FLAGSHIP PROS by UNPARALLEL - FULL REVIEW

[@joshuawestlund]

I have watched way too many climbing shoe reviews and I have to say, this is just a wonderful breakdown of how to think about and compare shoes relative to specific climbing needs. Smart, thoughtful and informative.

[@richardsonsclimbing]

Thanks so much! I wasn’t sure if I was going too off the beaten path so thanks for the positive feedback :)

[@alexiskancel6858]

Already bought it thanks to you guys, I just love them !

[@ansonhu5551]

Amazing review and I love that you go in depth about the intricacies of the shoe instead of spouting off information I could find on the product page. Could you compare the performance and fit of these shoes to the skwamas?

[@richardsonsclimbing]

Thanks that great to hear! It’s been a little while since I’ve worn the Skwamas but a couple differences I can point out are 1- the Skwamas are a bit stiffer overall, and 2- the Skwamas have the edge of the shoe a bit more curved inwards whereas the FS have the edge at the very front point of the shoe! I wore size 40 EU Skwama and wear size 8.5 US FS pro

[@smokyham7]

Awesome vid! I'm thinking of picking up either these or the souped up - any thoughts?

[@richardsonsclimbing]

I haven’t worn the souped ups yet so I can’t say! I really love these FS pros though!

[@sigmastodon]

I'm surprised you didn't try (or at least you didn't mention you tried) the Scarpa Drago? If you used to climb in the Instinct VSR and you liked the shape of the shoe and you want something more sensitive, the Dragos are absolutely amazing. Edit: After watching the entire video, I also need to say thank you for your review, great job! The only thing missing in my opinion is your type of feet and what type of shoes suit you. I noticed I can't wear most of the Sportiva (solution, skwama, testarossa) without breaking my toe nails and be painful even when broken in after many sessions. As opposed to Scarpa Drago and Instinct which I feel comfortable even wearing in the shop brand new. I'm assuming this has to do with the shape of my feet.

[@richardsonsclimbing]

Thanks glad to hear you liked it!! Yeah I’ve only worn the dragos for a very short period of time. I remember not vibing with the heel very much which is the reason why I didn’t stick with the shoe. Maybe it just didn’t fit me well… Yes I agree it would’ve been valuable to talk about my foot shape, I’m just not fully educated on different foot shapes/sizes so I felt like I couldn’t really speak to it!

[@TheACR10]

great review!! could you do a comprehensive comparison between these the TN pro and the Qubit?

[@richardsonsclimbing]

Thanks! We’ll cover the TNs next month!

[@emilholck87]

@@richardsonsclimbing Looking forward ! Are the flagships your new mains or is it still the TN pros as you mentioned in a previous vid ?

[@thess0414]

Fantastic shoes but even after 5 sessions they look older and more worn out than my shamans of more than a year and 4 resolings. They got almost in the same state as my non pro flagships of 3 resolings. The strap shows signs it will not survive long (unparallelel wording peeling off) , but the worst part is the same as the non pros : in the front top side there is a lot of unglueing taking place.

[@kyle.s6646]

so do you prefer the regular flagships?

[@thess0414]

@@kyle.s6646 no not at all. The pros have small enough changes to justify the pro tag. What I am complaining about is that the quality or some would say durability seems to have gotten worse instead of improving. Just something people to keep in mind especially when for some the price tag may be quite high vs the competition.

[@richardsonsclimbing]

Ah that’s unfortunate to hear. Yeah I wouldn’t recommend them as a long lasting consistent shoe- definitely more of a comp climber shoe dedicated to performance!

[@D4NKN4]

With your level and amount of climbing, how long do your unparallel shoes last? Also, what was it like with shipping and all that since its super hard to buy/try some in person in Montreal sadly. I really wanna get a pair and debating with the TNs vs the Qubits as Ive went through the VSRs (hated em tbh but they lasted almost a year) and just recently found out my Theory's are dying (the hole has started). Anyhow thanks for the review!

[@richardsonsclimbing]

Will all the training I do so far it’s looking like my TNs will last me about 3 months, and the Flagships probably 1.5-2 months. I know that some demos will happen around the Jackalope fest in MTL and there will be a chance to try UP shoes. Other than that you’d have to buy them online and get them shipped, but hopefully some gyms decide to start stocking some! Hmm if you didn’t like VSRs I wouldn’t recommend the Qubits since I think they’re quite similar. I really like the TNs of course and I personally switched from the VSRs to the TNs and was very happy with that process!

[@thierrylevasse494]

Very good in depth review. More of that please! Unparallel is an odd brand… Very few gyms and stores have them in stock so the only way is to buy them online, which isn’t ideal. I’ve had the Souped Up for a few months now. I love them. They are the softest, stickiest and most sensitive shoes I’ve ever tried by far, but they are falling apart at the seams (both feet!) before tow rubber showing signs of wear. Try to contact UP customer support about it and they never answered. An underdog brand like UP should have a much better customer support game! I want to try and buy more UP shoes but they don’t make it easy! Maybe Zach being a Rose Bloc athlete and UP ambassador you could bring the two together and have a lineup of UP shoes in stock at Rose Bloc?!

