Goblin

The entire sole is not made of Vibram rubber. The front half of the sole is made of Vibram rubber and is amazing. The rear half of the sole (the heel portion) is NOT made of Vibram rubber and is terrible. Any time I need to crank down on my heel I know that my heel is going to slip and always does. I wish that Mammut had put Vibram on the entire sole and not just the front. The fit is good--a larger toe box than my Katanas and a nice, comfortable lining. They haven't stretched at all in over a month of climbing about 4 times a week. Though they have almost no wear-and-tear on them at this point, I have been out looking for another shoe with a better heel and am eyeing the Miura VS's. I would not recommend these to a friend and I would definitely not buy them again.

Sorry Mammut, you broke my heart.

I bought these a while ago when looking at an upgrade from La Sportiva Miuras. Initially I was looking at Miura VS's but these had pretty similar specs and were 30€ cheaper. My Goblins had Vibram XSV rubber, so Mammut has clearly done a wise upgrade. I compared the grip to my resoled Miuras (now equipped with Stealth Onyxx) and honestly I can't tell any difference. The Goblins are way more sensitive than Miuras, so wearing the Miuras after the Goblins feels like having combat boots on. Besides that, the inner lining is much more comfortable on the Goblins. I can't comapre these to Miura VS's but I found the upgrade I was looking for and haven't had any second thoughts. Highly recommended!

Update: I used this shoe intensively for 6 months, after which two things happened: the heel rubber came off from sideways heel hooking, and the shoes became really smelly (could be a common thing with lined shoes in general, since none of my (unlined) La Sportivas smell at all). They were great gym shoes, not so hot outdoors. I'll downgrade my rating due to the short lifetime of the heel hook. I'll probably still use them if I compete somewhere indoors, where heel hooking is not required. Toe hooks never worked them in the first place. Since semi-retiring these I went for La Sportiva Solutions and they've performed flawlessly!

I have used most rental shoes in my size (10) at our local gym, including the Mad Rock Phoenixes(?). I really enjoy climbing in these. first time wearing them, they seemed VERY uncomfortable... until i left the ground. They gave me amazing experiences and some pretty... crazy experiemnts. (ever stack quarters and balance on them?)

I've been using them for about 6 months now, and there is *almost* no wear and tear. another friend has the excact same shoes, same size even. his have absolutley no wear on the heel, you know where the vans wear out so fast, and i do some. at the beginning my heel even adhered to the back of the shoe at times, but it's all good now. After getting used to 'em, they are even comfortable to hang out in.

So, i do want to try the Karma and that over sandal looking thing from mammut.

These shoes rock my world like a public stoning. Although a bit uncomfortable in the initial "break-in" phase (yes I realize they're synthetic) they conformed to fit my feet like a fat man's recliner.
My only minor gripe would be with the Vibram rubber. After climbing in 5.10 Galileos with Stealth Onyx, which holds like Jesus on the cross, the Vibram fell a little short. Nothing an eventual resole can't improve.
Highly recommended!

Last week I had the chance to test Mammut’s new 2006 series. The Goblin would be the Velcro variant of the 'Challenge line', made for bouldering and hard edging. The Challenge line is completed with the laced Shogun and a slipper called Karma.I normally squeeze my poor feet into some totally undersized Miuras. The Goblins come close in terms of purpose as well as fit, so I'll stick to that comparison.First thing to recognize would be the high flexibility of the Goblin. It almost feels 'flabby', which is also due to a quite thin bottom layer of Vibram. Second was - good grieve - those are soooo comfortable. The toe box, though designed to curl the toes for maximum edging, is a little wider than the one of the Miuras. Which was a gift to my tortured toes!Now, let’s get to the wall: Compared to the Miuras, this shoes gives you hell of control. The thin sole and the overall flexibility lets your feet literally ‘read’ the structure (Braille that is!). Our gym provides structured walls with small ledges, pointy little knobs and slopers. What can I say, I loved those shoes! I was scared that the flexibility makes it for missing support, but the pre-tension keeps the feet in a stable, slightly curved position. So this fear was baseless.The only unknown in the game would be durability. An afternoon in the gym is not enough to say anything about how long they’d stand regular abuse and the thin sole doesn’t seem to be an advantage here. That’s why I gave them a 4.Climbingwise I consider them a true alternative to my beloved Miuras – as long as you are willing to trade a little bit of support and probably a lot of durability for more comfort and control.