Three years after Tenaya first introduced it, the Indalo has lastly hit the market.
Now that the wait is over, this smooth efficiency shoe has rapidly turn out to be my go-to for tough onsight makes an attempt.
It’s a flexible shoe with mid-range flex and a outstanding capability for technical footwork, together with hooks, scums, jams, and smears. Very similar to its predecessor — the Tenaya Mastia — the Indalo is a high-end generalist formed by fashionable aesthetics and high quality supplies. It’s the best candidate for lengthy and complicated routes with a number of angles and maintain sorts.
Match, Form, and Consolation of the Tenaya Indalo
I’ve been testing the Indalo for a month, and its inventory is rising quickly after a barely skeptical early impression. Straight out of the field, the Indalo seemed and felt very slim. It’s constructed on the identical final because the Mastia, however the toebox felt fairly a bit thinner.
I ordered the Indalo in the identical dimension because the Mastia, however for the primary few periods, I couldn’t get them on with out wrapping my toes in plastic luggage to cut back friction.
Like most climbing sneakers, the Indalo is designed for a selected foot form and received’t work effectively for each climber. Tenaya is thought to cater to slim toes, and the Indalo suits the theme.
From the toebox to the heel, the Indalo has a streamlined profile. It isn’t as slim as Tenaya’s widespread Tarifa, however it isn’t a large climbing shoe. In case your toes are duckish or sq. within the toe, the Indalo most likely isn’t for you.
Although the heel is slender, it’s deep from high to backside and has a comparatively excessive quantity total. My heel left a tiny bubble of adverse area within the thermo-molded heel cup, however this didn’t have an effect on the shoe’s total efficiency. If I had been coping with marginal heel hooks, I’d select a special shoe. Once more, everybody’s foot form is barely totally different.
Tenaya gave the Indalo an uneven curve to maximise energy and pressure via the toe. The shoe has a banana-like curve, but it surely by no means precipitated ache or cramps in my toes.
I discovered the reasonable curve of the Indalo to be efficient for numerous foothold sorts and actions. It improved the precision of the toe and helped latch onto small nubs and spikes on overhanging routes.
I don’t suggest buying the Indalo in your avenue dimension. I put on a dimension 10 avenue shoe and went all the way down to an 8 within the Indalo. The match is purposely tight and aggressive, and Tenaya’s sneakers are likely to run very massive relative to their dimension.
For those who’re in search of a extra beginner-friendly, roomier match, I like to recommend sizing down only one full dimension out of your avenue shoe. However should you’re in search of a efficiency match — which is able to unlock the total potential of the Indalo — dimension down 1.5 or 2 full sizes.
Related however Totally different: Mastia vs. Indalo
The Indalo is the pure development of Tenaya’s ever-popular Mastia. In recent times, the Mastia has been the foot weapon of selection for elite climbers from Chris Sharma to Drew Ruana.
A lot of Indalo’s options, together with the cut up sole building, heel form, and XS-Grip rubber outsole, are an identical to the Mastia. Each sneakers are versatile sufficient for numerous maintain sorts and angles and mushy and supple sufficient to thrive on overhanging terrain.
The Indalo is barely narrower than the Mastia within the toebox and has a bigger patch of rubber for toe hooks and scumming. As a substitute of the Mastia’s single Velcro strap, the Indalo comes with Tenaya’s progressive Draxtor lacing system, which affords a broad vary of match customization.
The adjustable Draxtor strap is an appropriate pleased medium between a full-length lacing system and the Mastia’s single Velcro strap.
Do-It-All Shoe With a Knack for Small Pockets
I’ve been primarily testing the Indalo on the pocket-laden white dolomite close to Lander, Wyo. On the iconic crags of Sinks Canyon and Wild Iris, the crux of many routes revolves round small one- and two-finger pockets. The Indalo’s slim pointed form delivered excellent safety whereas toeing into skinny pockets.
I not too long ago climbed a route that encompasses a penny-sized pocket because the crux left foothold. I attempted many alternative shoe fashions (together with the Mastia), and solely the Indalo provided ample buy on the micro divot. The “V5” transfer felt like V0 within the Indalo.
Because the excessive price ticket suggests (MSRP $210), this can be a high-performance shoe. In comparison with most different $200+ climbing sneakers, the Indalo was an impressively versatile generalist. Its cut up sole provided loads of flex for talon-grabbing footholds on overhangs, however there was simply sufficient rigidity via the midsole for lower-angle terrain and edging.
In contrast to “specialist” shoe fashions just like the La Sportiva Answer Comp (a volume-smearing machine), the Indalo didn’t excel at only one climbing self-discipline. As a substitute, it was an all-rounder that might do every thing competently. The Indalo’s report card is stuffed with A’s and B’s — no F’s, however no A+’s.
Like many parts of the Indalo, the tongue is just like the Mastia’s. It’s made with elastic mesh, with the identical nice snugness of a skinny sock. In contrast to the Mastia, the Indalo’s tongue has a skinny layer of padding, which, mixed with the mushy cotton liner, made for a really comfy shoe — particularly given its aggressive profile.
The Indalo’s microfiber higher makes use of a number of sewn-together items, which helps cut back stretch and keep the shoe’s authentic form in the long run. I’ve skilled minimal stretch in my pair, although they’ve conformed favorably to my foot form after half a dozen periods.
One other minor however noteworthy element is the “Friction Lock” ridge on the within fringe of each heel cups. This small bump of rubber supplied further buy for technical finicky heel hooks.
Conclusions on the Tenaya Indalo
Finally, should you just like the Tenaya Mastia, you’ll benefit from the Indalo. It’s the same shoe, only a narrower, comfier model with a greater lacing system. It’s a refined generalist with minimal shortcomings.
When leaving the bottom on an onsight try, the Indalo provides invaluable confidence: it doesn’t matter what type of holds or climbing fashion I encounter, the Indalo is as much as the duty.
- Consolation: 8/10
- Grabbing: 8/10
- Edging: 8/10
- Smearing: 7/10
- Hooking: 9/10
- Scumming: 8/10
- Longevity: 8/10
- Aesthetics: 9/10
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