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Comments and Pictures
Urban Equipped - FM Tech
May 2008 TESTER: Will from WY
Recently, I received the chance to test the 'warrior' model shoe from FM Tech's climbing line.
My first impression was a simple, soft shoe that felt broken in right out of the box. The shoe was sized to allow
for all day use; size 10, like my street shoe. I could've gone a 1/2 size smaller.
The shoe fit great, but I had a tendency to feel sloppy in the shoe whenever my feet began to get sweaty.
The performance of the shoe is really good. While testing them on smooth limestone, coarse granite,
and Devils Tower cracks, I found these shoes to be remarkably versatile. The feel was like that of a moccasin,
but with easier entry. The rubber has held up well and I feel the friction is as good as any.
The warriors had such a soft, flexible nature that smearing and thin cracks felt very comfy.
Small edges and hand/fist cracks made these shoes (and me) work a little harder, but overall, they still felt solid.
At this point, I cannot tell if shoe stretch is going to be an issue. The construction of the shoe is quite simple:
unlined, soft leather with a tongue flap made out of the same material as the shoe.
The velcro w/ metal buckles has held up well, but is positioned a little too high on the shoe for my liking.
When I really tried to get a tight fit, the velcro and buckle would dig into the upper part of my foot, while
leaving the toe box yearning for more.
Perhaps, a padded tongue slightly different velcro alignment would alleviate these issues.
Overall, the shoe has done as well as I could expect it to and feels good underfoot. FM Tech is definitely making a
good name for itself. Overall Grade: B+
March 2008 TESTER: Dayne from OR
I have to admit that upon receiving the FM Tech Raptors I had mixed emotions about owning another pair of unlined leather rock shoes. As expected I found them to have all the classic features that make this style of shoe so appealing to me and many others. After having done some climbing in them I'm pleased to say that they have some fairly innovative features that I grow to enjoy more each passing day.
The rubber was one of the things that really sticks out to me. It is very soft (as most rubbers seem to be getting these days) with an almost creamy feel. It performs really well on the bright, sunny days but they become absolutely useless once wet, which is kind of a concern when you climb through the Central Oregon winters. The rubber that bulges out to cover your big toe functioned unquestionably better than most other (lets say; Italian) brands that sport the same feature. I say this because on the other shoes it creates a dimple going one way or the other on the upper toe box. This leaves some wiggle room that can be bothersome to us Mythos fanatics. As for comfort, ask me in about a month. I'm sure they'll fit like a glove. So all that being said my only complaint besides them being miserable when wet (as a lot of shoes are I should say) is that the laces are too bulky. This makes getting them on an occasional hassle.
In the end I would say that the Raptors got a pretty good review from a person who would rather dip his toes in chalk than climb in (almost) anything other than his Sportivas.
-Dayne
October 2007 TESTER:
Mallory from TX
They're intense - certainly not a beginner shoe. The down turned toe makes this quite an aggressive shoe that works beautifully when paired with good footwork and a steep wall.
As someone who has moved from slab climbing to steep bouldering, I loved them. It appears to be a smart design - and certainly an eye catcher. I had people all over the place wondering if they could see the sole.
I've always climbed in Velcro, so these seemed to hug my foot just as easily as any other pair I've had.
One thing to note: the heel is interesting, perhaps something to get use to. Mad Rock does a similar "gilled" heel and both work brilliantly.
My only qualm, or question, rather....what happens when the rubber wears thin on the arch? Are resole companies prepared to recreate that sling shot style sole?
Thanks for letting me try these out. I certainly hope I was a good representative of this new innovative, "fashion-forward" shoe.
September 2007 TESTER:
Tres from GA
They are a superb bouldering shoe for really steep stuff! the rubber is excellent, even though it would not really hurt the shoe if it
were bad rubber because of the steepness they are intended for.
Sometimes i will get a foot cramp because of the down turn. the finger loops are fairly easy to get your fingers into.
I like the ribbed heel, but I also climb with a smooth heel in some of my other shoes.
The size of foot seems to be designed with the more slim foot in mind, and that works perfectly for me because of my narrow feet.
Their patent pending design on the sole is good and bad for me, but mostly good. It is good because it keeps the down of the turn of
the shoe in better shape than the attached sole does. It is partially bad because it seems to get in the way sometimes,
like getting hooked on gear, or some part of the rock. That does not happen often though.
I would highly recommend this shoe in any color to anyone in search of a good, long lasting shoe for
steep problems or routes.
AUGUST 2007 TESTER: Steven from FL
At first glance, one can tell the FM Tech X2 shoe is very durable and aggressive for any climber. One major feature that stood out to me was the massive heel hook, which works 99.9% of the time and is very helpful. The other cool feature is the peice of rubber, connecting the toe and the heel which helps keep the shoe in its curved form.
