Review Etnies Culvert Mid MTB Shoe

[R120]

Product Image:

Product name: Etnies Culvert Mid MTB Shoe
Price paid: £99.00
Score (out of 10): TBC

Review: I have a bit of a shoe fetish, currently have at least 5 pairs of MTB flat shoes, but Etnies have just dropped there first "proper" mtb shoe that is aimed at Enduro and DH riders.

CULVERT MID MTB

The Culvert Mid is a new enduro/downhill shoe from etnies. It has sticky Michelin compound that provides excellent pedal and surface grip. It has a force shield reinforced upper with a hot-melted toe and heel cap. This shoe is repel treated that blocks moisture with 3M thinsulate lining. Tongue...

www.etnies.com

DESCRIPTION
The Culvert Mid is a new enduro/downhill shoe from etnies. It has sticky Michelin compound that provides excellent pedal and surface grip. It has a force shield reinforced upper with a hot-melted toe and heel cap. This shoe is repel treated that blocks moisture with 3M thinsulate lining. Tongue gussets shield moisture, dirt, and pebbles. Includes a lace pocket on top of the tongue with TPU molded Pedal Shank 2 in the midsole. Also has Nylon pull loop on heel.

PRODUCT DETAILS
Item Code: 4101000541/895
Color: black/lime
Features:

• Sticky Michelin rubber compound provides excellent pedal and surface grip
• Adjustable Power Strap for support
• Force Shield reinforced upper
• Hot-melted toe and heel cap
• Repel treated upper blocks moisture
• 3M Thinsulate™ lining
• Tongue Gussets shields moisture, dirt and pebbles
• Ankle Shield protects your inner ankle from the gears and bike frame
• The Lace Pocket on top of the tongue
• TPU molded Pedal Shank 2 in the midsole
• Pro Foam 1 molded PU footbed
• Die Cut EVA foam midsole
• Nylon pull loop on heel
• Action Nubuck/Synthetic

Now Etnies have made plenty of BMX/MTB shoes in the past, but most of these are aimed at the dirt jump side of riding. The new Culverts and Culvert Mids are their first attempt at a more technical shoe, and I am keen to give them a try - they are so new to the market that I haven't seen any reviews as yet, so bit of a punt but I like their skate shoes so thought why not.

My current go to shoes are Freerider Pros and the fairly obscure Unparalleled Dustups.

Dust Up - Unparallel Sports

At high levels, downhill mountain biking is one long, controlled crash. Have no fear — the Dust UP has you covered. The Dust UP is a low-cut, flat pedal shoe designed for all-terrain use. It’s constructed with a dual compound outsole, using the higher durometer RH rubber compound for the outer...

www.unparallelsports.com

Both of these shoes offer similar levels of grip, the Dustups have a far more flexible sole though than the Freerider Pros. My ideal shoe would be somewhere between the two stiffness wise. The Dustups have a more technical design than the Frerrider Pro, and are better in wet conditions, but they have a very thin tongue meaning they can pinch the top of the foot when cinched up tight. I am a big fan of having a strap, which is one of the reasons I got the Dustups, as it means you don't need to overly tighten the laces.

Back to the Etnies - they seem to have thrown everything at them, and there are some neat features - the Mids are not a true mid top, but higher on the inside than the outside of the ankle. I really like the lace pocket at the top of the tongue, allowing laces to be got out the way, and the strap has far more adjustment than that on the Dustups, meaning it has a good range of adjustment. Proper toe and heel protection, good insole, and the soles are from Michelin - I dont expect them to be as sticky as Fivetens, but we will see over the next few weeks. They have a proper tongue gusset, and some sort of Thisulate treatment to ward off water/cold etc. They have pretty fat padding in the tongue and heel, similar to their skate shoes. I would say fit is similar to the Freerider Pros - I am a UK9 and they run true to size. The heel pull tab actually works too, unlike a lot of shoes its big enough to get a good hold of, rather than a token gesture. They definitely feel a proper riding shoe, rather than a beefed up trainer

Will be putting these to the test over the Summer and will keep reporting back on how they fair. Initial impression is nice and comfy, and they look pretty badass too IMO which always helps!

 

[Gary]

Cheers for doing this. I almost bought a pair recently too but held off so lookin forward to your opinion on the grip and flexibility.
Actual sole flexibility similar to a skate shoe but with slightly more upper support and not too grippy is my preference. I also wear all my shoes (apart from clips) pre laced loose enough to slip on and off without ever touching the laces.

