Rock Shoes: Evolv Predator
1st Mar 2006
£70.00 | Velcro | size reviewed 10.5 (foot size 10) | weight 513g | medium asymmetry
Evolv are a fairly new make to the UK. The two pairs tested here were very distinctive in looks so should quickly get people’s attention. The Predator is a non-garish lime green coloured synthetic upper with two good nice feeling Velcro closure straps covering a split padded tongue. The first thing you notice when you pick them up is the aggressive looking down-pointing toe to go with the aggressive name. These are never going to be smeary shoes, although having said that they are reasonably soft giving fairly useful all round performance for what is essentially a specialist steep shoe. Fit wise, they force your toes down at the front making them somewhat uncomfortable around the toes. They are very broad over the bridge of the foot but even with slim feet the straps pulled them down tight enough. They edge rather well when you get used to the odd toe shape and as mentioned already they can smear, but when you get them in the terrain they are designed for they are like an extra pair of hands working well on big and small stuff. One complaint is the poor finishing inside. The lining has got several folds across the top of the toes on both feet. A shame to spoil such a nicely finish good performer.
Note that when we contacted the UK distributor about the inconsistencies in lining quality they had the following to say:
Your comments seem fair enough, although just checked some other predators and kaos and have not found any folds on the lining. Is your predator lined with the microfibre or cotton lining? If it's the cotton, it's an older version that has been replaced with a softer lining. If it's microfibre lined, then as mentioned above, can't find a similar problem with the other shoes, perhaps a one off?
Our test models were cotton lining so we assume that the problem is no longer. We thought you should know just in case...
This review was carried out as part of a massive comparative review of 25 pairs of Performance Rock Shoes. We think that this could be the biggest review of such shoes ever undertaken. You can read the whole review here.