Seems I have a million pairs of shoes. These aren’t dress shoes mind you – in fact I don’t think there’s a pair of those in the bunch – rather shoes for every outdoor occasion. Generally climbing stuff.
I’ve been taking the waterproof, breathable Salewa MS Wildfire GTX (I’ve been using a slimmer, updated version of the current model which will be available in spring ’13) on approaches with loose scree and for chossy climbing. Really chossy climbing, like up San Pedro Rock. Though the soles are designed for climbing, I didn’t find them as sticky as the evolv Cruzers nor as precise. They work great on 4th and easy 5th class climbing and steep dirt. Their strength was gripping tiny scree, both on and off the rock, and being stable when off trail. An example is hiking down to my local rocks at Mickey’s Beach where storms have lashed the steep hillsides and turned climber trails into water gullies. Generally it’s quite hard to walk to the base of crags without falling on your tail because of the loose scree but I felt more confident in the Firetails. Unlike many other, lightweight approach shoes, they have a wide heel base and narrow toe box, which keeps them from sliding, rocking back and fourth and risking rolling an ankle.
The MS Wildfire’s standout strength is stability. The lacing system extends down to the toe, which keeps them firmly in place.
Ballistic mesh upper reinforced with EXA shell technology keeps the shoes light yet durable. Gore Tex makes the uppers breathable and water resistant. Also ships with a second pair of insoles with Velcro on the top side, which sticks to your socks adding an additional barrier that keeps your feet from sliding around inside the shoe. Comes with a two week, blister free guarantee.
$129, or $159 w/GTX, model shown is available spring ’13
