The aftermath of Covid and the pandemic changed much of the world as we know it. And while it might not have made the forefront of the news, it meant that climbing brands couldn't run the Shoe Demo events we all look forward too. But, rather than cancel their "Urban Tour", Red Chili opted to send some of their shoes out to the public to test more thoroughly in exchange for feedback. And I was fortunate enough to receive one of those pairs.
For the sake of my own peace of mind, I want to make clear that this is not in any way a sponsorship or endorsement type of deal. This review was not part of the agreement and I was not asked to write this. This review is simply because I want to and will reflect my honest and genuine reflections of the shoe.
What Red Chili has to say:
The MYSTIX is a high-end climbing shoe with a powerful downturn for steep to extreme overhanging routes in the climbing gym and at the crag. Built on an aggressive and pointed last, the shoe allows very precise footwork on vertical and overhanging terrain. It offers great support on small edges while remaining flexible enough to impress in modern bouldering gyms which often possess many large volumes and slopers.
That all sounds pretty promising, but did they live up to it?
Honestly...Yeah, they did. For the most part (but we'll get to that)
Something I never imagined myself taking the time to consider in a climbing shoe is comfort. The unboxing of a new pair of shoes always comes with that delightful mix of excitement and dread as I prepare myself to squeeze my feet into new and unforgiving rubber. And yet, upon first putting them on, the Mystix were extremely comfortable. Now, I know that newer climbers and downsizing enthusiasts alike will probably stare at that last sentence in disbelief. Quite honestly, they may still be rereading it by the time the rest of you finish the article. BUT, the shoe has a really nice mix of synthetics, leather, and a stretch mesh that made it feel really comfortable inside and the stretch mesh meant that it was really easy to get on and off without sacrificing the snug fit. Something I can confidently say I haven't experienced in any other shoe I've tried. The other thing I noticed during my initial impressions was that the rubber at the forefoot and toe-box was quite stiff, possibly a little stiffer than other similarly ranged shoes from other brands.
So, on to the technical performance. I really enjoyed climbing in the Mystix. It's a good, comfortable shoe with some real strengths (and one or two limitations that I will get on to in a bit). The Mystix have a slightly more pointed toe, and a pretty stiff rubber in the forefoot of the shoe. This combination made for a really strong performance on vertical or overhanging faces and small edges. Now, I am by no means an elite level climber. I'm not going to debate the intricacies of rubber and the relationship between stiffness and performance. But what I will say is that the stiff toe felt secure and powerful on the, usually disco leg inducing foot chips at my local gym, and the extra confidence that came from this definitely helped me push that little bit harder.
The heel offers a close fit, and while I can't say it's the most secure of any shoe I've had, it provided a really good "ground feel" meaning that there was good feedback from the rock so I was able to get a good feel of whether or not I was locked in to my heel hooks. For me, this is where it gets interesting. Being a little less secure than other shoes I've tried, I definitely (initially) felt a little less confident in my heel hooks, which would be all to easy to lump in as a criticism. However, I found that it meant I was forced to pay more attention to my technique and fine tune my heel hooks to get that "locked in" feeling, rather than rely on the shoe. This could definitely be taken as both a strength and a weakness. If you are looking to make moves on your project, then you might put greater importance on a more secure shoe that gives you that confidence. But for a more "everyday workhorse" kind of shoe, I found it valuable to have that opportunity to work with the shoe and focus on my technique.
One aspect of the shoe that I did find a little more limiting was the Mid Flex. The middle of the shoe is a lot more flexible which is supposed to add a degree of versatility so you can send hard on the overhanging routes and still "impress in modern bouldering gyms which often possess many large volumes and slopers". The flexibility in the shoe definitely gives it an advantage over more uniformly stiff shoes, but given that it is still considerably stiff at the toe, I found that they weren't as suited to volumes, slopers, and importantly, the desperate, technical smearing of the granite boulders in Glendalough. The stiffer rubber, coinciding with the pointed toe and downturned construction were definitely a limitation to the performance of the Mystix in this particular setting.
The last thing I wanted to touch on was the fit. I really got on with this shoe and I think the fit was really quite good. But, I think it is important to state that the fit will be different for everyone. Any experienced climbers, or indeed anyone with experience of different types of footwear will know this, but it bears repeating. Shape and size and fit is a very unique, and individual experience. This is a relatively narrow and low volume shoe. I have a narrow heel and find shoes like the La Sportiva Solution to have too much space for my foot, whereas this was perfect. I would say that I found it sized slightly small. I wear a UK8/EU42 in my street shoe and usually a UK7/EU41 in my climbing shoe. These are a UK7 but measure at a EU40.5 so it may be worth considering going up half a size for these.
Summary and final reflections:
Overall, I really liked climbing in the Mystix and it's definitely a shoe you can put a lot of power behind. It really excels on steep walls and precision footwork but it leaves a little to be desired in areas where technical smearing is king. So if you are in the market for your first shoe, and you want something to do a little bit of everything, then this probably isn't the shoe for you. But if you're looking for something to include in your rotation, something to give you confidence for the steep walls, tiny foot chips, and delicate footwork, then I honestly think the Mystix is a good shoe to have in your toolbox.
This was a really interesting experience. I was of course really excited to try out this shoe and give my thoughts on it, but I found that the experience of slowing down in an effort to pay attention to the details of the shoe meant that I even accidentally put more thought into my own technique. I was more than ready to get a hold of a cool new shoe and see my climbing grades go through the roof. But what actually ended up happening was; I slowed down, I paid better attention to the movement, I put thought into how the shoe was suited to each type of hold and move, which meant thinking about my foot placements. I was tricked into focusing in on my technique, and surprise, surprise....I climbed better. Can I attribute that all to the shoe? No, probably not. But it was a comfortable, high performing shoe that did what I needed it to do and created the space for that learning to take place.
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