EVOLV

Unless you have tried on the exact shoe and know what you want, don't buy rock climbing shoes online. There are so many elements going into the perfect shoes for you that online is really hard. I got these too small so I had to return them.

Very nice offering from Evolv - if you have climbed in the Talons, Evolv's other steep rock shoe, this shoe has a similar fit with a different heel. The toe is pointed and stiff enough to catch small footholds on very steep walls, and the heel cup feel much better for someone with wider/deeper heels. If you have a narrow heel and are looking for Evolvs -go with the Talon or Predator, but a wider-footed person will really use these well. Size-wise, 1/2 size down from street shoe size fits well. There is a ton of rubber over the front of the shoe, and the material is synthetic, so it should not stretch very much at all.

As a lot of people say, the shoe starts rather stiff but it's really not that stiff. (I broke mine in in Fontainebleau and still managed to survive.) However it breaks in extremely nicely, and has an incredibly long life. I've been climbing with the Shaman since it came out - nearly a year. In that time, I've used it for bouldering (sandstone in Joe's, Font, granite in Bishop, Montana) and for sport climbing (dolomite in Ten Sleep, limestone in Spain, granite in Sweden, Norway) - and I've been increasingly more pleased with them wherever I take them. With its leather lining, the shoe is very comfortable against the skin. And, as by design, the shoe still performs even when fitted slightly toward the large size. The shoe generally fits the foot well, not putting strange pressure points on the foot (ball, toes, heel), so you can climb without feeling like you're deforming your foot. I love it and highly recommend it.

I bought these in my street size as suggested...but they are much too tight. I am going to return and get a bigger size. I recommend going up a half or even a whole size. Oh, and the shoes do not say rock star like the picture shows, which is a bummer. But they are still pretty good looking.

I've been climbing for a few years, and these are hands down the most comfortable shoes I've worn. And shipping was right on time.

Excellent downturn shoe. Big feel mad good for people with wide forefoot.

I wear street shoe size 44 or 10.5. I wear an 11 in 510 and an 11 in this shoe too. I ordered a 10.5 and had to exchange for the bigger size. The 11 fits perfectly. The fit is extremely comfortable, the leather insole is soft and the cotton heel grippy. The heel cup fits better than my 510, actually has no bagginess, and I have a slim-ish foot. The rubber feels sticky and grippy. The toe-box and love bump are super nice. My big toe was broken last year, so it has heeled a lot, but this toe-box makes a huge difference for me. Camber/downturn is nice and the edging rubber on toe and side of foot feels solid. I'm climbing tonight, so I'll test them there and report back. I can tell these will be great though. Awesome! Style is great, but just wished that maybe the theme was relegated to one color for the straps. I'm not much of a rasta-head. Ras Trent!

I know these aren't considered good shoes by the other climbing snobs I'm surrounded by, but I'm here to tell you that not only are they totally adequate, but they are the only pair of shoes that I've tried on that fit my narrow foot. I tried a few pairs of scarpas (also good for narrow feet) but they were a little baggy around the ankle, and in total i have probably tried on about 20 different pairs of climbing shoes before settling on these ones. they fit my foot like a glove, love the speed laces, and it has just enough edge without being too super aggressive. I'm an 8.5/9 in regular shoes and i went with an 8.5 in the rockstars and was happy with my decision. they hurt at first during lengthy climbing sessions, but stretched just enough after a few weeks.

Very comfortable beginner's climbing shoe. I have relatively flat feet, and the aggressive/advanced climbing shoes become extremely painful. The Evolv Royale has good rubber, fits well, and tightly, without hurting so much. Full length Laces let you cinch the shoe down where needed. Full Length Leather will form to your feet best over time. And the Thick laces can be pulled tightly with confidence. The only thing I could ask for on this shoe is more top rubber on the roof of the toe area for climbing upside down, but I'm not that skilled yet anyway!

Very comfortable shoe that climbs with precision and power. Great at back stepping and heel hooking. Needs a little break in time but it seems like all durable and precise shoes do.

Just wrote this review for the Rasta Shamans...obviously these are the exact same shoes, so I figured I'd post here. Wasn't sure what to expect. I had never had a pair of performance climbing shoes, with an aggressively down cambered toe. This was my first. Let me revise that. I'd tried some on, and they didn't fit. So I didn't buy them. And then I tried the Shaman. The Knucklebox fits my long toes perfectly. Even with my Morton's toe, this is the first asymmetrically lasted shoe (90% of climbing shoes) that fits my foot! And then the love bump is just a premolded part of the sole, but it makes such a difference for snug fit and feel. No void of space underneath my toes, they are ensconced snugly in rubber above and below. Heel is great, a little movement but secure enough that it'll never come off, no matter how sketchy the hook. Three velcro straps allow me to customize the fit greatly, if I was to want for something, it'd be some sort of way to reduce the heel volume for my less meaty feet. Asides from that magic adjuster, these shoes are above and beyond what I was expecting, and are worth every penny. And they don't look half bad, either :) I'm not so much into Rasta, so I call 'em my Rainbow shamans, or maybe Stoplight Shamans? Regardless, they're awesome. Fit is true, in the Demorto's I sized down 1 1/2 sizes to 10.5, here I stuck with a 12. Incidentally the shoes are the same length when I put them side by side. Once I get used to climbing with this much power and feel to my toe, I may end up sizing down to 11.5. We'll see. Hope this helps!

