed to my feet and now fit like a glove.

With all that said, this is by far my favorite bouldering shoe out there. The Stealth HF rubber is amazingly sticky (no surprise there) and the down-turned toe will allow you to climb through steeper problems or a series of tiny foot-jibs...these perform amazing on small edges. I also love the heel on this shoe, more than any other Five Ten heel I’ve tried (Galileo and Anasazi’s). It’s very thin and sits flush against the rest of the rubber, which allows more sensitivity/contact on your heel-hooks. I'm a fan of the laces, simply because I like having as many points of contact as possible.

My advice would be to size tight and snug, otherwise you’ll cheat yourself out of the amazing toe and heel on this shoe. Fight through the break-in period and these shoes will fight for you up your project. Phenomenal bouldering shoe!

Awesome climbing shoes. First time I used them I was amazed on how well they performed compared to my cheap beat-ups. These things will smear and hold like a champ and make the toughest hooks feel unreal. The only thing I have to complain about is the size guessing I had to go through with backcountry.com to get the right fit. It was hard to guess which size fit the best. I ended up getting these 2 sizes above my street shoe after 4 returns. The only thing that would make this shoe even better would be to make a velcro version - laces gets tiring to put on/off and these shoes hurt after wearing them for a while. Great shoe, I'll be sticking with these for a while, no pun intended.

The first time I put my Dragons on I thought "What was I thinking?" I went down a half size from my street shoes on these and believe me, that was more than enough. It took a half dozen trips to the gym to get them broken in, and although they still hurt my feet after a while and walking is awkward and painful, they perform like a champ on the wall. The downturned toe holds onto just about everything it comes into contact with, and the heel has performed much better that I had originally thought it would. The lace ups keeps the shoe on your foot like a glove. The best bouldering shoe I have ever had and dominates on overhanging routes. Believe me the pain is worth it to for the performance that you will receive from these shoes.

i havent climbed in mine yet.....ive had then for about 5 days and still cant even walk in them i had to really stuff my size 13 foot into 12.5s but they are comming along im really hoping i didnt get them to small but im sure there going to be a great shoe...so far very painful break in though

These shoes are very aggressive--downturned, asymmetrical toe, tight tight tight. I've heard 5.10s are great for durability--so far they seem tough. The rubber is amazing, sticks to everything.

For sizing, I went down a half size from my 12 street shoe. At first I tried a 10.5, but they were just too ridiculous. The 11.5s I have now are still tight and painful, and I'm still fighting through the blisters, but it will be worth it once they fully conform to my feet. They have already started to do so a bit. I have a friend who wears an 11.5 street shoe and wears 9 dragons, but I think he's crazy. I would suggest going with a half size below your street shoe if you have a relatively normal or narrow width foot. Try them on if you can--but remember these shoes aren't for walking around in, they are meant for climbing steep, technical faces.

so i bought these in sz 6.5 and 7.5 because i was not sure about the sizing from what i read. i wear 37.5 in sportiva solution's and they fit snug. i got the 6.5's in these first and they were unbearable! the length felt good but they were far to narrow. So i ordered 7.5's and sent the 6.5's back figuring they would be better. the length was about the same and they were just a bit wider, but my heel didnt get the snuggness i needed. These were frustrating shoes to try to work with. I know they are awesome for a lot of people, they just werent right for me. I also tried jet 7's and came to the conclusion that five ten is unpridictable with sizing and trying them on in a gym IS A MUST before buying. I live in the UP in MI so it was hard to try them on before hand, but i would highly recommend either trying before you buy or buying several sizes and sending the one's back that dont work.

First, why the Dragons over the other 5.10 bouldering shoes, i.e. project, v7, and team. All are great "performance" bouldering shoes, but in my experience lace ups always give me the best fit. This is magnified if you have a slightly funky foot (shape not smell).

