Madrock Hooker Lace-ups
by Derek Hanrahan

I want to climb harder. Who doesn't, right? But there is one major problem: my Olive Oyl-like physique has proven to be a big [negative] factor in my quest for difficulty. This is especially true in bouldering. Let's face it; at some point if you don't have forearms like Popeye's you're going down. Fortunately for those of us who are long on vision but short on strength there occasionally comes a product that helps to level the playing field. What is this mythical implement you ask? A new climbing shoe from a company named Madrock - the Hooker lace-ups.

When I first received them in the mail I was very excited. Even though I knew virtually nothing about them I was happy to be getting free gear. Come on now, you would be too. I opened the box to find a zippered sack made out of netting containing my new toys. I've liked this idea since some harnesses makers used them a few years ago. It's a nice touch. So I unzipped the sack and made a surprising observation: the bottoms of the shoes were actually stuck together! "Surely this must be some kind of gimmick" I said to myself. However, upon closer inspection I was unable to find any glue on the soles - hmmm. I wrote it off as some sort of high-tech marketing ploy and looked them over. By all appearances these shoes belong on martians or, pardon the pun, hookers. Even for climbing shoes, which are notoriously strange, these stood out as something different. Lime green leather covered almost entirely with black rubber, and these bizarre 'ribs' all over the top and back of them. "What the hell are those for?" I asked. I thought that I might have seen similar features before, but for personal reasons I'd rather not indicate exactly where this may (or may not) have occurred. The phrase "for her pleasure" comes to mind, but that's neither here nor there. The bottoms of the shoes are even stranger. There are two different stiffnesses of rubber. The harder rubber is actually thicker than the softer rubber in the middle of the shoe, creating a pronounced ridge that runs around the bottom of the shoe, about ½" from the outer edge. In case that doesn't make it obvious enough for you the words hard and soft are actually printed on each section, lest you get confused. Alrighty, let's test these babies out. I will break down the shoes for you using a detailed, no-nonsense methodology and analysis that has been utilized by all the major climbing magazines. If it doesn't look familiar to you don't worry; the only shoe review I could find was from 1992. Anyway, here it is:

FIT - The first thing that crossed my mind (and lips) when I put the shoes on was "Damn - these are TIGHT!" High performance shoes work by virtue of being like a second skin on your feet. This means they need to be snug. You wouldn't want your second skin to be sagging, would you? But I was pleasantly surprised to see that I wouldn't need to crank the laces until the sides of the shoes met one another right on the top of my feet, causing considerable discomfort during long sessions on the boulders. This has often been a problem for me, as I have really narrow feet. I wondered if people with wider feet would suffer, but then I forgot about them completely. The Hookers feature a reverse camber that places your toes into a pronounced downward position very similar to the way they would be in V10s, Voodoos, or Stingers. As boulderers you are probably used to this. These were not intended to be worn all day while lounging around the base of the boulders or strutting around the gym like a peacock while spraying about your latest "heinous V3 crimpfest eliminate dude." Slip them on and get down to business. I found the heel to be adequate in terms of shape and volume, but I have fairly small heels. Those with "ping pong paddle" feet may fear this to be a problem, but the almost complete encapsulation of the shoes in rubber allows them to stretch adequately while still maintaining their general shape and performance. After 2 months mine are still very much the same in terms of size and fit, although they have adjusted a little in typical high stress areas like the instep and the top of the toe box. More importantly, the shoes don't have any 'dead spots' where there is nothing but air filling them. The Hookers aren't nearly as asymmetrical in the toe box as other brands' top performance models. This means they may be more comfortable on people whose big toe isn't substantially longer than the others. The pull-tabs are beefy, and haven't shown the slightest wear from my yarding on them to cram my feet into the shoes. One last thing: your feet will turn a fungus-like shade of green for the first few weeks. As a climber you should already be used to the atrocities your feet suffer in this pursuit, so do not be alarmed. This too shall pass.

PERFORMANCE - These shoes are meant for climbing steep routes and boulder problems. If slabs or cracks are your preference, send me an e-mail and I'll send you a copy of my 1992 magazine's shoe review. The emphasis of your balance being on your forefoot along with the shoes' toe shape allows your feet to stay on absurdly small features and niches. Front pointing, edging, and hooking are the shoes' mainstays. The raised outer portion of the sole makes for great control on nasty little edges, and you can effectively point your toe into virtually any rugosity that the stone offers and take flight (upward, not downward) without a care in the world. However, the additional thickness on the outer edge means a loss in sensitivity. I found myself having to pay much more attention and watching my feet all the way onto the holds, as opposed to just 'feeling out' the best parts of them while scanning up the rock for a rest jug. When it came to stabbing the shoes into pockets it was a wash. While the angle of my toes in the shoes seemed to put them in a great posture to work into the smallest divots the non-asymmetrical toe box prevented me from really grinding them in as deeply as I would have liked on bi-doigts and smaller holes. And what about those rubber ribs that virtually cover the top and heel of the shoe? They are amazing. By virtue of their being molded directly into the rands and top of the shoes there is no risk of them ripping off or peeling away. I have spent the past month or so trying to get them to fail while I was scumming my toes around an arête or inverting myself with a far-flung heel hook - no dice. These things stay put. After an initial period of cynically thinking they'd never stay put and send me flying to the mat like Superman in reverse, I was able to believe. Now I can pull toward my body harder with my heel or toe without feeling the slightest slip or slide. And the rubber is tough. It is wearing down evenly, not tearing away when I wrap it around some feature on a problem. As for the stickiness of the rubber, I cannot make out any difference between these and the best rubber from the top brands. And the construction of the shoes is on par, if not better than that of the major brands. In fact I can't find a single spot where the sole has started to delaminate or separate from the last, or the leather has begun to show any signs of stress.

SUMMARY - Overall these shoes are one of the best I have yet worn for pure difficulty climbing. While I prefer a more comfortable shoe for all-day wear (you know; lounging, strutting, and spraying) these have the fit and performance of the top brands, minus the hefty price tag. In fact these shoes only cost $90. No, that's not a misprint. 1,800 nickels is short money for ANY climbing shoe, never mind a top performance model. And the Madrock Hooker lace-ups would be a great value even at a higher price.

Now that I've convinced you to run out and get some, the questions are "how" and "where"? Madrock is selling their shoes primarily via the Internet, at www.madrockshoes.com. There are some retail shops selling them, and this number is supposed to increase over time. Right now Craggers (phone # 888-899-7625) in North Conway is the only New England location. Give them a call with any questions, and they can help fit you for a pair. As for resoling the shoes, I have not heard anything with regard to who is able to do this. But at such a low purchase price it becomes somewhat irrelevant anyway.

Now that I have these shoes I will hike all of my projects this season, win all the big comps, mock all those Popeyes at the boulders with their inflated arms, and my dear sweet Olive Oyl will finally realize that I exist. All without any training, strength building, self-deprivation, or eating spinach. Well not really, but it's okay to dream right? Oh, I almost forgot: there is one caveat to owning a pair of these shoes. Everyone at the gym or the boulders will be asking you questions about them, wondering where to get them, or just walking away with them to show their friends. Don't say I didn't warn you…

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