Back in 1985, Charles Cole, founder of the climbing and mountain-biking shoe company , launched the brand by essentially inventing the approach-shoe category. It began with the (nearly) eponymous Five Tennie, which Cole made by slapping grippy rubber on the bottom of a tennis-shoe upper. The design聽quickly became a cult favorite for bridging the gap between climbing and hiking footwear.
Cole went on to develop Stealth, Five Ten鈥檚 trademark,聽眉ber-sticky climbing-shoe rubber, and the company has since grown into a major player. (Cole died earlier this month.) But the Five Tennie dropped out of production in聽the late eighties, replaced by聽the Guide Tennie聽and others. That changes next聽spring, when Five Ten brings the seminal shoe back.
The new Five Tennie includes聽a few modern updates, of course, some courtesy of Adidas, which bought Five Ten in 2011. Many of Five Ten鈥檚 approach shoes have circular lugs for grip, but the lugs on the rebooted Five Tennie聽are notched, running widthwise across the outsole to provide聽traction when scrambling uphill on rock and scree.
Another modern feature: a gusseted tongue. That means it鈥檚 attached聽to the inside of the leather upper, forming a sock-like construction to prevent pebbles and grit from breaching the shoe. And the inside of the upper is buttery soft, ideal for slipping on between sends when you don't want to don socks as well.
Most important, the company corrects a significant flaw in the original Five Tennie鈥攖he lack of a women鈥檚 version. Five Ten failed to make one in the eighties due to a perceived lack of women climbers and demand. That鈥檚 rectified this time around.
After getting a first glimpse of the reboot聽at Outdoor Retailer this week, we鈥檙e excited by the shoe鈥檚 return. Approach shoes are a staple in a climber鈥檚 kit these days, necessary聽for hiking to and from the crag and for walking down after a multi-pitch climb. It鈥檚 fun to see the original Five Tennie done up with the latest materials and construction. The retro design, with chunky green and blue panels on the upper, only make us want it more. (Both versions come in聽more subdued black if that鈥檚 more to your taste.)
The new Five聽Tennie聽goes on sale in February 2019 for $125.