 

[R120]

That’s why I like having a strap, so I can keep the laces fairly slack. I actually run elastic laces with a cinch in most of my MTB shoes.

I will take em out in the trails tomorrow, but from walking around in them the shank is definitely noticeable so they may be too stiff for your liking

 

[Gary]

Been in these more than any other riding shoes for months now (roadbike, not mtb or Eeb).
Set up just as you'd like.

Walking or riding mtb or bmx my shoes are always loose enough I could put them on or off no handed #bikeslippers ?
Stiff soles on a flat pedal still just don't make any sense to me. But feel has always been of more importance to me than grip

 

[The Hodge]

No way I could ever wear my shoes like that ..I'd lose them forever in the first bog I had to walk through ..?

 

[Dirtnvert]

Interested. Before intense/marzocchi/5ten it was etnies for me . They look great and tick all the boxes. Im ok with a bit of stiffness for protection if you catch a rock or root. Laces loose here too. Did you get them direct from etnies online?

 

[R120]

Interested. Before intense/marzocchi/5ten it was etnies for me . They look great and tick all the boxes. Im ok with a bit of stiffness for protection if you catch a rock or root. Laces loose here too. Did you get them direct from etnies online?

View attachment 62682

No I got them from Chain Reaction

 

[R120]

So spent about 4 hours in them this morning.

First thing is they where a lot more comfortable on the bike than off it - walking around last night I definitely thought the uppers would need a bit of breaking in, but once riding around they where super comfy. The fit is a little bit wider than the latest Freerider Pros, my toes had a bit more wiggle room.

Now onto the sole - I really liked how the soles felt - despite having a shank you can still feel the pedal though the shoe, i.e I could clearly feel the front/back sides of the pedal, but the sole is stiff enough that you dont get hot spots/foot pain. However they are not like a trainer in that you can "roll" the sole over the front/back of the pedal, but the definitely have a lot more feel and you know exactly when're you are on the pedal compared to Freerider Pros. It subtle but I really liked this, and its probably down to the thickness of the sole.

In terms of outright grip they probably are not quite as sticky as a Five Ten, but still enough grip for me, and definitely easier to reposition on the fly. I never once had the shoe move/slip/come off - in fact after about 10 minutes of riding I forgot about the shoes if that makes sense, simply because they did the job, I was having fun, and no issues presented themselves.

I was also pretty pleased with the fact my feet didn't get too hot - there isn't really any ventilation that I can see on the shoe, and they have clearly had an eye on bad condition riding when being designed - it was fairly warm today and my feet didn't melt.

For reference I use HT ANS08 Leap Pedals

HT

www.ht-components.com

Overall really happy with them based of first ride, I will hold fire on a definitive opinion until I have a couple of months on them and see how they hold up, and also intrigued to see how they perform in the wet.

 

[Gary]

Cheers for the super quick update. They do sound quite promising.
To ride in I've been wearing Etnies kingpins for over a decade now and Etnies Calicut before that (before Etnies ruined them ?) so sizing should be no surprise.
Kingpins are fairly chunky, suede upper, with a fat tongue and no ventilation and despite I wearing sealskins* AND sport socks all year round to ride in have never had an issue with overheating feet even in 30deg+ temperatures (holidays obvz ?)
A stiffer sole does need a stickier rubber as you lose the sole wrap you get from a skate shoe.
Be good to hear if their flexibility increases with use.
Also interested to hear whether the grip is low enough to reposition foot angle on the pedal without having to lift off like you have to with a 5:10.
I have an almost never worn pair of freerider pros here too and a few of my bikes have HT (Nano) pedals so that's a great comparison for me.
Thanks.

*living/riding in Scotland means I ride in wet/damp conditions way more than dry so I size my shoes to fit with a pair of waterproof socks with sports socks underneath (wicks the sweat away and adds to overall foot dryness and comfort). So my riding shoes are loose AF if I just wear one normal pair of socks.

 

[Gary]

Interested. Before intense/marzocchi/5ten it was etnies for me . They look great and tick all the boxes. Im ok with a bit of stiffness for protection if you catch a rock or root. Laces loose here too. Did you get them direct from etnies online?

View attachment 62682

Which model of Vans are those?

 

[R120]

Yeah I don’t really get hot feet but in for example the old Freerider EPS I could feel my feet start get sweaty if you wore them in a hot day.

