Should Red Chili’s New Clue Be Your Next Gym Slipper?

In Climbing‘s yearly review of the best new shoes, tester Justen Sjong—a climbing coach and impressive all-around climber who has established 5.14 big walls on El Capitan—noted the shoe’s great grabbing ability—an 8 out of 10—thanks to its ample flex (you can manually sandwich the Clue both upward and downward) and sticky, and half-length sole. “This is a great shoe for the intermediate to advanced climber who climbs in the gym 80 percent of the time and 20 percent outside on 10-degree or steeper rock,” said Sjong. The semi-stiff midsole also offered some edging/jibbing bite, enabling us to climb indoors up to V7 and 5.12+ on semi-small to small jibs.