Five Ten Kestrel Lace shoes review

The Kestrel Lace has been around for a little while now, with its lace closure backed up by a broad Velcro strap.

Down below is Five Ten's renowned Stealth Rubber sole, but with a cleat providing the sure-footed shoe/pedal connection.

Five Ten Kestrel Lace specifications and details

The Stealth C4 Rubber sole's dimpled pattern will be familiar to those who've seen Five Ten's flat-pedal shoes. It's not a deep tread, nor particularly aggressive, but the rubber's sticky compound means connection to any pedal pins is excellent, as is traction on dry and damp rocky scrambles.

The cleat bed's overall shape is long, and there's some ramping to help cleat engagement in the pedal. The channel is short at 24mm, though; many other shoes' channels are 10mm longer than this.

The channel is also placed relatively far forward in the shoe compared to others – a sign that the shoe may be due a refresh. It does, however, have markings to help ensure equal cleat placement.

Rather than being flat front to rear, there's a noticeable step to the heel. In practice, this doesn't impact on the shoe's feel, though it may give a little extra foot security if your cleat misses the mechanism and you end up perched on the pedal.

The sole itself is built around a stiff carbon-infused nylon shank, with a smallish up-turn towards the toe to aid walking.

The upper is a wipe-clean synthetic material, with perforations on top of the toes for ventilation.

A scuff panel wraps around the toe box, suggesting plenty of toe protection, however it's not as stiff as on other shoes, suggesting there's less protection on offer than you may otherwise think.

Around the heel is plenty of padding, shaped to aid heel hold. The tongue, though, is relatively thin.

Laces are used to control tension over the foot, with a Velcro strap at the top to secure the laces and add additional foot hold.

Five Ten Kestrel Lace performance

The Kestrel Lace has been around for a while, and it shows a little. Feet are locked in place well, but the overall experience isn't as refined as with other shoes.

The laces offer good adjustment of tension over the top of the feet, but the narrow eyelets create friction when pulling the laces through. This means loosening or tightening the shoes is more frustrating than it needs to be.

The broad Velcro strap over the top of the laces keeps them in place well and helps keep the feet secure in the shoes, however its presence is noticeable through the relatively thin tongue. Getting the strap through its return loop is tighter that perhaps it needs to be too.

The upper is constructed from a thin synthetic material. Ventilation is good, thanks to plenty of perforations over the toes, and a thin-ish tongue.

In our soak test, the Kestrel Lace held little water and dried out fast.

Internally, the sole has moderate levels of arch support, and while the insole appears fairly basic, it’s comfortable and supportive enough.

There's some shaping of the foam around the heel, though the Velcro strap accounts for most of the heel-hold. I experienced a bit of heel lift when walking and really hauling on the pedals.

The sole is probably what Five Ten is best known for, and it's a mixed bag when it comes to the Kestrel Lace. It's really stiff, all the way to the toes.

This helps pedalling performance, but the shoes feel awkward when you do end up pushing.

This is exacerbated by the tall-feeling heel section. The C4 Stealth Rubber feels great with pinned platforms, however, giving a solid connection between shoe and pedal.

I found the cleat needed to be pushed over towards the inside of the shoe, though. The cleat channel is relatively central in the shoe, and I found the inside of the toe box could catch on the crank when trying to release from the pedal.

Five Ten Kestrel Lace bottom line

The stiff sole of the Kestrel Lace pedals well, and the interface with pedals is excellent.

However, comfort could be improved, and the friction from the lace eyelets makes them frustrating to live with.