I bought these shoes about a month and a half ago not really sure how much I was going to be able to climb, and as would be expected I left town and haven't been able to climb but once since I bought them, until last week when I got in way over my head with my first real slab climb. I didn't realize until I had struggled my way to the first bolt that this might be a little above my abilities, but leaving gear behind is lame, so at least I needed to try to finish. These shoes provided some very much needed friction in very tight spots, I am definitely a fan. So far I haven't been able to find out about the overall durability, but functionally I back them 100%.

Can't beat the price! The shoes overall durability is substandard, but they climb very well - super sticky rubber. These shoes are built to climb well on anything, though they hardly excel at one specific climbing style; maybe steep face climbing if anything. The Defy's also hold their shape well even after several resoles. If your looking for a low cost, no waste minamalist design and a super good value, this is your shoe!

best all around shoe i've ever owned. evolv defy shoes have good grip and the velcro straps make it easy to take on and off when doing long gym sessions or what not.

I bought these shoes two years ago and even after abusing them in the gym and outside of the gym they are holding up well. The one downside i would say to these shoes are that they have no support. It makes edging harder. Smearing is great and if you are a slab climber these shoes are intensely beneficial. The are painful doing crack climbing but other than that i have enjoyed using them. I just upgraded to different type of evolv shoe with a stiffer casing hopefully i can attack wall street more intensely next time!

Now I like these shoes because they are Vegan friendly but thats really not the reason I bought them. They are pretty damn comfortable but I'd definitely take them off in between climbs. These shoes really haven't seen any real rock so I'm not 100% sure how they will do on it but I do know that sometimes they tend to slip while climbing in the gym. Thats a bummer, lots of bloody knees and unexpected falls. Either way they are a good shoe -you will just have to find something that works.

I bought a pair of these shoes elsewhere about a year ago, and decided I need to let people know about them. I bought them because I couldn't stand the rentals at the gym, and instantly knew i made a good buy. I was just beginning to climb, and now I boulder in the same pair at least once a week. I do mostly gym routes, and have had no problem with holes in the toes or the soles coming unglued. I take care to make sure they are well aired out and dry after using them (synthetic shoes supposedly stink) and they stay in my living room without any offending odors.

My normal shoes are 11's and after trying on a few pairs, I bought a pair of the Defy's in size 11. They curl my toes, and make walking slightly difficult, but they are not uncomfortable. I now have callouses on the top of my big toes from rubbing, but I never got any blisters.

They are clearly the most popular shoe at my gym, and they just re-did the rentals to use all Defy's. These shoes are totally synthetic for the Vegan community. They are great for beginners, or for veterans who want a more comfortable shoe.

Thanks.

Matt T

I bought these on impulse and have only had a chance to use them indoor. Overall I like the fit, feel, and look of the shoes. Stiff yet comfortable. The velcro straps allow for me to undo them and rest my toes after a long stint of climbing. Great shoe and I recommend them to those just getting into climbing and those who have been climbing for a while. I give them two thumbs up.

i've tried other slippers in this price range such as mad rock's mugen and flash, but these are by far the most comfortable. finally, climb all day without pain.

Fit is great, has the feel of a slipper. Sole seems like it won't last as long as other shoes, but for this price it is hard to complain.

I wear a sz. 10.5 in a street shoe and got these in a sz. 10(43). These are my second pair of climbing shoe, my first being the LS Barracudas which I got in a 43 aswell. The cudas have stretched and no longer allow the precision I want. At half a size small, these shoes are precise! I love the velcro straps for quick in and out. I've noticed that when the shoes are dry I can only keep them for a few minutes at a time before I want them off, but once my feet start sweating they stretch just a little bit and becomes slightly more comfy - only very slightly though, lol. I've only used them indoors so far and love them on tough boulder routes. The edging is great (due to a tighter fit) and the rubber sticks well, smearing is not as good as the cudas IMO. When I get home I give them a quick spray of febreeze and hang them on a quickdraw to air out. I don't wear socks with them. For the price that backcountry has them right now you can't go wrong is you're look for your first shoe or just another pair of gym shoes.

As a climbing instuctor at a camp for 2 months, I decided to get a pair of Velcro's of Mocs. I love my Pitons, but it was too much shoe for the day in day out climbing I did. I did not feel like blowing a $120 pair of shoes for all day 5.6's or 7's so I got these puppies. At first I was skeptical as they were actaully comfy (for ANY SHOE) and I had only heard of eVolvs a couple of times. Pretty much the guy sold me after I climbed on there wall and their edging was amazing for a velcro. The smearing isn't like my Pitons, but hey I can't complain. With 10 to 20 climbs a day for, 6 days a week, 2 months this year, these guys have help up like champs. They are my go to shoe unless I really need edging and smearing power. GREAT SHOE!

