ProView – Evolv Supra Men’s Climbing Shoe
The Evolv Supra is high-performance shoe for delicate footwork and aggressive climbing. While they’re not the most severely down-turned shoe in the product line, the Supra is designed to hold up in the face of your toughest climbs.
Fit
I have climbed in both the now defunct Astromans and multiple pairs of Addicts, and these shoes did not prepare me for the fit of this new model. In those prior Evolvs I had been comfortably snug in my street shoe size; a 12.5. However upon delivery of my size 12.5 Supras, I could not even pull them on to my feet. I then erred on the side comfort and ordered a 13.5. While toes that were still tender from ski boots surely played a role, I was a little suprised by the magnitude of that jump. With the 13.5, my toes were still curled but not painfully so and my heel has been glued into place. Overall, though I am not using the full volume of the toe box to curl my toes further, I have what I consider a perfect fit with a full size increase
I have always loved Evolv’s liner material, and these did not disappoint with a smooth, velvety feel, even after 20 odd days of climbing in them. New for me in these shoes were velcro closures and Evolv’s plush and padded overlap tongues. The lack of a traditional tongue means these shoes were very easy to slide on, without any lateral bunching of the tongue as you cranked down on the closures. No matter how tight I wanted my fit, I also never felt the straps bite into the top of my foot.
Performance
Take this with a grain of salt, as I am primarily a trad and slab climber, but the Supras are a great face climbing shoe. I have climbed them on gneiss, granite, sandstone, and limestone, and they were great on all surfaces. I have always found Evolv’s Trax rubber to work best on sandstone, but really enjoyed these on the igneous rock I climbed. My only complaint in that regard was that they needed some roughing up and laps to get the factory finish rubbed off. My first laps on Squamish granite were quite slippery and interesting.
Edging with them was very stable and precise. I did not try crack climbing with them
Lastly, I have no noticeable wear and tear from the month I’ve had them.
The Final Word
All in all, I would say the Evolv Supras are a great shoe for anyone who wants a very high level sport climbing shoe but doesn’t want to crush their feet in a competition level shoe.
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Having moved to Colorado later in life from Buffalo, NY, Ryan Anderson is making up for lost time as a climbing guide in the summer, a ski patroller in the winter, and a constant vacationer in between! Biking, rafting, climbing, and gliding on snow are all more alluring than a 9 to 5 for him.