Five Ten Freerider Women's Shoe

Review by Monica McCosh / Photos by Ryan Grani

We hate glossy reviews – they seem untruthful. While the following may come across as glossy, we think you’ll appreciate the facts. We’ve been wearing the Freerider, Five Ten's new women's specific shoe, for over a year now. From dusty Sedona trails to mucky, wet Pacific Northwest days, concrete floors to longboards to pubs and meetings. The new women’s Freerider shoe proves to be as durable as it is stylish. The ultimate “trail-to-ale” shoe was put to the test.

Five Ten Freerider Women's Shoe Highlights

• Non-marking Stealth® Phantom™ rubber outsole
• Split grain leather and mesh upper
• Lace closure system
• Classic Dotty™ tread
• MSRP: $100

Initial Impressions

As an eternal tomboy, our tester felt the subtly-feminine Freerider walks that fine line between appealing to the women’s market yet not being overly flowery. The berry-colored Stealth Phantom rubber soles uphold Five Ten’s reputation for making high-traction footwear. Slipping a foot in, the extra-padded opening added comfortable heel and ankle protection while still maintaining the après park aesthetic, unlike the burlier Karver model. The “cool” factor was corroborated several times over by trail-side comments from fellow women riders who also liked the look.

On The Trail

One of the things we’ve always enjoyed about Five Ten shoes is how the Stealth Rubber soles are impressively grippy, adding to our perceived pedal power and ability to stay planted when descending over Squamish’s rainforest roots.

The only thing that we initially missed with the Freeriders was the safe feeling of the ankle protection from Five Ten's burly Karver shoe. It is a trade-off, however, between having the most versatile all-mountain shoe like the Freerider or having a dedicated freeride/downhill shoe like the Karver. The weight savings and versatility (read: stylish look) outweighs the benefit of high-top ankle pads, in our opinion.

Some people cite flexibility in the sole as something they may not like about this “street-style" shoe. We found the soles were rigid enough to endure over 600-hours of trail use without any cramping foot arches.

Touted as the “all-purpose all-mountain shoe”, we’ve put over 800-hours of everyday use on these shoes, from concrete tradeshow floors to hiking in the woods and up granite slabs to skateboarding (okay, longboarding) around town as well as other various situations where running shoes didn’t quite cut it for durability and urban fashion. There are no loose stitches, canvas peeling away from rubber soles, toes wearing thin, or anything! We’ve even put these shoes in the washer and dryer countless times to keep them fresh, clean and ready to wear and they still show no signs of damage or heavy use. The only thing we've noticed is that the black dye faded very early on in testing, to the point where it looked almost navy-blue. Perhaps we have received a non-production sample, or maybe the laundry detergent adversely affected the dye.

Things That Could Be Improved

While there are no glaring improvements needed, we could only muster a few superfluous suggestions to quell any naysayers: ankle protection and laundry detergent-resistant dyes. So the shoe’s color faded after a few washes, so what? And our ankles have no gnarly bites or bruises as a result from any suggested lack of padding/shoe protection. With the Freeriders, it has been hard to play devil’s advocate.

Long Term Durability

We had heard some women comments on previous experiences with soles detaching from the canvas uppers on previous year models. We put these shoes through many various tests and about a year later, they’re still holding up – no soles tearing away from the seams.

The durability of these shoes is outstanding. With over 600 trail-hours, 800 all-purpose hours and two-dozen spins in the washing machine, the Freerider is worth every penny.

What’s The Bottom Line?

Burly function without burly fashion, the Freerider “all-purpose all-mountain” shoes have to be the best dollar spent, especially considering the miles you will put on them. Given their subtle, yet appealing style, wide range of functionality, great performance and excellent durability, Five Ten gets high marks with the Freerider from us.

Visit fiveten.com for more details.

About The Reviewer

Monica McCosh has been riding bikes in British Columbia for over five years through the dusty desert interior, the gnarly roots of the North Shore and the flow and jump lines of Whistler Bike Park. Not quite a competitive racer, but most definitely a freeride enthusiast, Monica attends various bike events and organizes her own guided women’s excursions throughout BC. A marketing professional in the mountain bike industry having worked at Ryders Eyewear, Easton Cycling and now KORE Components, Monica lives, works, and breathes mountain biking.