The laces on the dragons really help me snug the down-turned sole into the arch of my foot and allow no slippage on the most intense heel hooks. If you yearn for the convenience of a slipper or velcro, or if 5.10 bases their shoe design off of your foot, then go with one of the others (The team is the "latest and greatest" and all that jazz.) they're all great shoes.

As far as sizing goes, these shoes are not meant to be comfy all day affairs. I would not recommend this shoe if this will be your only pair. Your feet will regret it. This is a shoe that is for climbing at your limit (both performance and pain wise, at least in the beginning). Size it "comfy" and you'll get less performance out of the dragons than you would a less aggressive shoe.

I wear a 12 in most street shoes and all hiking boots.
43 in Solutions (pretty tight)
42.5 in Miura vs (pretty tight)
I can climb in both 20 + minutes with only mild discomfort towards the end.

11.5 Madrock concept (comfy, could wear all day: main gym shoe)

Dragons 11 (exceptionally tight)
several boulder attempts or 1 sport climb (and I'll pop the heels at the anchors).

These were so tight at first that I used a shoe horn to break them in for a week. Getting my heel in came close to testing my pocket pulling power.

After a few weeks, they are only painful if I forget to take them off between climbs, or if I try to use them for a whole several hour session. I wouldn't say they are ever comfortable, but I don't notice them, comfort wise, while I climb.
I have a relatively small and narrow heel and a rather low volume foot. This makes me tend to size shoes a little smaller than I'd like to keep my heel from floating. I could not have worn a smaller size. My heel would simply not go in period. If you have a relatively larger heel or a wider foot, then I would not recommend more than a half size below your hiking shoe size.

Remember, this is a "performance" shoe. Size and use accordingly and you should get several great seasons of performance out of it.

I got these shoes 3 months ago. From what I've used (rentals, so big difference there), these are THE BEST shoes out there for bouldering. I wear size 10US mens street shoes and wear a 9 in the Dragons. After breaking the shoes in, the fit is absolutely perfect. The rubber is insanely sticky. The downturned toe is amazing for edging (Not as fun to walk in, though) and the strip of rubber on the heel makes for effortless hooks. The only thing I would like to be different about these is velcro instead of laces, as I like to take my shoes off FAST after giving a climb my all. If you're investing in some nice shoes, get these. They're awesome.

I ordered two pairs of these shoes, 10.5 and 11, I am size 10.5 street shoe, 9.5 Anasazi VCS, 41, Testarossa. The 10.5 fit me best, wore it two days in the gym and my heel an there was just a little too much space in it for me. The toe was incredible, I just tend to find that Sportiva fits my heel better. Anyhow, incredible service from backcountry, free return shipping and free shipping on the new pair, good stuff.

great shoe...runs really tight when i can squezze my foot into these boulder shoes i climb better than anything.. i use the la sportiva solutions too. they are okay. but run really big!! when i am heel hooking with the solutions my heel in the shoe comes off. but all around shoe go with the DRAGONS better rubber jus deal with the pain in the dragons an there will be a send train on the rocks.

I guess I'd give them 3.5 stars. Here's what I was able to gather when I was actually able to wear these things. Stickiest rubber ever. Seriously. I wanna say Five Ten uses a kind of indy car tire rubber or something similar. Even when just lightly brushing the soles together they stick like nobody's business. They are synthetic so the the uppers stretch maybe a little bit. I stuffed three baseballs into each shoe and tied them over night and that definitely helped. Problem is, and it's definitely my fault, my feet are wide and flat and this was the most painful thing I've ever had on my foot, including a second degree burn. My toes went numb after about thirty seconds and I couldn't put any weight on the heels because my toes would dig into the front and I thought I was going to pass out. When I actually had them on the wall, they were great. Edged like crazy, stuck to smears like there was an extra hold, and hooked into features nicely with the downturned toe. I just couldn't have them on for more than 5 minutes. I ended up returning them. Wear a 10.5 in streets and bought the 11 just to be safe. Big mistake. I just don't think these shoes were meant for those of us with wide feet. Too bad. These shoes seemed badass but I couldn't get past the pain. Oh well. Checking out the La Sportiva Mythos, Spires, and the Anasazi Blancos/Verdes. I would love to stick with Five Ten. Great shoes, great rubber. If you've got the right foot for these, you can't do much better.

