Evolv Shaman Review

So i've been climbing these shoes for one month now and the customer service nightmare with evolve has finally dissipated from memory. So heres the less bias review. I have no complaints on practically all overhung climbs. I've actually started using them on my 5.hard vertical climbs to give me that extra edge. I find that I can snag edges that are normally out of reach with that extra bit of rubber on the toe tip. Pushing off on the toe on vertical rock is very painful, but thats expected with any shoe. on the overhung climbs my heel is sloppy. My current boulder problem requires an aggressive left heel hook on a tiny edge to a big throw right then bump the heel to another tiny edge. by the time I bump my left to the second heel the shoe is starting to slip. Im not sure why, but if you look at the heel cup on the shoes you'll notice the cup is shaped like a ball. i think the bottom half of the heel should be ballish, but then it should suck in right below the ankle bone like one inch down. the mirras are the only shoe that fit my heel perfect, but were supper hot on my knuckles. so theres the constructive criticism. These are an all around great climbing shoe. Since wearing them I have jumped up a whole climbing grade. im not saying the shoes did it for me, but they aren't holding me back. and I apologize to evolve for my harsh words last month about my opinion with your customer service, but something made me say it obviously, i would never bash someone for no reason. Thanks for the great shoes, oh yea... orange and blue? really?

just bought these in an 8 i wear a 9.5 street shoe. I can't slip on the left foot. looks like i will be freezing these with a bag of water in them. lets hope that works.

I never thought of that idea. But just so you know Mine just ripped at the pull tab. after just two months of climbing. Other then that I like the shoes. I am about to ship these off to evolv and give there customer service another shot. lets see how they handle this and i will report back.

mrchomponthis wrote:just bought these in an 8 i wear a 9.5 street shoe. I can't slip on the left foot. looks like i will be freezing these with a bag of water in them. lets hope that works.

I hope that works - or you could go exchange them for the correct size.

As has been stated many times above by myself, and the director of sales and marketing at evolv: YOU DON'T NEED TO DOWNSIZE THE SHAMAN.

(especially not 1.5 sizes)

Mr. Chompy, I hope you can go exchange the shoes. You'll be much happier in a size 9.5.

i bought them from the rock climbing gym without box for a price i couldn't refuse. I just bought another pair on ebay for $100 size 9.5, I'm selling the size 8's if anyone wants to buy them.

Price wrote: I hope that works - or you could go exchange them for the correct size. As has been stated many times above by myself, and the director of sales and marketing at evolv: YOU DON'T NEED TO DOWNSIZE THE SHAMAN. (especially not 1.5 sizes) Mr. Chompy, I hope you can go exchange the shoes. You'll be much happier in a size 9.5.

Just got my size 9.5, they fit perfect!!!! and they were only $100

mrchomponthis wrote:just bought these in an 8 i wear a 9.5 street shoe. I can't slip on the left foot. looks like i will be freezing these with a bag of water in them. lets hope that works.

Not a chance. I wore same size as street shoe at a demo and they climbed beautifully. MAYBE go a half size down...

Some more feedback on sizing and first impressions- I got an Evolv gift certificate so I figured I'd go for the Ferrari pair.

Sizing: I wear an 11.5-12 (45-46) street shoe. I have Miura VS's in 44.5 (EXTREMELY TIGHT), TC Pros in 43.5 (perfect flat-toed fit), 5.10 Copperheads in 46 (toes are almost flat). I ordered the Shamans in 12 (46) and when I got them, I contemplated exchanging for 11.5 as there was some space between my heel and the sized of the cup. Width and toes were perfect though, so I figured I'd test them out at the gym yesterday.

First impressions: these are very good looking shoes, and wearing them while sitting on the ground/trying them on they are strangely comfortable for an aggressive shoe. Standing up in them for the first few times, however, not so much. I am so glad I didn't get a size smaller. These things were (are) painful at first. Not as bad as my Miuras were but still pretty rough. I'm sure they'll be fine once they break in. As for the bit of space in the heel cup (mostly on the sides, my foot is narrow in the back), it doesn't seem to matter. My heel feels like it's vacuumed in place, with no slop at all.

After a few hours and a bunch of overhung routes, I'm starting to get a feel for what these will do and not do. The rubber is super sticky. There were a few dimpled foot ships that I never would have attempted to use while slightly overhung with Vibram or Stealth; the Trax on these is quite soft and provided amazing grip and pulling power. I'm working on improving my technique on really steep stuff and these will definitely offer me the space to learn and experiment with confidence. Probably not a good all-around shoe or high performer on vertical stuff but I'll find out once these are broken in.

For vertical terrain or technical routes...try the Geshido. Best technical footwear on the market, besides the Shaman.

Sizing for the Shaman is either a half size down from street shoe or the exact same size. For the Geshido...I recommend going down only a half size from your street shoe.

These shoes do not stretch, volume-wise they will expand a bit and that's it.

Can you compare the Geshido to Miuras/Miura VS?