I suspect the sole will break in more, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t that stiff, but hard to make a decent comparison for you as I am not you ?

One definite plus is you don’t feel like you wearing a clip less shoe without cleats which some of the shoes can be like

 

[Dirtnvert]

Which model of Vans are those?

I cant remember the model name. They're a mtb flat pedal model they had or maybe still have. Ive had them for 8 or 9 years. Theyre a half size too small/short and only recently have fit well so i alternate between them and a pair of ride concepts. They have a fair bit of use over that time and have remained the same stiffness and havent shown much wear. No wear in part because the tread isnt that soft of a compound. Not the stiffest pr the flexiest and the rand and sole glue delams(known issue) so ive dripped some crazy glue in the delam when it starts, a few times. Wearing them a fair bit this year. The ride concepts are showing some wear after a couple years of solid use. Time to add something new in the rotation, like those etnies
I have some og 5ten impact high tops that are pretty mint. Id like to find some of those stretchy laces with the toggles and i think id wear them a lot more. Adding that to the search along wuth those etnies to my next crc cart

 

[Gary]

No worries. At that age they won't be available anymore.
Ive worn Vans as my every day footwear for nearly 30 years now. And have tons of pairs but didn't recognise yours. I ride bikes at some point most days in every day clothes (and vans) but for proper mtb rides it'll be good old Etnies kingpins (I always have 3 or 4pairs in various condition on the go at any one time) For road rides and commutes I clip in usually wearing those old 661 Launch DH shoes or a pair of Shimano AM45s.. My actual road shoes have almost only ever been worn indoors on rollers. ?

 

[Dirtnvert]

No worries. At that age they won't be available anymore.
Ive worn Vans as my every day footwear for nearly 30 years now. And have tons of pairs but didn't recognise yours. I ride bikes at some point most days in every day clothes (and vans) but for proper mtb rides it'll be good old Etnies kingpins (I always have 3 or 4pairs in various condition on the go at any one time) For road rides and commutes I clip in usually wearing those old 661 Launch DH shoes or a pair of Shimano AM45s.. My actual road shoes have almost only ever been worn indoors on rollers. ?

Im betting we'll see Cab add a vans mtb flat pedal shoe to his signature series. He's riding his decoy quite well these days and seems to have taken to the mtb scene. I'd buy another one of these ones i have but a half cab mtb shoe would be titties.
Like Imelda Marcos i went straight to "checkout" with those etnies from crc. Always had a soft spot for etnies from my ride bmx mag days. Had Costons for a long time

 

[Gary]

About time Vans did another mtb shoe. Don't think they've had a specific mtb model since the gravel and Warner (flat and SPD).. and that was a pretty big gap since their previous flat pedal mtb/bmx shoe back in the late 90s ("clutch" possibly). But back then their shoes were a little bulkier and more suited to pedals as well as boards.. When they went to Pro models it was a bit of a con as you are basically just buying an old skool with a better insole.

You, me n R120 probably need a self help group ?

 

[Dirtnvert]

About time Vans did another mtb shoe. Don't think they've had a specific mtb model since the gravel and Warner (flat and SPD).. and that was a pretty big gap since their previous flat pedal mtb/bmx shoe back in the late 90s ("clutch" possibly). But back then their shoes were a little bulkier and more suited to pedals as well as boards.. When they went to Pro models it was a bit of a con as you are basically just buying an old skool with a better insole.

You, me n R120 probably need a self help group ?

Haaa i think so.
Also thanks to @R120 for the heads up/motivation on this. Theyve been in the back of my mind and new kicks have been on the list but im forgetful

 

[highpeakrider]

Thanks, would be great if they don’t soak up water like 5-10s, i need a new winter boot.

 

[Dirtnvert]

Now have some Rennie slip ons. Damn these things are massive. Super high tops

 

[Zimmerframe]

About time Vans did another mtb shoe.

Do you think they'll do EMTB specific one too .. something more cossetting ...

 

[fenwick458]

I got a set of the Culvert Mid's a month ago, I'm not that impressed with them.

1. they are not easy to walk in, sole is really stiff
2. the sole is not very grippy on the pedals (compared to five-tens) I've never slipped when descending and going fast but it's always when climbing or going slow and theres not much weight on the pedal my feet just seem to slide off, the rubber is more like plastic in my opinion and it's not grippy
3. the holes at the front let water in

only used them 3 times and it's always been 5-10 degrees, maybe the sole will break in a bit and get some more grip when it's warmer?