[@richardsonsclimbing]

Yes I agree it’s tricky to only have them available online around these parts I have brought it up to the owner of Rose Bloc and he’s definitely interested, just have to coordinate with the UP rep as well (they’re both super busy guys and hard to nail down stuff sometimes haha)

[@mtphamine]

I was in MTL in Nov 2023 and bought my UP Flagship LVs from Bloc Shop Hochelaga after trying on a pair. Not sure if they still carry them, but might be worth a shot.

[@D4NKN4]

​@@mtphamine Im specifically looking for the TN pros, but I checked on the website and asked them... As of now, most of the shoes are in "final stock" i.e., they just want to get rid of the odd sizes (US12s + or US4-). Other than them, its really hard to find UP shoes. Their customer service have a reputation to be "questionable" as well.

[@frogs4free411]

Great review! Do you know where can you get them in montreal?

[@richardsonsclimbing]

Unfortunately they’re nowhere in Montreal yet but I think some gyms plan to restock Unparallel in the next few months

[@zhangsam1867]

@@richardsonsclimbing ohhh exciting!

[@peterchen7349]

So in general, do you love TN pro more than FS pro? (Compared from performance to lifespan to price)

[@richardsonsclimbing]

In general I would say yes!

[@peterchen7349]

Thanks! The weird thing is UP doesn’t provide free shipping but other retailers have less size inventories lol.

[@peterchen7349]

@@richardsonsclimbing one more questiopn, will the shoe become loosen after use? Do you have # of use in mind to fit better? I saw lots of reviews mentioned that TN pro is extremely tight at first.

[@ricachuuuu]

is there a reason for not using socks? does it help more with "feeling" the rocks?

[@richardsonsclimbing]

Yes exactly!

[@JD7046.]

Any chance you'll try the Souped Up? They are even softer I've heard

[@richardsonsclimbing]

Yes I’ll get to those soon-ish! Oh wow even softer than the FS pros that’s crazy!

[@Lucroz94]

@@richardsonsclimbing I have the Souped UP and Qubit and tried every high other performance shoes from the UP line-up (regular and LV models) except the Flagship pro. I don't think you'll fit well the Souped UP if you fit the TN Pro and Flagship because the Souped are wider and more rounded toe box, made for square/greek feet rather than egyptians. Also the heel is unique, it's the only one in every models of climbing shoes that I've tried (more than 70~) that fits me... After like 5min of warming up the Souped UP, you can roll them like a burrito inside your pocket, they have absolutely not structure at all, they're uber soft and that's why I love them for Fontainebleau and bouldering indoor ! The heel isn't much protected so you can feel anything but he don't provide much help, he's here because you have to build a heel for a climbing shoe haha ! Overall, my favorite shoe of all time, I love them 10/10. The rubber wear extremely fast tho, 3 months top after 3x/week of bouldering either outdoor and indoor.

[@richardsonsclimbing]

Oh wow this is a lot of great info thanks! Ok well I think I’ll still give them a shot but I’ll definitely keep the different shape of the shoe in mind 🙏🙏

[@mikafull]

Really good looking shoes, but there are some points what I don´t like. To be honest, did not tired the pros but couple of other UP shoes. Why the Rand roll over the sole on min sizing? Never had this on a La Spo or Scarpa. An 3:09 you can see that you have already holen i the rand. Not sure how the price differenz to the Italien shoes are, but in europe the UP are freaking expensive.

[@richardsonsclimbing]

Yeah I’m not sure about the construction of the shoes, which I why I tried to mostly speak to how they felt for me!

[@Jerry-tm6gf]

how do these compare to the hiangles and hiangle pros? I heard unparalleled was founded by past 5.10 employees

[@richardsonsclimbing]

These shoes I find aren’t that similar to the Hiangle pros, they are much softer imo. The most similar UP shoe to the Hiangle pros are the TN pros for sure. That’s actually why I gave UP a try- because the Hiangle pros were some of my favourite shoe ever.

[@danalmad]

Have you tried the unparallel 'souped up', yet?

[@richardsonsclimbing]

Not yet, hopefully soon!

[@huperser0]

how do these fit compared to the drago lv? is the heel more narrow?

[@richardsonsclimbing]

Ah it’s been too long since I’ve worn Dragos so I don’t really remember! Hopefully someone else can answer! I would say that these shoes fit narrow though

[@MatheusSusi]

Im a little skeptical ab the heel still... Is anyone else can write some good stuff about the heel?

[@richardsonsclimbing]

A new shoe review video came out today as well and I talk a little more about the TN heel vs the FS heel!

[@JeannieMattson]

I personally like the La Sportiva “solution comps,” Although I know that is a very firm shoe so it is a very different style.if you like solutions 👇

[@basilsini4830]

used to be a Scarpa Drago LV person all the way, but the Womens Solution Comps made me rethink my shoe choices, and now this shoe comes up😂😂😂