Rock Shoes: Quechua Ballerine
1st Mar 2006
£34.95 | Slipper | size reviewed 9.5 (foot size 10) | weight 553g | high asymmetry
The Ballerine is a fairly standard looking slipper design with a large piece of elastic at the front and a smaller section just down outside. Entry is easy with reasonable sized and well positioned pull-on loops. This is also facilitated by the fact these shoes are pretty broad for the size. Given that they are unlined they will stretch a fair bit so better suited to broader feet. The part that makes them anything other than a standard design is the asymmetrical fit and the additional rubber that wraps up the side of the front of the shoe. The rand coming up over the toe is also a bit longer than normal. Holes have been punched through this area and along the side of the rand, presumably to increase flexibility and fit. On the rock these shoes performed adequately, but never really inspired as others in the test have. Although they didn’t really excel they were fairly consistent across a range of climbing styles. They didn’t edge well as most slippers tend not to, these having a tendency to roll a little. Although they have a Vibram rubber sole it just didn’t seem as sticky as other shoes on test – a cheaper grade to other Vibram units? One particular grit problem highlighted this when these boots just wouldn’t stick a starting smear in the same way as others.
The redeeming feature of these shoes is their price – considerably less than the rest on test. Basically these would be a good shoe to wear indoors if you find yourself particularly heavy on rubber wear.
This review was carried out as part of a massive comparative review of 25 pairs of Performance Rock Shoes. We think that this could be the biggest review of such shoes ever undertaken. You can read the whole review here.