Climbing
The Maestro Mid Eco is a solid contender for the best trad shoe on the market. The mid-height shoe is best suited for mid-to-wide cracks and long routes where you want solid edging performance (thanks to the Talyn 1.4mm midsole and 4mm XS Edge outsole)—or straight-up comfort. They jammed like a dream in Yosemite cracks, with a fit that allows you to climb with flattened toes and cleverly placed stitching that prevents hot spots, while leather panels protect the laces. Additional padding..." go to full review
I have a big soft spot for the Cobra, so it was nice to see these serpentine senders get a reissue as the Cobra Eco, made from 85 percent recycled material, including on the uppers and webbing—and also via the FriXion ECO sole fashioned from repurposed rubber. I’ve found the new Cobra to, like its predecessor, be an amazing all-arounder, one I’ve used confidently on thin granite multi-pitch, overhanging limestone sport, gym bouldering, and mixed trad. The shoes have a high-volume feel, great..." go to full review
All testers said the shoes excelled at smearing, pockets, and trad (jamming, slabs), and were good on face holds down to “medium-sized edges”—the 5.9–5.11 range. The shoes, which one tester labelled “semi-precise” (she hankered for a pointier, more asymmetrical toe), did work on smaller footholds by applying concerted force, though this led to big-toe fatigue. And they weren’t as fluent on overhanging sport—not surprising given their flat last. Still, the “Nighthawk far outperforms its $79 ..." go to full review
With the Mago, the juxtaposition between stiff and soft is interesting, and as you adjust your climbing style to the attributes of the shoe, you may find yourself becoming more versatile and fluid in your footwork, as well as less discriminating in your choice of holds. Those micros that were formerly “off limits” now look huge. Toe in and go!go to full review
In terms of catching falls, the Revo works like a tube-style device, letting a little slack slip through organically to give a dynamic catch, which means you don’t need to be that aggressive with the up or forward “soft catch” jump. And, of course, if you let too much slack slip through, it will lock up. To consider, however, is that if you properly catch a fall, the locking mechanism will not engage, meaning if your climber starts rage-batmanning back to their high point or wants to do an..." go to full review
The big news was the Shadow’s amazing sensitivity: With a 4.3mm printed outsole and a barely there midsole, you feel every hold, from the sparest ripple to a pea-sized pebble to a micro-spike jib—it’s so notable, you need to recalibrate your footwork. The shoes are super-grippy, most notably on smears and smear-edges (smedges). They just glom on.go to full review
Raise your hand if you’re tired of either a) Clipping sketchy, grooved “fixed” draws or B) having to retire a beloved draw because of rope-side-biner grooving. Edelrid has come up with an ingenious solution with their new Bulletproof Quickdraw: The top biner is a nice, smooth-clipping Bullet biner, but it’s the bottom biner that counts—the keylock closure Bulletproof clipper with a steel insert where the rope runs. Having the one bit of steel keeps the 12 cm draw light (4.1 oz) while..." go to full review
A new offering in the Evolv ultra performance series, the Oracle is a high-performance downturned lace-up built for steep sport routes, bouldering, and gym climbing. Our tester wore his street-shoe size; while he was concerned that his foot might not fit the agressive last, the shoe expanded nicely when he put them on, and he was able to climb hard right away, on both steeps and vert. “Because of their downturned shape, I was concerned I wouldn’t be able to edge on vertical face,” he says. “..." go to full review
As the two testers who shared a pair of the lace-up, regular fit (orange), flat-lasted Mantras said, “These were a great trad shoe for long pitches or vertical to under-vertical terrain.” (The shoes also come in a green, wide-fit version, shown here.) The Mantras fit comfortably but were initially quite stiff (they have a full-length injection midsole) and took concerted break-in—10-plus pitches. Testers rocked them on trad and all-around terrain on granite and sandstone, and said the Neo..." go to full review
Raise your hand if you’re tired of either a) Clipping sketchy, grooved “fixed” draws or B) having to retire a beloved draw because of rope-side-biner grooving. Edelrid has come up with an ingenious solution with their new Bulletproof Quickdraw: The top biner is a nice, smooth-clipping Bullet biner, but it’s the bottom biner that counts—the keylock closure Bulletproof clipper with a steel insert where the rope runs. Having the one bit of steel keeps the 12 cm draw light (4.1 oz) while..." go to full review