Mad Rock Haywire
Mad Rock’s latest shoe won a 2018 Outdoor Industry Award for the degree of innovation involved in it’s construction. Mad Rock had previously 3D moulded heel cups, soles, and toe caps on other shoes in their line. This time, their mad scientists 3D moulded the entire toe box to give us the Haywires. The Haywire is the first pair of climbing shoes where the toe box (most of the sole, the rand, and the toe patch in this case) is constructed from a single piece of rubber. The Haywire is a vegan friendly shoe made from synthetic leather with a FloKnit(woven fabric) upper* .
*Several shoe companies have also been producing or are in the process of producing climbing shoes using woven fabric uppers. (La Sportiva, Five Ten, Black Diamond have similar technology on their shoes)
These shoes do not have a mid-sole! What you get with the Haywire is a ridiculously sensitive “no-edge” shoe. Think of a pair of hiking socks that have been dipped into climbing grade rubber. The haywires are by far the softest shoe we have ever used. The sensitivity will be very obvious the instant you start climbing. The feedback you get from each foot placement is actually uncomfortably overwhelming at first, but it did not take long (10-15 minutes of warm-up bouldering for both testers) to get accustomed to the increased awareness. You can feel a lot more from each hold, so even a sloppy foot placement might feel “good enough” for an intended sequence; allowing you to make the move instead of wanting to readjust for a better feel.
Fit/Sizing
For this review we had a size 8 USM/41 EU—the following information will be updated when we get a chance to size up/down as needed.
The Haywire is a down turned shoe that is intended to be sized to fit aggressively for performance. The toe box is relatively wide and is only moderately asymmetrical. Mad Rock has opted to use thin rubber to form the heel (instead of the heel cups found on some of their models) to maintain sensitivity throughout the entire shoe. The heel feels quite deep and people with low volume heels may find them a bit baggy—sizing down may improve this and we intend to follow up on this as soon as possible.
The following are generalizations but should give you a good starting point for sizing:
If you normally climb in the Italian shoes (Scarpa, La Sportiva), take your EU size and add 1 - 1.5 as a starting point for sizing Haywires.
If you climb in the American shoes (Mad Rock, Evolv, Five Ten), take a full US size off as a starting for sizing Haywires.
Durability
At this point anything regarding durability would just be a guess. The rubber on the Haywires feel thin, sensitive, soft and sticky. This design might very well mean that we should expect the Haywire to be less durable than shoes with thicker and stiffer rubber. However, because there isn’t a seam between the sole and the rand, you could theoretically wear these shoes down until you are just about to get to the woven fabric material. We will update this as we continue to climb in the Haywires.
Resoles
With the equipment needed to manufacture these shoes, I am not certain resolers will be able to restore them back to a near new condition. Once we wear through this pair, maybe we will put a challenge out there for cobblers to try and restore these shoes. Update: Mad Rock will have the 3D moulded toe box available to resolers. They also plan on making more shoes using the same toe box so we will likely see some resolers with the ability to resole these to new condition.
Break in/Stretch
The softness of the shoe and the FloKnit upper made the Haywires feel comfortable right from the start. Both testers felt that the rubber noticeably softened up during the first session. Neither testers felt that a “break in” period was really required and it would be more of a matter of the shoe moulding to the shape of your feet.
As for stretching out, similar to the question of durability, this is a guess at this point. The woven fabric upper may be the most likely part of the shoe what will stretch out. We will update this information as we continue to wear the shoes.
Initial Impressions
Extremely soft and sensitive - You will feel almost everything through the soles. This is amazing for small foot holds but your feet may get tired quicker than they would using stiffer shoes.
Comfortable - The Haywires are aggressively downturned but are are surprisingly comfortable. It will be interesting to see how well the 3D moulded toe box will maintain its shape over time.
Scumming - The entire toe box is made of sticky rubber and awkward moves that involved using the side of the shoes felt quite secure in the Haywires.
Smedging - The softness of the shoe combined with not having a defined edge means you will need to “smedge” micro edges to maximise the amount of rubber in contact with a foothold.
Based on our climbing experience and the design, we felt that the Mad Rock Haywires would be most ideal for:
Climbing gyms - the fabric upper allows the shoes to breath well. The softness of the shoe would make it an ideal training shoe to help strengthen your feet.
Overhanging climbs - the downturn and softness will help you keep your feet on the wall and pull in with your feet.
Sloping boulders and featureless climbing routes where you want to maximize feel, friction, and the amount of rubber in contact with the rock/plastic.
The Haywires are now available in Canada directly from Mad Rock Canada for $165.
This initial review is based on a few sessions in the gym and outside. Additional photos will be added and the review will be updated as needed.