I've used Silca hot wax up until now but want to try Squirt given the positive review from ZFC. I like the convenience of using a strip chip when doing a new chain though, can they be used in Squirt hot wax or will it screw it up and I need to go back to degreaser? ChatGPT says no and I guess makes sense as the wax chemistry is different.
Have a 4 day 190 mile trip planned in June with a couple of friends. I’m the very definition of “all the gear and no idea” but figured I’d go with Tailfin as wanted everything to just work (plus their HQ is less than 10 miles from my house so supporting a local company!). Only issues I’ve had so far is not enough spacers in the universal thru axle kit to properly centre the rear rack and need to see if I can drop the bottles a bit more (they cleared fine with nothing in the frame bag). We’re not camping so figured I could manage without panniers this trip but got the rack version to support them as hopefully I’ll be doing lots more trips in future. If I hate it there’ll be cheap Tailfin stuff on eBay soon 😉
Did a 35 mile mostly road ride today to test things out, no rattles or creaks and nothing fell off so no regrets so far (as long as I don’t check my bank balance).
Bike is a Sonder Camino Ti, have just fitted a Wolf Tooth 36t chain ring and 10-52 13sp Garbaruk cassette for the trip (still recovering a bit from a fractured hip in January so want to try and minimise hike a biking!). Cassette seems to work well, some clicking in 2nd gear I can’t micro adjust out but hopefully it’s just noise and not an impending mechanical issue.
Just noticed they’ve released a new aero gravel bike, looks interesting although not really ground breaking. Nice to see it still has 55mm tire clearance. I’ve had a Dark Matter for a few months and very happy with, I don’t race so no plans to switch but looking forward to some reviews and wind tunnel testing. https://www.argon18.com/en/bikes/gravel/anti-matter
Background
I’ve struggled to find cycling shoes that don’t cause a pressure point around my 5th metatarsal. This is further back on the shoe than the toe box area so something like Lakes don’t help with it. I have medium arches too so stock insoles don’t provide enough support but at the same time after market insoles like G8s and Specialized BG ones add bulk and lift my foot up but this makes the pressure point worse as the uppers are curving over the top of the foot so lifting it pushes it more into the uppers
Current Shoes & Insoles (inc. note about issue with them)
Insoles: G8, AE G8 knock offs, Spesh BG, Lake mouldable
Shoes:
Bont Vaypor & Spesh s-works road (both old models, bought over 8 years ago, all other shoes listed were bought in the last 18 months)
Lake CX239 regular (5th metatarsal pressure point)
Lake CX242 wide (slight 5th metatarsal pressure point, some arch discomfort, poor heel retention)
Lake MX242 wide (as above but heel retention is more of an issue as more often hike a biking)
Trek RSL knit (uppers are crazy compressive, initially they feel quite good but become overwhelming after 30 minutes and whole foot aches. The uppers grip so firmly I can ride a z5 in them indoors without tightening the Boas at all, not sure if they’ll stretch/grip less with use but can only stand wearing them for short indoor sessions at the moment)
Boodun road atop dial shoes from AE (still need to do more rides on these but the forefoot area is huge and quite comfy for me, unfortunately they come up big so my foot moves around too much, I really need a size smaller to try but even on AE they’re £125 so not decided to do this yet
QUOC Gran Tourer XC (I don’t get 5th metatarsal pressure issues with these but on my right foot there’s a pressure point on the outside top big toe, have only walked around in the house in them so may send back but also tempted to see if I can stretch the pressure point out…)
Hezo Wolfland 01 (the subject of this review)
Hezo Ordering Process
You need to download an app to do a scan of both feet, you cannot do this part yourself due to the different angles required. It seemed a bit finicky to get everything aligned before each picture is taken but they obviously need the scans to be as precise as possible. Took a good 20 minutes to do this part.
You then upload the scan data and they review it and confirm whether they’re usable or not (in think this only took 1-2 days for me). I can’t actually remember at what point I paid up and placed the order, I assume around this time.
The Wait
I ordered mine around the end of October 2025 and as winter was approaching wasn’t in any rush, which turned out to be a good thing. I had read it can take a fair bit longer than their website suggests so I just had the attitude they’ll arrive when they arrive.
That said by February I was getting a bit concerned as there had been no comms about delays and my order status hadn’t changed from ‘awaiting production slot’ so started to wonder if they’d been forgotten about. However as I was recovering from a fractured hip at this point I wasn’t riding so again not in a rush.
In early March I got an email notification the status had changed to ‘being prepared for shipping’ or something like that, so I guess in hindsight someone hadn’t been updating the order progress (although it still took a lot longer than advertised). They were delivered a few days later (they ship from Germany and I’m in the UK).
First Impressions
After unboxing them I initially thought I might have made a big mistake, the uppers are rock solid. For reason I assumed there would be a little flex in the plastic and couldn’t see how they’d be comfy to ride or walk in. Trying them on didn’t ease my concerns much, they felt pretty weird and pushing my foot forward slightly I could feel the end of the shoes with my big toes. With every other shoe I’ve bought there’s always been around 10mm at the end of the shoe so I’ve never had that sensation before and figured they’d been made a half size too small. I then sort of realised as they are custom made they would be no reason to have that dead space at the front of the shoe, I was still a bit concerned it might rub in use though.
