Sunday, February 24, 2008

Approach Shoes, Sticky Rubber, Stealth Rubber: What's the Differnece?


All the above terms can get confusing. Let's start from the top.
Approach Shoe is a general term used by retailers to identify a type of shoe. In reality an approach shoe can be just about any type of shoe, but will include the best type of shoes for rock scrambling.
So, Approach Shoe is the heading you would click on when shopping online.
Sticky Rubber is just a marketing term that more and more retailers are using. It can mean anything.
Stealth Rubber is an actual type of rubber found on many types of Vasque shoes. Many hikers swear by Stealth Rubber, including me. It will improve your rock scrambling by 25%. There are different types of stealth rubber. The best for sandstone is the kind with the red oval on the sole. See the above photo. More information on Stealth Rubber

Gryptonite is another type of rubber found on shoes. I have worn hiking shoes with Gryptonite and found them to be as sticky as Stealth Rubber. Here's a link with more information: http://www.montrail.com/technologies_gryptonite.aspx As you will read, there are different kinds of Gryptonite.

FriXion is a third type of sticky rubber out on the market. I have not worn shoes with FriXion, but suspect they are on par with Stealth Rubber. For more information.

If you do a lot of rock scrambling, I highly recommend buying shoes with Stealth Rubber or Gryptonite.

4 comments:

  1. Great post...I wish I'd learned about the differences in sole rubber much sooner. I made 2 trips to Canyonlands in UT during 2006 with my standard hiking shoes I use up here in MT. They worked 'fine', but I never really felt confident about my footing. Then I bought a pair of Vasques before my 3rd trip and was BLOWN AWAY by the difference in traction and stability. It's like night and day!! I'm not going out on super technical hikes, but it's UT so technical is just part of the game. The biggest impact I felt was that of safety and security. There is never an excuse for overconfidence, but you can pretty much bet that your feet are gonna stay where you put them...and that's huge. Thanks for sharing this info with folks, and happy hiking to you!

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  2. (Not sure my previous comment went through...if so, just delete this one.)

    Great post...I wish I'd learned about the differences in sole rubber much sooner. I made 2 trips to Canyonlands in UT during 2006 with my standard hiking shoes I use up here in MT. They worked 'fine', but I never really felt confident about my footing. Then I bought a pair of Vasques before my 3rd trip and was BLOWN AWAY by the difference in traction and stability. It's like night and day!! I'm not going out on super technical hikes, but it's UT so technical is just part of the game. The biggest impact I felt was that of safety and security. There is never an excuse for overconfidence, but you can pretty much bet that your feet are gonna stay where you put them...and that's huge. Thanks for sharing this info with folks, and happy hiking to you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I would just like to take time too thank the active members for doing what you do and make this community great im a long time reader and first time poster so i just wanted to say thanks.

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  4. Thank you for your post and e-mail suggesting the five tens. The information you provided has made a huge difference for me. After my first experience at scrambling almost two years ago, I didn't think I had it in me to try again. What a difference stealth rubber has made for me over the last 21 months. With the sure footing the shoes provide me, I now have the confidence to make it to the peak and I don’t have to work as hard. I am hooked on stealth rubber and scrambling. Sorry I didn't post this sooner. DF

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