Evolv alternative

Hi all,
I'm climbing in Evolvs right now and I love them. They smell so bad that despite how much I like them I'm looking for something else. I know there are a million posts about fixing the smell issue but I'm done dealing with them and I'm looking for something that may be a good alternative.

I like the comfort/fit and that they are fairly technical but I can still make friction moves in them. The rubber on the shoes seems more sticky than most I've used. I'm not looking for a lace up. Does anyone who has liked evolvs have a shoe that they would recommend switching to?

Thanks for helping me narrow the sea of choices!
Joe

There really are some great shoe 'detergents' and un-smellifiers out there to use. Worth the effort if you love your Evolv'. Just get a shoe tree to stuff in it to keep stretched out and dry it slow, not over a heat vent. Otherwise, I like Acopa too.

Red Point, from Arco. Comfortable, affordable, and worth the puddle jump.

For $20 you can get these sweet vans slip-ons

great for a quick sesch before a party

I too have noticed that my evolv pontas smell more than my other climbing shoes. I still love to climb in them though. They actually smell to the point that my christmas present from my wife was a shoe deoderizer! I also climb in Acopas and love them too, and they seem to smell a bit less (although I still wouldn't stick my nose inside). Maybe it's a sythetic vs leather thing? Also, that natural Acopa rubber seems every bit as sticky as the Evolve stuff to me.

Five Ten Anasazi's have been my favorite for years. I actually like them better than the Evolv's. I recently picked up a pair of Mad Rock Flash's and so far I am really impressed with the rubber. We'll see how it goes after they stretch out.
And BTW, none of my shoes stink. Put a can of foot powder in your pack and apply after every session. Those around you will thank you for it.

I'm sure that if I didn't climb with socks my shoes would stink.

Christopher Jones wrote:I'm sure that if I didn't climb with socks my shoes would stink.

Christopher,
Hint: The socks aren't fooling anybody. We can still smell your dogs. ;)

Dang, and I look like a dork with them on.

Christopher Jones wrote:Dang, and I look like a dork with them on.

Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me.

John Wilder wrote:dont keep your shoes stuffed in an enclosed space and they wont stink as much. either that, or use some of evolv's leather models like the Demorto or a couple others (i forget which ones). in general, though, if your foot fits evolv, it will also fit five ten and mad rock, given they all use very similar lasts.

That last quote about ahem lasts is complete nonsense. The lasts very within each climbing shoe for each climbing company. Hence, the reason why you could wear a 41 in an Anasazi and a 44 in the new Team LE's (which I do).

That said, it all depends what you want. Most of the time when people say technical they mean easy. And most of the time this means not as downturned of a shoe. (I've climbed V10 slab in extremely downturned shoes, in fact they were the only one's that worked). If you're looking for aggressive top of the line shoes anything on the Mago line by Scarpa is the best on the market. Then the Testarossa's and Solutions by La Sportiva and the Team Le's that 5.10 just put out (finally they made a decent shoe). From what I know absolutely noone complains about Scarpa lest they have very narrow feet. They are absolutely the best fit on the market and the "Oh God Yes" when you slip them on is tell tale. Granted if you're not looking to a downtunred shoe (which Evolv doesn't really make [c'mon the Pontas?]) The Viper's or Katanas by La Sportiva are top of the line.

Note: The designer for the latter model La Sportiva and the Mago line on Scarpa is the same guy. He's amazing!

If y'all want to smell some bad shoes, grab yourself a pair of Jet 7s! Totally worth it, though!

Christopher Jones wrote:Dang, and I look like a dork with them on.

It's the knee top socks that are a bit much.
But agree socks can reduce smell, and add some comfort for tender feet. I think some shoes with liners are guilty of holding the stink more than an unlined leather shoe. You limit shoe stretch but gain shoe odor, so that's the trade off to pick from. Add foot powder to the shoe after a climbing day. Think it varies from one person's stinky foot to another.

As others have mentioned if your feet are smelling up evolves they will smell up any other shoe, it may just take longer.

I too have dealt with this, both in my old anasazis and with my new pontas'.

Although I think I have found the solution to stinky shoes. It is called OdoBan. I bought it at Sams Club for $15. You get a full spray bottle and a full gallon of concentrate.

This stuff works GREAT! Over the past year of climbing I have sprayed the inside of my shoes three times! That's it, anything else that works that good out there? I haven't heard of it. I have sold some of it to friends who swear by it as well. The stuff smells like eucalyptus. The difference with OdoBan is that is kills the bacteria in the shoe. The smell isn't covered up, it just goes away. After the stuff dries, the bacteria from your feet die in the shoe, so no stink.

It has worked on my buddies shoes, which were so bad you couldn't walk behind him on the trail. The stink was so bad it came out of his bag and knocked you to the ground. It even worked on shoes that already wreak. Just spray to wet the entire inside of the shoes and dry.

Good luck. Everyone really should try this stuff it is amazing and you need so little my bottle is still almost full.

Here it is:
amazon.com/OdoBan-Odor-Elim…

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