The heel hook provides for great traction when reaching for those "I've got one shot" holds. I thought it would have been nice to extend the heel hook more around on the back side of the shoe, because the way it is now, you have to hit the hold perfectly strait on for the most part in order for you to stick the hold. I have been really climbing in these shoes and i have seen no change is the shape or rubber, which is always a good sign.
The toe part of the shoe is also great for foot crimps, and small cracks because of the shape, but feels awkward the first few tries until you become used to how the show works with your style of climbing. the rubber on the toe part is very thick on the bottom, but is pretty thin up top, and at some places your trying to grip where there is no rubber, and your toes can feel it.
Overall these shoes are wonderful. I recently put my old shoes back on and I don't know how I climbed in them for so long. The shoes work great for indoor climbing, as living in Florida that is about all the climbing we have ;) but i am sure they are great for outdoor climbing as well. I would recommend these shoes to whomever is interested and who wants to improve their climbing.
THANKS FM TECH!!!!
JULY 2007 TESTER: David from OR
The FM Tech shoe is definitely an aggressive climber! From the well defined arch, to the sharply down-turned toe, and ribbed heel. You can tell just by looking that this shoe was meant to on the rock!
I enjoyed how well it helped me to grab those tiny foot nubs I wasn't always able to get in my 5-10s. The heel really helps stick when you try to hook that ledge. These were comfortable on the rock, but could not stand for more than a few seconds when on the ground. I will defiantly be using these as my primary shoe from now on.
My other shoes have never been quite as technical as these, so it was quite hard getting used to the large curve in the sole of this pair. And on hooking it felt as if my heel were going to pop out at any minute, although it did stay firmly in the shoe. Something I should be able to get used to fairly quick.
I have only been able to use these on an indoor wall so far, as we are now well entrenched in the rainy season here in the Great Northwest. I cannot wait for a few dry days and try it at the local crag!
Overall, I would definitely recommend this shoe to the experienced climber. I do believe it is a little much for the beginner though.
MARCH 2007 TESTER: Eric from CA
The FM Tech shoe is an extremely aggressive shoe, perfect for difficult overhanging sport routes or boulder problems. I was very surprised to find that these shoes did not make my toes bleed as I had suspected them to. Instead, they were found to be reasonably comfortable. The shoe has plenty of rubber on the soles, making them one of the more durable shoes I have climbed in. The Velcro straps provided a good, snug fit, as well as quick and easy access to the shoe.
These shoes definitely helped my footwork on the steeply overhung routes. I had more strength pushing off small edges that normally may have eluded me. The added grip on the heels gave a feel much like the mad-rock shoes give, grabbing hold on the nasty heel hooks. The down turned toe gave great pulling strength when toe-hooking.
The shoes are definitely meant for those steep, overhanging climbs. On more vertical to slab climbing, the shoes aggressive nature was unnecessary and left less rubber on the rock for poor smearing. The rubber on the toe was a little thicker, and softer than I like. This soft toe did not give me the strength I desired on the straight and vertical climbs, which I thought they may have worked-well for.
Overall, I felt the shoe is a well-performing, but climb specific shoe. I would only wear these shoes bouldering, or perhaps on some tougher sport routes. I feel like these shoes work well for these climbs, and can definitely enhance your climbing in this area.
April 2007 TESTER: Marc from AZ
The FMTech model X2 shoes at first glance look to be of great quality. The innovative and yet interesting flap that keeps the shoe's arch and creates an extreme down-turned toe is the first eye catcher. These shoes also have other popular features like the hard to find hooker heel, and rubber over the toe for toe hooking.
After climbing on a variety of climbs, indoor and outdoor, the X2 has proven to be a well versatile pair of shoes, performing well in all situations.
The down-turned toe allows you to sink in and grip the 'invisible nubs' that you could not otherwise trust your feet to stand on.
The extra rubber that curved around and over the top of the toe increased the ability to grip arete's with confidence. If a toe hook wasn't available the FM Tech has a huge hooker heel that would allow anyone to gain the extra balance and control from a heel hook.
One downfall in these shoes seems to be extra width in the heel area. After utilizing the heel hook for a difficult move, it often felt like your heel would be slipping out the back of the shoe.
When attempting to smear for those climbs with no definite foot holds the shoes had no trouble adjusting and flexing to accommodate the flat footed stance.
While bouldering outside debris would often get between the shoes and the connecting flap that holds the arch. This didn't seem to hinder the effectiveness of the shoe in anyway but may become uncomfortable if a large rock were to stay lodged in the shoe.
Overall the FM Tech model X2 shoes performed excellently.
