Five Ten Kestrel Clipless Shoes: Customer Review

Overview

The shoes look great and fit well (while pedaling). Power transfer to the pedals is very good and the sole does not have much flex at all. They work great with the enduro style clipless pedals that I have tried them with.

On the Trail

These shoes are not made for hiking. I recently did an enduro with transfers so steep that "hike a bike" was the only way to make it up. After the first transfer the back of my foot was blistered and in intense pain (from the heel of the shoe being very stiff and not well padded.) It was very painful, but I had no option other than to continue hiking up the transfers if I were to finish the race. If you plan to hike a bike at any point, do NOT wear these shoes. However, if you only plan to pedal; these shoes are hard to beat.

Final Thoughts

I use these shoes, with crank brother mallet enduro pedals, for enduro races that contain a lot of pedaling. If there is not much pedaling, and more descending; I use flat pedals. My other shoes are 5.10 Impact VXi. The trails I typically ride in Bentonville Arkansas are generally groomed with manufactured rock gardens, berms, jumps, and drops. I am also an XC racer but use Shimano shoes, with crank brother pedals, for XC racing.