Evolv Shaman: Chris Sharma Designed And Tested

For years, climbing shoe manufacturers have tapped their athlete teams for inspiration and guidance. As professional climbers have become climbing industry ambassadors, brands have actually started to give athletes the freedom to build their dream shoes from the ground up. Evolv’s Shaman is one such shoe. The newest addition to eVolv's highly successful Chris Sharma Signature line, the radically downturned Shaman is designed to be the company's pinnacle shoe for hard bouldering and route climbing. The downturn makes them ideally suited to steep climbing where you’re pulling with your toes. A relatively spacious toebox lets you size the shoe with your big toe slightly curled but not crushed. The bigger toebox, which is covered in rubber for technical toe hooking, will also reduce toe blowout, and keep blisters in check. A leather forefoot liner gives maximum sensitivity, while the cotton heel liner prevents stretching. They’re brand new and available now at Outdoor Gear Exchange and gearX.com. But the Shamans have already earned their stripes. Check em out in Chuck Fryberger’s newest climbing flick The Scene, and you’ll see the Shamans toeing, hooking, and edging up Sharma’s newest testpiece, Fight or Flight 5.15b.