GEAR REVIEW - Evolv Defy

     Evolv make quite a variety of shoes, many of them rather garish in colour.  What initially attracted me to the Defy was how they looked, dark and stealthy.  If you were a climbing ninja, I thought, these are what you'd be wearing.  The feel when I tried them on was more like a slipper, soft and supple.  I suffer from cold toes if they are held in too tightly and the Defy stretches enough to allow a bit of bend.  The flexibility in the shoe comes from using thinner rubber, particularly noticeable in the arch and heel area.  This agrees with me as I like to feel the lumps and bumps in the rock through the shoe and use my toes to push onto those smeary holds.  It makes the shoes feel more like an extension of your feet rather than something you've just shoved two bits of useless meat into.
     The softness comes as a compromise though.  The shoes don't feel particularly robust and I have avoided walking around in them after a few painful descents off multi-pitch routes.  The toe area will wear through quite quickly if you drag those toes but perhaps this will help you concentrate on your technique.  They also aren't particularly great at edging and sharp holds can be painful on the toes.
     The fastening system works well with just the two velcro straps and the tongue is thick enough to shield you from any pressure so you can have them fairly tight.  At around £58 they are priced about right and comparable with other similar intermediate level shoes.

Pros
     Good for smeary slabs
     Reasonably priced
     Soft and comfortable
Cons
     Not very robust
     Not the best for edging and sharp footholds
   
It's the shoe for you if....
     you want an incredibly cosy, reasonably priced shoe that is good for bouldering and short routes.

NEclimber Rating  8 / 10

More Evolv products can be viewed on their website here

Return to NEclimber's blog