evolv  V6 LV Climbing Shoes - Women's

General notes: For beginner climbers, solid shoe to upgrade from your first pair- pointed toe shape allows for more precise foot placement, and the evolv "love bump" that curls the toes allows for a shocking amount of power on overhung routes from such a neutrally downturned shoe. May take a session or two to get used to from a softer starter shoe like the tarantulace, as the stiffer midsole will force you to apply more pressure to engage the rubber to holds, but in turn this also kinda forces you to be more conscious about foot usage which will make you a better climber so think of that what you will I suppose, lol Performance notes: Because the shoe is a bit stiff, there are definitely better shoes out there for smearing. Coming from La Sportiva Solutions which were softer and a split sole design, i've yet to become fully confident in sticking my foot on a volume and trusting that it'll react how i want it to, but as I climb in these more, they do seem to be softening up to a point where i think i can manage. I also weigh 200lbs/90kg, so your mileage may very for those that are on the lighter side. Conversely, edging ability feels really good on these given the stiffness- they're still sensitive enough to be able to feel the hold with your feet but stiff enough to where tiny foot chips aren't making you strain all of your foot muscles trying to hold on. The Trax Evo 74 rubber on these is good, I can't complain so far. I have yet to find anything as good as Vibram XS Grip 2, but this new compound from evolv is sufficient enough in my opinion- any time my foot has slipped off a hold, it was generally user error. (Its certainly stickier than the rubber on the SoIll AB1, but that's a conversation for a different review lol) Fit Notes: This shoe fits my "duck feet" well, i.e. narrow heel but wide forefoot. It also seems good for my greek foot shape (second toe being longer than your big toe), no complaints there. In terms of sizing, I think evolv's sizing guide is spot on. My street shoe size is about an EU 42.5 and i opted for an EU 43 for a balance in comfort and performance. I think i could have made my street shoe size work if I wanted a pure "take off after a couple of minutes" power shoe, or in evolv's words, max performance fit. As it stands right now after 4 sessions, stretching is minimal due to the synthetic materials used, and i'll only run into foot/toe pain after wearing them for a considerable amount of time, say 20+ minutes. Intermediate or advanced climbers should definitely lean more towards street shoe size, but I can't see anyone going more than maybe a half size down from there for the most absolutely tight fit. Beginners should probably lean towards at least a size, maybe even a size and a half up if you're not used to foot pain from climbing shoes and want to minimize it (if you REALLY wanted to, maybe could get away with going up two sizes but that really does seem excessive to me, I think climbing shoes should be at least a little uncomfortable to wear) but bear in mind that as you progress, excessive dead space in your shoes may cause your foot to slip in the shoe when climbing, especially true for more advanced moves like heel hooking. Final Notes: This is a good all around shoe. It's not the best at heel hooking like a Mad Rock (or in some weird instances, the Solution with its gigantic ball heel), but it'll get the job done if you try hard enough. It's not the best at toe hooking (but to be honest its actually pretty good at it since you have a lot of rubber to play with), it'll still get the job done if you try hard enough. It's not the best at smearing like a super soft Scarpa Drago or La Sportiva Theory, but it'll get the job done if you try hard enough. I could go on, but you get the point- this shoe has everything you might need to get better and nothing you don't, which is exactly what it was designed to do.