Evolv Shaman

If the sight of a down-turned shoe intimidates you and instills you with visions of soaking painful bunions after a day of cragging, you may want to give the Evolv Shaman a try. The shape and design of this shoe provide a lot of performance features for a climbing shoe that is wickedly comfortable. The Shaman is not only a great way to break into the category of down-turned, asymmetrical, high-performance climbing shoes, but it will also work on the hardest climbs in the world, as evinced by the fact that shoe designer Chris Sharma sent his long-term project First Round, First Minute (5.15c?) mere days after he received the final production model of the Shaman. I tested the shoe both indoors and outdoors on routes as hard as 5.13d, and was excited to get so much toe power out of a shoe that didn’t hurt my feet to wear. That said, I wish that there was less rubber on the sole because it reduces the shoe’s sensitivity.