Evolv Oracle Climbing Shoe Climbing Shoes

Product Information

The toe box felt very similar to that of the Shaman, which many readers will be familiar with. As Evolv’s most successful shoe, this seems like a good shape to copy and I’ve found it drives a nice balance between a pointed toe and a decent inner edge for standing on small, err, edges. Summary The Geshido has a leather upper, which has some advantages and disadvantages over the synthetic alternatives. Leather will adapt to the shape of your foot to give a perfect fit if you size them fairly tight to start with. I would probably go down another half size from the UK8 that I tested for a performance fit, but I’d keep the 8s for all day route climbing or for warm summer days at the boulders. For reference, my street shoe size is about UK8.5, so I’d go a full size down for a redpoint fit and half for more general use. I find leather uppers can give you a great fit after the wear in phase, but they are less predictable than synthetic and this makes it harder to get the sizing right to begin with. Summary The Geshido is one of two new models from Evolv released this spring. They come in lace-up and Velcro variants, and in male and female versions. I’ve been testing a pair of the men’s Velcro for the last few months, initially confined to my garage board, and more recently on the crags and boulders of South Wales. What kind of shoe is the Geshido?

In a nutshell Agro is totally comparable to legendary LS Solution. Details that I mentions above are matter of personal taste. This discipline needs a lot of pressure onto the toes, that means asymmetric and tight climbing shoes with a very stiff sole.

The Oracle does a pretty impressive job of covering all bases, in terms of performance sport, bouldering and trad climbing. Unlike many lace up models, the rubber toe patch is extensive and gives coverage high enough up the forefoot for all manner of toe hooks. This is a nice change from other lace ups which include a small and rather useless patch of toe rubber that doesn’t do much. Today, we review the high-volume Velcro model. Despite its name, the high-volume Shaman is narrower than the second generation. The second generation was a good intermediate shoe because it was comfortable. The third generation retains that comfort, but with a much better fit. It features a love bump that crimps the user’s big toe. The Technology

From the Agro, the Oracle inherited the stiffer “Dark Spine” midsole and heel tension which ensures a supportive fit and plenty of friction for heel hooks. A Flexible Sling Shot (FFS) heel tensioner is embedded into the top lace loop. When pulled tight, the heel and arch can be pulled in with plenty of precision.We used multiple “testers” and based our recommendations on their agreed decisions. Sizing Yourself It is important to feel all parts of your climbing shoe as your body and your feet are always in a power position. Precise foot position is required all the time, as the climbing session is usually short and intensive. In this discipline it is important to have a shoe that will not stretch too much over the time. The sole needs to provide enough rigidity and at the same time the suitable sensitivity and delicate heel & toe hooks.

While the front of the Oracle doesn't have the total rubber coverage of the Agro, they still hold their own in toe-hook sequences, and I felt like the laces stayed out of the way better then velcro when I used more of my foot.

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Comfort – the shoes are comfortable. Much more comfortable than Solution moreover Agro is not yet fully broken in. It’s not matter of size as visually Agro is few mm smaller than solution and also putting on the shoe is more difficult in case of Agro. So probably matter of inner lining and/or shape/fit. I expect the shoes will stretch little bit and I can even imagine to have it half size smaller but in this case issue will be put the shoes on. WARM YOUR SHOES - Never try your NEW shoes on when they are cold out of the box. Leave them in a warm room for an hour or so before trying them on, this will make them much more soft, supple and plyable. Disclaimer TRAX-SAS is such a composition that is a mix that’s both long-lasting and low-friction. If you don’t mistreat the soles, you may expect them to last a long time. A volume rating (Low/Medium/High) is provided for each shoe. The male tester has medium width, medium volume feet so anything that was a perfect fit was judged as ‘Medium’ volume, anything with very little room as ‘Low’ volume and anything with lots of room in the body of the shoe as ‘High’ volume. Aside from the Agro’s closure and split tongue, the upper itself is almost entirely covered in Evolv’s proprietary Trax SAS climbing-grade rubber. This is the same rubber that appears on the Agro’s sole and heel, and it’s very grippy.