The insoles aren’t what I expected either, it’s more just a cushioned layer that’s glued in (it doesn’t seem removable anyway and I don’t want to pull at it!). However the base underneath it is very contoured in a noticeable bump in the mid metatarsal area and arch support. In reality it works brilliantly.
The Fidlock closure system/dial is a bit odd, you lift it completely off the dial socket to undo but once in the socket you can turn to tighten it like a normal Boa (the dial is held in place by a magnet). It works pretty well but I prefer Boa Li2 dials as you can adjust both ways and also they allow for a finer tension adjustment. On my left foot I find it’s either a fraction too tight or a fraction to loose, however when riding I don’t really notice this apart from maybe when standing climbing as I opt for slightly loose so my foot is then able to move a bit more than I’d like when I pull up hard on the pedal. One important thing to note though is you don’t need much tension on the lace as the uppers are solid and conform closely to your foot so the lace is mostly just there as the tongue area needs to open up to allow you to get your foot in and out (which is also probably why they’ve opted for the Fidlock system that detaches allowing for a greater opening)
First Ride
I opted to do a local road ride as was a bit concerned they’d be so uncomfortable if need to bail on the ride and hobble back home! In the end though those fears were quickly allayed. Apart from having initially over tightened the left side I soon realised I wasn’t really noticing my feet and that’s about the biggest compliment I can give a pair of shoes. I ended up riding for 25 miles and they remained very comfortable.
There is a bit of room all around the forefoot which I guess is to accommodate different thickness socks but wearing thin socks it meant if I moved my foot side to side it would press against the solid uppers, which is a strange sensation but not something that happens just when pedalling normally.
Subsequent Rides
I did a couple more 25 mile road rides just to make sure I wasn’t getting any rubbing or discomfort (and was still building up my fitness anyway as hadn’t been back on the bike long). I then did a 5.5 hour gravel ride and they felt really good, the only time I had slight discomfort was when walking about at the cafe stop. They aren’t triangle terrible to walk in it’s just with no flex apart from at the tongue area it feels odd and can create a pressure point either side of the tongue area as your foot flexes up into the solid upper part there (I don’t get this sensation when pedalling though).
The last ride I did in them was yesterday, a 6.5 hour gravel ride and again they were really good, just not regularly thinking about your feet and any mild discomfort you’re having on a long ride is new to me but it’s very welcome! It rained heavily the last hour of the ride and initially I thought they almost seemed waterproof to (due to lack of vent holes, more on that in a bit…) however after about 30 minutes I had the sensation my feet were sat in water. When the ride finished I was expecting to take them off and a load of water pour out but actually none did and the sensation was just from the cushioned insole being saturated
Lack of ventilation
What I hadn’t realised before they were delivered is there are no ventilation holes in the plastic uppers. The only ventilation comes from a small slit of a gap you have at the side of the tongue area (I assume this is deliberate as although you can cinch the lace up enough to close this gap it’s way too tight if you do).
In use they’ve been fine so far but have only ridden in temps up to about 22c so far. I haven’t experienced any feeling of my feet overheating so far but I’m fairly tolerant of hot feet anyway and I do wonder if 30-40c temps could overwhelm them and leave my feet a sweaty mess, will need to wait for a hot summer’s day to test them.
Conclusions
I’m really happy with them, as I’ve said the best compliment I can pay them is not being aware of them when riding. Would I recommend them if you haven’t found an off the shelf shoe that’s comfortable? Absolutely. Would I recommend them if you already had comfortable shoes? Nope, I just don’t see why you would add other than comfort I don’t think they offer any advantages over normal shoes.
I also have no clue how they’ll hold up over time or how they’ll be in hot conditions. I also know they won’t break in and the uppers become more supple so I don’t think I’ll be able to use them on rides with as lot of hike a bike (as would be concerned the pressure point around the tongue area might lead to chafing). I do want to try a bit more walking on a shorter ride though just to see if my fears are well founded or not. As it stands though for a bike packing trip at the end of the month I’ll be taking the MX242’s instead and dealing with the mild discomfort and getting stoned in my shoes when walking due to the crappy heel retention they have.
I’ve also decided I’ll get the road version now to, however I’m still undecided whether to go for their new model (available for pre order) or an existing one. The new model looks intriguing as the uppers are ventilated but they’re a lot more expensive than the existing models, given they’re currently pre order only and how long mine took to arrive I’m also a bit concerned I might not see them for a year! On the subject of cost I think the Wolflands are incredibly good value, they’re the price of a mid range off the shelf shoe (I did have to pay import duty to, thanks Brexit…) yet are custom made for you. I was previously considering custom Bonts but they’re several hundred pounds and seemed a hassle to order as you need to cost an approved dealer I think to make sure you get measured up properly (I assume if you do it yourself and they end up not fitting you’re screwed?)