Far Out Son of Lung...

Acopa

I recieved my Acopa Chameleons last week just in time for my weekyl trip to Summit with Rock Gal. From the moment I took them out of the box I could tell they were a quality product.

Finish
I slipped them on at home and sat around on the couch for a little while before walking around the apartment a little to get a feel for them and try to start the break-in process. Rock Gal noted the exceptional, hand sanded seams between the rand and the sole as well as the quality of the stitching done on the shoe. To say the least, I was instantly impressed. The shoes are nice, too.

Stick
When I sat down and looked at the shoe, it was coated with cat hair and lint. Aside from the initial sense of "Eeew!" I quickly realized (with a little hint from Rock Gal that this was due to the ultra sticky rubber on the sole. In fact, the rubber is so sticky that our fingers actually stick to the sole and make that nice little *tick* sound when you peel them off slowly. I honestly have not felt rubber that sticky since I was at the track handling a freshly annihilated rear tire at Le Mans.

Fit
Unlike most climbing shoes I have worn recently the Chameleons fit my D-width foot very nicely. My toes are contained within the entire last and do not protrude off the side as they did in my Phoenix shoes from MadRock. My toes are nicely packed into the shoe and do not leave dead air, but are also not crushed into the shoe.


Normally, when a shoe was wide enough to accommodate my foot, it was too long and allowed my toes to sit flat in the front of the shoe. Or worse, if my toes were properly packed into the shoe, the width was such that my pinkie toes sat well off the last and I was standing on the rand. As you might imagine, this was not a fun situation to be in for back stepping and getting on edges.

Performance
This one is still up for some testing but having used them at Summit this past weekend I felt great. I had a renewed confidence in my climbing and was able to concentrate on the task at hand, learning to lead climb. I could stand on what I wanted to but still had reservations about some of the jibs, a bad habit from my old shoes.


This weekend we're headed to Enchanted Rock and my first experience with granite. I'll be following Betty up some trad routes, cleaning gear and learning the fundamentals of crack climbing. I'm really looking forward to the experience and the chance to test my Acopa shoes in another environment.

posted by GreSam @ 09:51