FEBRUARY 2007 TESTER: Michael
I have been testing the FM Tech X2 shoes for about 2 weeks and I think they are great. They have a toe that is great for getting in the small cracks. The heel is also good because it is rigid and can stay on holds, although sometimes my heel comes out a bit when I am toeing because of all the pressure. The rubber is very sticky and feels like it will last a long time. These shoes aren’t that comfortable to walk in but on the wall they are very comfortable. The strap across the middle doesn’t help when your using the outside or inside of your foot but they help the shoe not to flatten out, which helps a lot.
For the first week, my feet turned red, and developed small blisters on my heels and toes, but they were not that painful. When you wear them for a while, they will start to flatten out, but if you take them off, they will start to bend back. They are not the best shoes to smear in because you really only have your heel and toes to smear with.
Overall, these shoes are great and I would recommend these shoes to many other climbers.
DECEMBER 2006 TESTER: Pam from AZ
The FM Tech X2 shoes had several positive features but also one major drawback. The two features of this shoe that stood out
in my opinion were the exagerated arch and the edged heel.
The strong arch was perfect for toeing small holds, while the strip of rubber that spanned the length of the shoe seemed
like it would prevent any degredation of that arch. The downfall of this feature is that while it is ideal for face climbing,
any smearing that needed to be done would be difficult to achieve with the permanent arch.
The edged heel is nearly identical to the heel on my current pair of Mad Rock shoes. This is one of my favorite features
about these shoes. The edging makes almost any heel hook seem solid beyond belief. Definately a feature worth keeping around.
The downfall of these shoes in my opinion was the overall width of the shoes. Personally I found that these shoes were far
too wide for my feet, even though the length was perfect. Even when the velcro was as tight as I could make it the shoe still
did not fit snugly. Because of this I probably wouldn't consider this to be a good women's shoe. These shoes would probably
work just fine for men, but because of the width I would expect the majority of women to have a hard time getting a snug fit with these shoes.
OCTOBER 2006 TESTER: Chris from VA
The FM Tech X2's are pretty awesome shoes. The very aggressive down turned toe and soft rubber make them great for that
project you just can't quite finish. The heel fits me very well, where as I have had problems with the Five-Ten brand
in the past with their high heels on the Achilles tendon. The strip of rubber spanning the bottom of the foot with only
2 attachment points makes me a bit worried, but they have not delaminated yet and are holding up fine.
The split tongue
on the shoe is padded and very comfortable, but I have very narrow feet and it was not very tight on top. The rest of the
shoe fit great though so I didn't have to worry about the velcro at all. The rubber is very sticky and I even had to work
a bit to get one good heel hook to release. The rubber in the toe is thick and is right on par with my Five-Ten Stealth
and Montrail Gryptonite HT for granite and indoor climbing, but they do wear a bit faster.
For the first time I climbed in them I got on the steepest rock with the smallest holds I could find and the shoes
made the dime edges feel like jugs, it was a great feeling. Bad for smearing and cracks, but unbeatable for face.
I don't have to worry about my feet at all when I'm climbing in these shoes. They are like the Ronco rotisserie cookers,
just set em' and forget em'. There is no way these puppies are slipping off. A great shoe choice for high performance steep projects.
AUGUST 2006 TESTER: Randy from AZ
On my first look of these new FM Tech X2 shoes, I thought they looked awesome! An aggressive curve, ridged heel, and extra rubber on top of the toe
all great designs that you are looking for in a shoe.
I normally climb in Boreal's Zens, and the FM Tech shoes are much more aggressive than what I am used to. The bow of rubber between the heel and
toe is a very nice addition to keep the shoe in its proper form. This bow is nice and thick and is a single piece with the rest of the shoes sole
so there should be no worrying about it breaking or ungluing. The edged heel is like what you would see on Madrocks and makes for great heel hooking
texture. Also there is added rubber on the big toe, which is one of my favorite attributes of my Zen's. This rubber is also slotted which adds to the
texture and increases its grip. The tongue of the shoe is split and is very comfortable on the foot, but limits how tight you would be able to Velcro
the shoes before having the tongue bunch up on itself. Though this would only be an issue for people with very narrow feet or a shoe that is too big
for them.
On the wall they perform great, I could really feel the power being applied on the smaller foot holds. Every hold I put my foot on seemed really solid,
it allowed me worry less about my feet slipping and focus more on heading for the next move. The bow on the sole helped keep my toes pointed but
managed to never get in the way of smearing or even when I used the arch of my foot to stand on a hold. I did find that there was a bit of a hot
spot on my smallest two toes. It wasn't anything that would stop me from wearing the shoes while climbing, and hopefully with time the shoes
will stretch slightly for my foot shape.
I found these shoes to be very comfortabl; I had brought my old shoes just in case and didn't once think about switching to them.
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