So the final review is... Evolve replaced my 9.5 due to the rip and accepted my request of a 9 insted of a nine five. I am very careful about putting this smaller pair on due to the fact that the 9.5 ripped and now im in a 9. The nine fits like a glove. The heel is solid and snug. Although they arent the best roof shoes, they do the job. THese have become my go to shoe on 12a's on a more vertical wall due to the fact they are like claws. I have precision abilities when climbing on dimes. Get these shoes a half size under your street shoe if you want a more performance fit. And Evolve since you guys read this... thanks for the better customer service shaun. my last experience with you was way more pleasent then the last. - Cory

Seem like a pretty good shoe, I didn't buy them but they felt great out of the box. I wear a 11.5/12 street shoe and normally wear a 10.5 in the Pontas so I tried on the 10.5 in the Shaman (ouch!). I figure they would probably start to feel better after some use, I don't know though. I tried the 11 in the Shaman and they were too big and comfy (no good). I'm sticking with my 10.5 Pontas and Pontas Lace.

great shoe took no time to get used to the rubber runs out really quickly tho.....

I have about 7 gym sessions in my new Shamans now. I typically wear an 11-12/44-45 street shoe and ended up in a 44.5 Shaman. My last pair of shoes were Scarpa Vapor laces in a 43 and the length feels about the same as the new Shamans. I can already feel the toe box and the heel relaxing and they are much easier to get in and out of then the first day that I climbed in them. I don't notice any slop at either end yet. I bought them through the local climbing shop, Backcountry Essentials, in Bellingham knowing that I'd pay through the nose but the customer service there has been good and I want to see them keep the lights on. The first pair that I ordered in were size 44 and when I put them on I had sharp pains in my little toes and couldn't even stand in them. They bruised my toes bad enough that it hurt to climb in my well broken in Vapors. I hope I made the right choice going up 1/2 a size from there.

The Vapors were just plain the wrong shoe for me, the heel fit me perfectly but I wasn't happy with laces, the toe box, or the rubber when compared to my previous Evolv Predators. I'm much happier to be back in a shoe that suits me and my (lack of) style.

The good:
-The rubber feels much stickier in the gym and the toe is more precise.
-Edging feels more like crimping with my little toes and started out painful but my feet are breaking in and now it feels more powerful.
-I can get the shoes snug enough with the three velcro straps.
-The heels fit much better than the Predators but not as good as the Vapors.
-The heavily shaped toe box fits me well.

The bad:
-The heavily shaped toe box either fits or it doesn't, I don't expect it to change much over time.
-The rubber seems soft but time with tell how they wear, I'm usually pretty good with my foot placement.
-The metal ring on the upper velcro strap is already scraped up, I can see how I could quickly wear through the strap.

PS
A little about me:
I've been climbing for about 20 months now. I'm old and heavy by new climber standards, 31yo and 200lbs, but I'm fit. I like bouldering the most and that's what I bought these for, sport crags like the Circus outside Squamish will be fun in these too. I can climb v3s pretty easily usually and v4s take a few tries but that's about my limit. Sport climbing, I'm comfortable in the mid to upper 5.10s but I hardly ever lead, not for any particular reason other than I don't really sport climb very often and haven't gotten comfortable with lead falls yet.

I wear 9 street shoe 7.5 shaman. After 3 weeks of climbing in these I thought I had sized too small. But after 4 months they fit like a glove. They are tighter and more comfortable than my previous 5.10 Galileo's. I would def buy them again

I bought a pair of shaman's at the beginning of last season and was pleased with their performance. I do have a couple of problems with them though... Even with downsizing, I felt that the toe rubber was either too thick or too soft. The rubber seemed to roll anytime I wanted to stand on dime edges and they just did not last long enough.

IMO Muira > Shaman

for anything aggressive, slabs, dime edges, and durability.

Shaman > Muira

for heel hooks and halloween

I just purchased a pair of Shaman's for an alternate pair of shoes when my feet begin to hurt too much from from 5.10 Coyotes.

Have to say - the Shaman's are a great show IMO. However - I found the sizing just the opposite of what thers experienced and I don't know why! I wear a 8-1/2 to 9 street shoe and had to get a size 10 Shaman to even be able to straighten out my big toes! A smaller size Shaman I could not even uncurl my toes inside of them! Not sure why, but the size 10 fits perfectly for me...

The sole are super sticky - of such that I have never seen so far in any rock shoe. The sure beat my LaSportiva that cost about the same price!

I like the way the Shaman fits and is shaped. Going to climb with them this Sunday and will issue some additional feedback on performance - pro's and con's after that. All in all - they look and feel like an amazing shoe.

Well Jake,
My big toes have been black and blue for wearing too tight of shoes and I'm not gonna be going thru that trauma everytime I climb!

Right now my toes are right up agaisnt the very front of the shoes now. There is no way I can climb with my toes in a bent position!

Are you using these for slab? If so, I believe you made a poor purchase. The Shaman was crafted to be superb on overhangs and it does perform well. You're supposed to downsize so your big toe, specifically, is bent so you can drive all your power into the point of contact. I hope you like them anyway and hope you got them for cheap, otherwise your money probably could have been used in a more constructive way.

Michael Urban wrote:Well Jake, My big toes have been black and blue for wearing too tight of shoes and I'm not gonna be going thru that trauma everytime I climb! Right now my toes are right up agaisnt the very front of the shoes now. There is no way I can climb with my toes in a bent position!

Mike,

If your toes are slightly pressed against the front of the toe box, you sized them correctly. Shamans are shaped so you don't have to cram. The people that are buying them much smaller are basically ignoring what is perhaps the best feature of the shoe.

You may be 1/2 size too big, but I wouldn't stress it. They're great shoes, and while I wouldn't take mine on a 200' slab route, I've used them for techy slab, and I think they work great.