Triop Waltz

The first thing to note about these shoes is the comfort. Now the pair that I tested was a size 9 ½, which is a ½ size bigger than I would normally take for rock shoes, but despite this they still managed to perform well and not leave my feet feeling like they had been crushed in a vice for 6 hours.

On visual inspection, the Waltz’s have superb edges around the toe box which works perfectly when looking for grip on tiny edges. The grained rubber around the heel allows for some excellent hooking. The sole itself is reasonably stiff giving great stability and excellent grip for smearing.

On the foot, the shoes get better. The tongue is nicely padded and the front section is wide enough to allow the blood to actually flow to your feet.

The one point that I found let the shoe down was its flat design leading to a lack of arch support. Now I like my feet to feel fairly free in rock shoes, I use Red Chili Sausalito’s, but the Waltz’s had very little arch to them. While this did make them very comfortable to walk around in at the bottom of a crag, on a climb, they did not give me the same confidence that a tighter fitting shoe would. This may be attributed to the shoe’s being that little bit too big but I doubt it.

In my opinion, the shoes are excellent for beginners and those climbing to the mid grades. They are equally suitable for when spending all day at a crag when lots of walking around is required. They are comfortable and will perform well on a variety of rock.

Technical Specification (from http://www.triop.cz):

Upper: Split cow hide leather
Lining: Super Royal
Midsole Termopat 1.6 mm
Sole: CLING, 4 mm
Sizes: 35.5 – 47

Rating: 7/10

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