The chaps from Unparallel have taken a beautiful thing in the old classic Dragon and updated it into a sleeker, better made, better fitting and softer shoe. It is based on the old Five Ten classic and made in the same factory in California by the same staff. I’ve worn the Sirius inside and out and they performed well straight out of the box due to the mega soft RS rubber that feels stickier than the HF rubber Five Ten used to use on the Dragons. I’d say it feels somewhere in between XS Grip 2 and Mi6 rubber on the scale of stickiness.

The build quality is very good. Reinforced pull tabs make it easier to get them on and off without lacerating your fingers or popping tendons and the soft upper materials and tongue make it far less harsh on the toe knuckles than cowdura and other similar synthetic uppers. The heel has been tightened up in terms of depth and volume making it a much better fit for myself as the heel sits right in there without the old gap under the heel. I’d say they suit a low-mid volume foot and are regular in terms of width.

I’ve found it absolutely great for smearing around on walls, sloping pieces of nothing and volumes as well as highly precise for pulling hard on the toes on incuts and pockets. They fall down a little on sharp board style climbing where something more substantial like the Unparallel Regulus would be a better option as they use the RH rubber that performs more like Stealth C4 or Vibram XS Edge.

The rubber has been great so far but I’m not sure how long it will be until a resole is necessary and I’d imagine resoling will be a bit tricky as with Five Ten shoes due to the thin rand and a less solid build than Scarpa and La Sportiva provide.

Sizing is pretty close to street size as with the old Dragon. I’m a UK 9 or 9.5 and a UK 9 felt great but I went for an 8.5 to test the stretch and so far they have softened slightly but not really changed in size so I wouldn’t consider downsizing any more than ½ a size from your shoe size.

Overall, I’m massively impressed by this new mythical beast and the retail price of £120 is very reasonable for a top notch performance shoe when compared to the new Five Ten Dragon or Aleon, as well as Scarpa, Tenaya and La Sportiva offerings.

- Rich