I don't think I need to say that these are great shoes very sensitive and also very sticky. The most important thing to know is very tight more so than other five tens I am 11.5 street shoe and I ended up with 11.5 dragons after two returns and they are still very tight. Great shoe highly reconmend.

I have a pair of Jet 7's in a size 7 and had to get a 9 in the Dragons. I could fit into an 8 but the pain was rediculous and it turned my toes so much that they would be useless. The 8.5 was doable but crunched the hell out of my toes due to the narrow width. I went with the 9 (street shoe is a 9 as well). I wear a 7.5 in the Anasazi velcro, and a 7 in the Moc.

i almost returned them untill i read another review on here that said wear em around a bit... they were extremely painful the first time i pulled them on. I've only been wearign them for afew days but they definatly kill it on overhang the heel which seemed alittle large mis-shaped seems to be molding around my foot and looks like it will fit perfectly with alittle more use. as far as use is concerned they fit like a sock perfect around the toes and laces really do a good job to help the shoe hug your foot. its the best shoe ive owned however my only complaint would be that due to the thickness of the rubber in the toe you dont get the feel ive had in other shoes but the pressure and grip is there it just gives a numb sensation...

buy these shoes you wont regret it

This shoe is absolutely amazing. The laces allow the shoe to hug your foot, with your foot feeling as though it has been dipped in rubber. Extremely powerful for anything overhung or itty-bitty edging (though you'll feel the pain on slab). The heel is well designed, much less of the huge boxy-ness of the Anasazis, with a somewhat thin strip of rubber that is perfect for thin heel hooks. Sized them a 1/2 size larger than other 5.10 shoes and it seems to work well . . . shoes were too tight to wear for more than ~20 minutes initially, but slowly stretch maybe a 1/2 size after a bit less than a month of climbing in them. Shoes are not too uncomfortable now to wear for even 45 minutes or more, but still feel the perfect size, as it takes 5 minutes to put on the size smaller. Rubber is ridiculously sticky with the extremely cambered toe. Recommend this to any boulderer over practically any other shoe. Climbing V7+ in them right now, and they're going all the way.

I love these shoes I would not even think about using another pair of shoes. not only do they use Stealth rubber but they fit like glove on my foot. Again I love these shoes

order at least a size to a size and a half larger than you're normal 5-10. Great shoes.

the bombest shoe ever, in my experience
i didn't think i was a fan of laces, but they sure do keep a foot snug, especially helpful for tough heel hooks and the like...
anyway, a little painful at first, but after a little wear they... still hurt... but it was worth it to crush like that
the sizing was a little weird, i mean i wear a size 9 street shoe (and that's a little big, too) but the size 11 dragon was the smallest i could fit into...so i'd recommend trying one on before actually buying one
all in all, very sticky, very durable (had mine for more than a year, i think), and very great for bouldering, especially. keep on crushin'!

This shoe is amazing. Perfect camber for steep routes or boulder problems, and unlike some of my other steep climbing shoes, the lace up allows me to size this shoe more comfortably than a moccasin or velcro shoe. I have a wider foot which made break in a little uncomfortable, but after some extended use, this has become one of my most comfortable shoes, and is my highest performing. I will continue to buy this shoe as long as it is in existence. I also own the Jet 7 and the V10 by FiveTen, the La Sportiva Solution, The Evolv Pontas, the Scarpa Booster, and the Mad Rock Super Loco. This shoe kicks the crap out of all of them with the Jet 7 coming in a close 2nd. I haven't used the FiveTen Project yet but this shoe is still amazing! Between the Dragon and the FiveTen Anasazi I will never need another shoe.