The original Hellcats were Five Ten’s first foray into clipless bike shoes, blending the firm's renowned Stealth Rubber sole with a robust upper to create a design that ended up on its fair share of DH World Cup podiums. The new shoes keep the same sole and basic silhouette but are 70g lighter a pair (1,198g, size 43 with cleats), helping to address one of our main gripes.
The fit, feel and quality of construction that made the Hellcats so popular first time around thankfully remain, while new materials used on the upper make them easier to clean and quicker to dry. The toe box now has a wipe-clean synthetic leather covering that fends off splashes, while the sides are thinner and more reluctant to soak up water.
The new Hellcats' cleat positioning wouldn't go quite as far to the rear as we'd have liked
Despite the diet they’re still not the lightest shoes out there – Five Ten’s own Impact VXis, for instance, weigh 250g less. The positioning of the cleat shots, and the amount of adjustment available, is still less than perfect compared with newer designs too – we couldn’t get the cleats quite far back enough for our liking.
