Quick and Dirty
- Unparallel Up Mocc
- $117.95
- Sold out online, but we have them at the shop!
- 4.2mm RH rubber
- Midsole stiffness: Soft
- VD rubber toe patch
- Unlined US-leather upper
- Approx. weight: 539 g (per pair)
Review
The Unparallel Up Mocc might just be the best bang for your buck of any climbing shoe on the market. Retailing at $117.95, the Up Mocc (henceforth referred to as the Mocc), costs about as much, or even less, than a beginner shoe, while offering much better performance.
The Mocc is built with a full leather upper, which means two things. First, this shoe will stretch more than pretty much every other shoe on the market. I'd expect the Mocc to stretch about a full size to a size and a half over the life of the shoe. Second, this is a supremely comfortable shoe. After about two weeks of climbing in the Mocc, even sized very tightly, I can comfortably wear it for 30+ minutes.
I elected to go with an 8.5 for the Moccs. For reference, I generally wear a street shoe size 10. I wear a Scarpa Instinct VS and Vapor in a 42 for a snug but not insane performance fit. La Sportiva TC Pro in a 41.5 for an all day trad shoe. I initially was worried that the 8.5 would be too tight after getting home and wearing them for more than a few minutes. However, they have already stretched significantly in just over two weeks, and now I’d call them snug but comfortable. I don’t think I could have gone any smaller, but definitely could have gone a half size bigger for a more all-day comfortable, crack climbing shoe.
I would characterize the Mocc’s rubber as soft and sticky. Unparallel uses a soft midsole, and their RH rubber. RH, or Real Honor, despite being Unparallel’s hardest rubber, feels substantially softer and stickier than Vibram XS Edge and the rubber on classic shoes such as the TC Pro and Katana Lace. I would say it most closely compares to XS Grip2 or Stealth C4.
The Mocc is a great jack of all trades soft shoe. With a well tensioned heel, it feels good on smaller edges, provided you aren’t hanging out on them for a long time. Smears feel solid, with the soft midsole molding well to footholds, and the sticky rubber keeping you on. Hand cracks are just a joy, and I know I sound like a broken record, but the soft shoe molds to the crack extremely well. The secret sauce for cracks though is the additional VD (Virtual Demping) toe rubber, which combined with the already sticky RH rubber makes foot jams stick exceptionally well.
Even overhanging climbs, where flat shoes traditionally fall down, the Moccs are solid. While they can’t rival a more downturned shoe, they are so soft that it's quite easy to toe in on holds and pull your hips into the wall. Something I could never do with a stiffer flat shoe, such as the TC Pro.
My largest performance complaint is that they are pretty atrocious at toe and heel hooks. This is due to the lack of any straps, as there isn’t much there to keep the shoe from slipping off my foot. This is an inherent downside to basically every slipper. I’m more than happy to compromise on this point.
The Up Mocc also falls down on real miniscule edges. It has a blunter, more rounded toe, and that combined with the soft midsole gives less power and precision on tiny holds. That being said, I only really notice this on the very smallest of holds, most of the time it’s a non-issue.