Wasn't sure what to expect. I had never had a pair of performance climbing shoes, with an aggressively down cambered toe. This was my first. Let me revise that. I'd tried some on, and they didn't fit. So I didn't buy them. And then I tried the Shaman. The Knucklebox fits my long toes perfectly. Even with my Morton's toe, this is the first asymmetrically lasted shoe (90% of climbing shoes) that fits my foot! And then the love bump is just a premolded part of the sole, but it makes such a difference for snug fit and feel. No void of space underneath my toes, they are ensconced snugly in rubber above and below. Heel is great, a little movement but secure enough that it'll never come off, no matter how sketchy the hook. Three velcro straps allow me to customize the fit greatly, if I was to want for something, it'd be some sort of way to reduce the heel volume for my less meaty feet. Asides from that magic adjuster, these shoes are above and beyond what I was expecting, and are worth every penny. And they don't look half bad, either. :) I'm not so much into Rasta, so I call 'em my Rainbow shamans, or maybe Stoplight Shamans? Regardless, they're awesome. Fit is true, in the Demorto's I sized down 1 1/2 sizes to 10.5, here I stuck with a 12. Incidentally the shoes are the same length when I put them side by side. Once I get used to climbing with this much power and feel to my toe, I may end up sizing down to 11.5. We'll see. Hope this helps!

I had first gotten the Evolv Kaos2 shoe. I am a 9.5 in street shoes and the 9.5 in Evolv's shoes kill my feet. I moved over to this shoe in a 10. Night and day. I climb so much smoother because I am comfortable. These shoes are amazing! Order a half size up from your street shoe and you should be fine.

Phenomenal for folks with Morton's toe. I didn't know I would love this shoe till I tried it on. I'd say it runs small since I normally wear a much larger street shoe, but you know how it is with climbing shoes...hard for there to be a real standard when your fit is based on the strength of your foot and your pain threshold. Now as far as performance goes, it's phenomenal. The colors are either your taste or not, but considering it's the shoe that fits best and works best for me...I don't really care what it looks like. Rubber as sticky as it needs to be, the price is quite a bit cheaper than 5.10 or La Sportiva...what is there to complain about?

Okie dokie. These shoes are A++. They smear like nobodies business and can edge pretty good. They can not stand on a super tiny edge but they are pretty good. I have mainly used them in the gym but i have been out to real rock once and they did great. The speed laces are great compared to my other shoes. My one complaint is that they stink. Very, very stinky. If the stink does not bother you then these shoes are even better.

I'm writing this review for other men who are interested in buying these shoes and are wondering about sizing. I bought these shoes because a friend of mine who is a good climber and owns 5 pairs of climbing shoes (mostly Evolv) suggested I look at women shoes -- because I have narrow lower volume feet. When I did a search trying to figure out suggestions on sizing these shoes for men I found very little information. I talked to one person who suggested that they run about a half size smaller so I tried ordering a 10.5. I normally wear around a size 10 or maybe 10.5 in running shoes. I found that these shoes were too small for my feet. I think that these shoes run at least 1 size different (so if I wear a size 10 in mens I'd want a size 11). Another way to look at sizing is to find the correct European sizing since those are the same for men or women (since sizing is so exact and tricky with climbing shoes I wish Zappos would have the manufactures chart here). So for my size 10.5 women shoes they are a 42 (270cm [Japanese sizing]). A 42 in Evolvs mens chart is a US size 9. A womens size 11 is a EU 42.5 (275cm) and mens size 9.5. There seems to be a factor of 1.5 size difference between the mens size and womens size. So I think I could probably use a size 11.5. My previous shoes are Scarppa Feroce. They are a more aggressive climbing shoe with down turned toes. In those shoes I have a mens size 9.5 which is a womens 10.5 and EU 42.5 (so different sizing conversion here). The Scarppa shoes fit very good but because they are more aggressive I don't like wearing them more than 20 minute. For these evolv shoes I wanted a more comfortable fit for mostly gym climbing. When you size climbing shoes you want them to fit tight around your foot so that your shoes become part of your feet -- more like a sock then a shoe. It's good to have your toes touching the end of the shoe and a tight heel. With these shoes they have a small heel which fits my feet well. They are also more narrow which fits my feet well. I wish they had 1 more strap to tighten the front of the shoe more and I'm surprised how much I can tighten them considering these are for womens more narrow feet. I will add that I love that these shoes are American made and with an eye on the environment. Just for reference sake, I've been climbing for 3 years and I normally climb about once a week -- outdoors in the summer and indoors in the winter. I climb around a 5.10 range (in Wisconsin).

This is an extremely well-constructed, well-fitting shoe that hugs the foot and delivers power forward without being painful to wear or overly aggressive. Climbs all kinds of terrain, from vertical to overhanging. Smears, edges, and heelhooks well. In terms of performance, construction, comfort, and innovation, this competes with the best on the market.

The shaman is a surprisingly aggressive shoe and yet you don't have to cram your foot into it. The knuckle box and the love bump make for a really snug fit. I bought my pair a half size bigger and it was still pretty tight, but since I'm using it as my performance shoe it's great.

I bought this shoe with nothing but risk. i was living in Ireland and had started climbing pretty regularly and realized I needed proper shoes. One of my friends had a pair of evolvs and as luck would have it they were just a size bigger than what I normally wear. I found these and ordered a 1/2 size smaller (cause you're supposed to) and they are great! they hold up great and make all the difference in my climbing!

After years of having to carry 3 pairs of shoes to the crag every day because no one single pair would do everything, I can finally only bring my Shamans. Soft enough for the steep sensitivity yet stiff enough for more vertical terrain. The heel cup suctions onto your foot and will never come off on those tenuous heel hooks. Fits like a glove, super sensitive and all around a project killer!