FLAGSHIP PRO

1 review for FLAGSHIP PRO

1. Rated 5 out of 5

   Sean Hu (verified owner) – June 15, 2024

   Great shoe!

   TLDR: This is a slightly modified Flagship most suited either for climbers who go through a good number of pairs for competitions and want quick access to a pair at the “right broken-in Flagship sensitivity” or those who prefer the harder toe (hook) rubber.

   I’ve used this pair over the last 1-2 months after coming from the Flagships. As context, I’m primarily an indoor boulderer, but have tested the shoes in both bouldering and rope competition environments. I’ve tested most competition-aligned shoes from the brands available in the U.S. (e.g. Scarpa Drago, LS Theory, etc.) and generally prefer a soft shoe with a bit of support for small jibs. Overall, this shoe performs extremely similarly to the Flagships and so I will focus this review on the main differences or points that I feel make these shoes unique.

   Sizing/Fit (To me, this is the most important aspect of climbing shoes): I tested these in a size US 7M, which was slightly larger than my Flagships in US 6.5. My street shoe is 8 and my true size is ~7.5. The fit is very similar to the non-LV Flagships, with a narrow but deep heel, and a narrow forefoot. For those with narrow heels, these and my Mad Rock Drone CS are the best fit (with Evolv and Ocun sharing “second place” for fit). For those with shallower heels, but lower volume feet, the Flagship LVs may be a better choice than these, especially if you found that the case when trying the non-LV Flagships. The narrow forefoot may be an issue for some with wider feet, although the shoe’s softness does allow for some molding to wider feet through the break-in process similar to other UP shoes. The break-in is relatively short compared to stiffer shoes – ranging anywhere from 1/2 – 5 sessions or so depending on how much you downsized and your familiarity with small climbing shoes. This shorter break-in process, especially with regards to sensitivity (I find that the Flagships at 4.2mm start out a little bit too insensitive) was important for me as I received the shoes for testing only 2-3 weeks before a major competition. One minor thing to note is that UP has updated the pull tab placement on these shoes like on the Souped UP and what most brands do (instead of having one lateral tab and one in the middle). IMO, this makes it easier to put the shoes on in the correct way.

   Performance – Toe: Feels exactly like the Flagships. These shoes have the same quality as the flagships where they’ll feel slightly stiffer before break-in (although somewhat less so due to the thinner 3.5 mm rubber). I prefer the harder toe patch for toe hooking as it gives some more protection when doing dynamic catches. For reference, they are noticeably harder and more protective than the normal Flagships, but less harder/protective than the Mad Rock Drone CS toe rubber. Ultimately, your opinion on this will depend on your preference for sensitivity vs protection here, but personally, I prefer this rubber for general use compared to the normal Flagships. The toe patch is also a different shape and seems to cover more of the top of the foot, but this is a very minor difference. There may be a slight increase in asymmetry and downturn compared to my Flagships, but it’s relatively minor and I wouldn’t be surprised if the actual difference is only due to differences in pair-to-pair variability in construction/break-in.

   Performance in the Heel, Smearing, Edging are all essentially identical to the Flagships. If you have tried them or read others’ reviews on the flagships, you’ll know what to expect.

   Thanks to Sang for his help with trying UP shoes and feel free to post comments if you have any questions or want comparisons to other shoes. I’ll try to respond if I have tried them before.