EB Strange | Climbing Shoe Review

When it comes to performance, the Strange has been designed to deliver the purest power in EB’s line-up. The shoe’s profile is typical of the EB range, favouring aggressive asymmetry over modest downturn to pump power through the toe, but it’s the more pronounced point at the tip of the shoe that gives the Strange its edging focussed focal point. Featuring a full midsole (a 1mm plastic insert that sits between the fabric and the rubber) and further reinforcement under the toe, the super stiff Strange is an edging master, dispatching the smallest footholds with consummate ease. Obviously the Strange isn’t my go-to competition bouldering shoe (the EB Nebula ticks that box), it has its own raison detre, designed for a specific style of climbing that it does beautifully without any of the watered down features of an ‘all-rounder’. Complementing my preference for climbing outside on my local, sharp real rock types like limestone, granite or rhyolite, the Strange is the obvious choice for those dedicated to climbing outside - especially fresh out of the box with its thick 5mm wedge of supportive Daytona rubber providing even more rigidity and performance on the small stuff. That isn’t to say it won’t perform indoors too with its supreme edging powers translating wonderfully onto technical climbs on tiny plastic footholds, board sessions on wooden chips or a longer endurance session at my local lead wall.