Evolv Shaman Review

Even though Chris Sharma has moved on from Evolv, his signature shoe model, the Shaman lives on. We sized up one half-size from our street shoes as they can stretch significantly over their lifespan. As is typical of all Evolv synthetic shoes, these can get pretty stinky if not cared for properly.

Performance Comparison

Comfort

Even with the noticeably thinner tongue, the comfort of the upgraded Shaman is still top-notch. It features a medium-wide last, and the unique “love bump” keeps your toe in the power position without having to rely on a super tight heel cup that presses into your tender Achilles. The low-profile Velcro straps didn't dig into the top of our feet, and were generally unnoticeable when flexing the shoe into painful positions. Depending on how you fit the shoe, the rubber toe patch is a bit firm and dug into the tops of our toes when fit snugly. This feel did improve as the shoes broke in, but it's still worth noting, especially if your feet are sensitive in this spot.

Smearing

This shoe puts a lot of rubber between you and the rock – 4.2 mm, to be exact. While supportive, our testers struggled to feel small features on low-angle slabs or techy climbs with small holds. We preferred more sensitive shoes with softer midsoles and thinner rubber for these types of faces.

Edging

When sized for a snug fit, the Shaman is characterized by a stiff and precise toe that digs into edges well and allows for serious power transfer. We enjoyed this shoe the most while climbing steep terrain characterized by edges and pockets, as the shoes allow you to pull into the wall on very small holds. But as the angle slackens and you need to weight your feet more, the Shaman lacks some sensitivity and begins feeling less secure. This all makes sense, knowing that Sharma has spent the majority of his life putting up new routes on steep European limestone, and this shoe seems perfectly fit for that style of climbing.

Pulling

The Shaman excels in pockets, as the sharply down-turned toe grabs and pulls itself into holds. An incredibly secure fit in the arch and heel allows you to exert a lot of force through your toes, so you can pull hard on this shoe all day until your hip flexors and hamstrings give out. The rubber coverage over the toe and on the heel is excellent and provides a proper platform for hooking. Where the Shaman falters in steep terrain is only in its stiffness. For grabbing and pulling with your feet, the lack of dexterity in this stiff shoe is not helpful for hooking sloping holds. For all other aspects of steep, technical sport climbing, though, this shoe is a great choice.

Crack Climbing

The low-profile toe and softer rubber on this shoe might give you an advantage on your technical crack project, but the Shaman is not our first choice for crack climbing. The aggressive downturn on this shoe and stiff character don't allow your feet to flatten out well, which makes jamming in wider cracks particularly painful. Additionally, the velcro straps on this shoe create some discomfort in hand-size cracks. All that said, the Shaman was not designed for crack climbing and this low-performance score shouldn't steer you away from the shoe for other climbing pursuits.

Should You Buy the Evolv Shaman?

The Shaman has won the hearts of many climbers and a fair few awards along the way. When we compare it to other shoes in our test, it lands smack in the middle of the price range for high-end climbing shoes and only misses out due to its comparative lack of sensitivity. For some climbers, this may be desirable for digging into sharp limestone edges – making the shoe somewhat style-specific – but a little less versatile for many climbing pursuits. Heavier climbers may find that the stiffness perfectly supports their weight, while they may feel a bit clunky for lighter climbers.

What Other Climbing Shoes Should You Consider?