evolv  Kira Climbing Shoes - Women's

The title sounds like an old Motown song. I am on my second pair Kiras. I boulder and sport climb indoors and out for about the last 6 years. My aggressive pair are the Muira. My *comfortable shoe with feeling* is the Kira. I needed to work on my footwork and was looking for a shoe with less rubber and stiffness than the Muira, but still a little edge for those chips the route-setters claim to be toe-worthy. The Kira has a soft grip that allows you to feel the hold under your foot. The extra rubber on the top help with toe-hooking. These are great for the gym and I started using them when climbing sport because of comfort. They are flexible and work well for slab/granite. My first pair had just two single velcro instead of the the double-backed midfoot strap. I'll update if I like them any less. I would recommend if you are looking for something that can grip, but you are not ready for a downturned or don't like the heel cup on a more aggressive shoe.

To start, I actually really loved this shoe as they were my first pair after using rentals and would give it a 3.5 star rating. I loved the grip of the shoe after trying on a bunch of different brands. I loved the style, the color, and the fit. They kept their shape and did not get overly loose. Comfortable enough to wear the entire climbing session while still being a great climbing shoe. Edging, toe, and heel hooks felt solid. They actually stuck and gripped the holds in comparison to other recommend shoes for beginners such as Black Diamond Momentum or Scarpa Origin. I appreciated having them actually fit to my feet instead of having a space in my shoe that caused a noise when I walked around in them (which happened while testing different shoes like Scarpa Veloce or La Sportiva Aragon). They did have a tighter toe box as many others have said and I also have wider feet so it was nice to be aware of this potential issue when buying them. However, I found moving up half a size fixed that issue for me. I would say that everyone's feet are shaped differently and "sizing up" is not always the solution though. These shoes did start to retain a smell after 4-5 months of wear throughout the hotter and sweatier months of summer and I do not usually have smelly feet. However, it was not a deal breaker for me as I have heard (& smelled) pretty much every shoe will eventually start to get the "stink". My only issue with them was their durability. I climb maybe 2-3 times a week or less and my pair got a hole in the rubber around the tip of the toe (and got larger with every climb) within 6 months of indoor climbing. I do understand that shoes will wear but only having 6 months of moderate use before it got another hole and may have to get a new pair of shoes really put a damper on buying another pair for me. People may wear down their shoes in different areas so others may not have the same issue as I did. It really was sad because I loved these shoes otherwise and I was really hoping these would last longer than 6 months. Overall, it is nice step up for those wanting to get into a moderate shoe while still having comfort and I'd recommend at least trying them out. Hopefully they just last longer than 6 months for other people.