The Focus is a shoe built for edging. Its slight downturn and stiff platform allows the wearer to toe in hard and stand on dime edges with relative ease thanks to what Black Diamond calls the“Stiff-Flex” midsole. The toe is roomy yet still slim enough to fit into pockets when need be. The heel fits well and I find myself trusting smaller and smaller heel hooks with these on my feet, but still there is some side-bagginess in the heel that will make precision heel hooking difficult. For all..." go to full review
Some other nice features include a color scheme that correlates to Metolius brand cams, and color-coded “collars” that make identifying and choosing the right nut quicker. The price point is pretty high—more than similar offerings—but you get your money’s worth, and I’d say the price is justified.These nuts, what with their light weight and versatility in different shaped cracks, would be a good choice for long alpine routes, but are great for any trad or aid outing. And if you happen to get..." go to full review
After all the wear, I don’t have any unnecessary hot spots or wear patterns. The shoe retails for $165, which is average or just a tad lower than shoes competing in the high-end performance market. Overall, another shoe from Evolv that they should be proud of.go to full review
When taking the Instinct VSRs outside, I found that they performed well on both super steep and slightly overhanging, off-vertical terrain. As mentioned, the soft rubber proved to be ideal on more technical routes, where proper weight placement on small footholds is critical. I noticed this particularly while climbing polished limestone in Rifle. The downturned angle of the shoe is perfect for the really steep stuff though too, as it helps you to to really “grab” footholds in an overhang...." go to full review
As for the front bail I’ve used them with three different types of ice and alpine boots, and had no problem with fit. Always, the bail slides right in. As a rock climber, I appreciated the asymetrical shape and position of the front point over (roughly) the big toe. This positioning gives power to your front toe and feels natural. Because the front point only has a small accompanying point—a horizontal and much shorter mini-point—the main point is able to dig deep into seams and picked out..." go to full review