Review: Five Ten Hellcat Pro Clipless Shoes

The Hellcat is a model name you may also be familiar with. The Hellcat has been around since the mid-2010s and has seen several stages of refinement. This latest version is yet another sleeker and more minimalist version of the previous version reviewed in 2018. In the Hellcat range, the Pro denotes a slightly lighter and more streamlined model compared to the standard Hellcat.

It seems mountain bike shoes are in a constant state of flux - each new generation seems to get rid of a few millimeters of sweat-hugging, water-holding unnecessary foam to give something lighter, better fitting, and ultimately smaller in profile. The Hellcat Pro is definitely in this vein. In some ways, they're a hybrid between the Kestral model and the Hellcat of old. Five Ten say it's around 14% lighter than the previous model.

However, there is a lot that is still the same, too. You will immediately recognize the outer sole to be Five Tens' famous Stealth Rubber in its polka-dot pattern, although this is the slightly harder compound that they refer to as their Marathon rubber. This might not be the most vital feature on a shoe designed to be ridden with clips, and one may well wonder if it would not be better suited to have some kind of ramping or edges for better traction off the bike, but then again, it's Five Ten's recipe for success and I can't imagine them changing away from it anytime soon on their all-out gravity products.

Adidas says that "20% of pieces used to make the upper are made with minimum 50% recycled content". Before you ask, that isn't a direct quote from Brian Fantana but it may as well be.

The shoes are available in US men's sizes 4 – 15, and have a retail price of $180 USD.


Comfort & Fit

As a shoe that is aimed at the downhill market, it's great that it's also made with general riding in mind. This is a shoe that is probably better described as suitable for mountain biking, rather than any one particular discipline. Gone are the goofy looks or needless bulk - this is a shoe for pedaling or descending.

The fit of the shoes is around the middle of the spectrum when it comes to width. The laces definitely hold your foot adequately, and the strap across the top of the shoe really wasn't needed. In fact, to use it as a security aid would actually be less comfortable and it clamped down on my foot arch almost too effectively at what it was intended to do. Instead, I found it a neat and tidy place to store laces. It's also worth saying that for a company that primarily makes shoes, it's interesting to see most of their laces snap far earlier than any other brand of shoes I've ever had in a nearly inexplicable manner. Luckily, the Hellcat's laces haven't yet suffered that fate.

Overall I would describe the fit as supported, very secure, and comfortable. There is enough stiffness for pedaling, but also enough flex so there isn't even a hint of heel lift, whether on the bike or off it.

There is plenty of protection on from the TPU toe-box that extends around the front and side of the foot, reaching well beyond your little toe. The heel box is similarly generous in terms of coverage. The side of the shoe has mesh panels to aid cooling, and I would say that these shoes run cooler on hot days than some other gravity-orientated models.



Performance

The Hellcat strikes a nice blend between stiffness and comfort. Yes, you can still hike in them with plenty of flex in the foot, but under power transfer on a platform-clipless pedal, there is still more than enough stiffness. The weight of the shoe is good too.

I'm still surprised to be putting my cleats are far back as possible into my gravity shoes. It feels like I've been doing this for at least ten years and I think that a lot of other riders do too. The only shoe I've ever had that I maximum-rearward was too much was the Bontrager Rally. Even so, it was nice to have the option of a more rearward position, even if I chose not to utilise it.

Some may want slightly more coverage over the inner ankle but personally, I liked the freedom afforded by a lower cut.

Issues

The shoes were going very well until the front edge of the outer sole began to detach on one of the shoes during an up-hill scramble. After some glue they've been holding firm for a while, but it was a little concerning. I think a lot of people can just about come to terms with spending nearly two hundred dollars on a shoe to get muddy and clamber over rocks, but for that price you'd hope for better build quality - even if it was an easy fix. Would it stop me from recommending them? Absolutely not - but I would also recommend some Shoe Goo in the same breath.

If this did happen, the shoes would be covered under their normal 12-month warranty.

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Pinkbike's Take

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Reviews and Tech Reviews Shoes Five Ten