Favorite Yosemite/Squamish approach/descent shoe!

[darstog]

Just got 100% better.

Chaco flips with sticky rubber.

Weigh very little. Take up ZERO room in the pack.

I've used the non-sticky versions on some pretty sketchy slabs, the sticky versions are going to be AMAZING. Just got them in the mail. Seem very similar in stickiness to some of my approach shoes.

Chaco Flips with Sticky Rubber

If I weren't working 80 hour weeks, I'd be drooling about getting these on some granite in this incredible weather!

[pink]

royal robbins and chuck pratt used to wear them to climb in... just sayin .

[Farrgo]

Don't know if you can still find these but I have a couple pairs of La Sportiva sandles that are similar to Chacos. I got them for $20 and they've been awesome.

[darstog]

Dude, the .10a to the left of Octopus' Garden got the smackdown in the non-sticky flips! (full disclosure: it's 5.6 with one move of 5.10... and I was on top-rope...)

 

If it's the Sportivas that I can think of, then you can have them. I wouldn't want to walk more than a hundred yards in those things, whereas I know of somebody doing the approach to the N Ridge of Stuart in the flips.

[pink]

now this thread would be valid with some real names

[boadman]

$60 for flip flops? Seriously?

 

Actually, I find chacos to be super heavy & bulky to clip on your harness for long routes. I like the 5 dollar super market ones better.

[denalidave]

I scored a pair of those, or maybe a similar model on SteepandCheap for $1. They did no fit my wife so we gave them to her mom. They looked pretty burly for a flip flop though.

[mountainmatt]

Don't know if you can still find these but I have a couple pairs of La Sportiva sandles that are similar to Chacos. I got them for $20 and they've been awesome.

 

Yup, they are still out there. Light weight, sticky rubber, cheap (available in better colors than shown below)

 

[ryanb]

I wouldn't call sportiva's "FriXion" rubber exactly sticky. A better description would be soft. It grips great on dry warm granite slabs but wears out quite quickly and, even new, makes standing on wet or cold rock feel vaguely like standing on a layer of ball bearings.

 

I would not, under any circumstances recommend it for any sort of cascade approach that might involve even minimal snow crossing and found it sketch even on the upper wall trail in dry conditions due to the rapid loss of tread.

Edited February 19, 2010 by ryanb

[mountainmatt]

 

So Ryan, they would be ideal for a "Yosemite/Squamish approach/descent shoe"

 

 

.

[Blake]

For routes in squamish where you'll top out, I think the best approach/descent shoe is the lightest pair of flip-flops you can find. The backside trail is a stair-stepping highway with hand rails!

[darstog]

Unfortunately, I still have some hardware in my right ankle and the $1.99 gas station flip-flops don't cut it (I'm fine barefoot, but crappy shoes (or snowshoeing, which is awful in and of itself) tend to aggravate an already-less-than-ideal pedal situation. Ergo, I have to bypass the cheapies in the quiver of approach/decent shoes. The chacos fit a great niche. Just enough support, light, sticky...

[ryanb]

So Ryan, they would be ideal for a "Yosemite/Squamish approach/descent shoe"

 

 

.

I doubt they will get you killed (provided you stay off snow) but I think you'll be happier avoiding FriXion in favor of ... really anything else. It certainly is more of a liability then a selling point. Sportiva lost a lot of my loyalty with some of the low end crap they have been rolling out, I'm sure their high end mountain boots and rock shoes are still great but ...

 

I mean wet logs/rocks/stream crossings/steep dirt aren't really uncommon on approaches I do in sandals all the time (Inner wall, forest land, perly gates, zelda boulders, castle rock) and the sportiva shoes i have had were relatively sketch on all of them. After sliding all over a bunch of snow and rock scrambling Jen was sold on in cheap running shoes I actually gave them away to a guy who had forgotten his rock shoes at one of the crags out near quincy with the warning he shouldn't be tempted to use them for any actual approaching...

 

I just picked up a pair of patagonia flip flops off steep and cheap for 8 bucks that seem like they work pretty well.

 

Any how, sorry for the rant, I'm just pissed I dropped any money at all on those damn cirque pros thinking sportiva was a reputable shoe maker.