Three months ago, a day after my first climb, I bought a pair of Defy shoes with the intention of dedicating the summer to learning how to climb. In pursuit of this goal, my Defy's spent at least 2 hrs, 4x/week, on my feet either in the gym or at the crag being critical to my progress through 5.10d lead and V3. I would recommend these shoes to others with the instruction to keep a few things in mind before they buy.
1) They do stretch. I wear 10.5/11 in street shoes and got them in 10.5. After suffering for a month, they finally broke in and became quite comfortable. In the middle of month 2, however, they had stretched too much, and as I was getting better and needing to dial it down, the velcro straps wouldn't go far enough to allow it. My next Evolv's will def be a size or more down. The break-in time will suck, but I'll end up with shoes that fit so well, I'll be very happy to pay for resoling.
2) The rubber runs out pretty quickly. I've heard others talk smack about Trax rubber, but I've found it quite sticky and trustworthy on sketchy clips. The problem is that I have two gaping wholes in the toes, and the rubber on the heel is separating from the shoe. This may be due to beginner's footwork, but other reviewers have mentioned the same problem.
3) Lastly, I know it's weird, but they really do reek! I was happily surprised to read this comment in other reviews (glad to know it's not just me). So, make sure you get odor eaters, or something.

I bought these on impulse and have only had a chance to use them indoor. Overall I like the fit, feel, and look of the shoes. Stiff yet comfortable. The velcro straps allow for me to undo them and rest my toes after a long stint of climbing. Great shoe and I recommend them to those just getting into climbing and those who have been climbing for a while. I give them two thumbs up.

This is a good durable climbing shoe that was comfortable (as far as rock climbing shoes are concerned). They've got great grip that lasts, and stretch very very minimally. Two complaints though: one major and one minor: After just 9 months holes developed in the toes and have made using toe holds pretty much out of the question. The minor complaint is that these things smell horrible. I'd tried disinfectant sprays and odor balls, neither of which worked. Maybe it's just me, but I noticed a few other people making similar comments. Overall: Solid shoe, but I wouldn't necessarily put my brand loyalty stamp on these just yet.

highly satisfactory all-around shoe. i find them best for bouldering. they smear like no other. price is hard to beat too. i definitely recommend unless your trying to do anything above a 5.12

this is awesome beginner shoe. it holds up well, the velcro works great, good for gym climbing

these are some of the most comfortable bouldering shoes i've ever tried on. they are GREAT for the gym, and good outdoors too. They are super thin and sensitive, and i've seen them from V0 to V8 climbers. The only thing -- they are pretty thin (adding to the sensitivity), so if you are really rough on shoes (lots of smearing, etc.) then these may wear out fast.. evolv rubber simply CANNOT compete with fivetens...

Absolutely no complaints. It's relatively inexpensive for the performance you get out of it. I'm a beginner and I saw immediate results.

I wouldn't recommend these shoes for very edgy and weight bearing kind of climbing. I got about 10 trips out of these and they have already torn on the Toe and the inside edges of my big toes. It's a good shoe, just not for the smaller edges you will find on some Face,Bouldering, and Slab climbing.

These shoes do the job for learning or just cruise climbing. Pretty flat, no edge, could be stickier but comfy and a good value for the money.
The low price makes it debatable whether or not you would want to ever resole them :)
Recommended for beginners.

Update*- Looks like my prediction was correct, the sole didn't even last 20 indoor days and I have returned them for a pair of Pontas instead. Really disappointed in the quality. The fit is still great though, and yeah they do smell pretty bad as mentioned by others.

I've only been climbing for five months and this is my first and only pair of climbing shoes, so I can't speak well on the relative stickiness of the rubber or "rock feel" or anything deep like that. But I can say I love 'em. I expected to have to take them off frequently, but the arch isn't extremely overstated nor are the toes overly pointed, so I can actually walk around in them a bit (though they're definitely not an all-day-comfort shoe). For sizing: I wear a 10 and have pretty wide feet, and I wear an extremely thin wicking sock when I climb (even though they're lined, I fear the potential for stink), and the size 10 fits me well. After five months of indoor and outdoor climbing at least once a week, there are some signs of wear on the sole, but no thin spots or signs of breaking. (Most of the wear came from one particular long climb on a rock face that had been baking in the scorching sun -- I think I literally meted my shoes on that.) I climb around 5.10's right now, which I consider a solid climb, so I consider this a solid shoe. Maybe the crazy 5.14-ers out there need the super-pointy, barely-there slippers, but for me, these work well.

I've been climbing on these shoes HARD for the last year. I climbed almost everyday in the summer (literally) and have been climbing inside lately. I have been seriously impressed with these shoes. Anything i've wanted to climb, these shoes have helped and been SUPER comfortable (for climbing shoes). People can tell you they're not the most technical shoe, and they're right. But, I've been comfortable leading 11's and top roping 12's if that tells you anything about the shoes. Lastly, after all the abuse i've put these things through they're finally starting to wear. The toe of the right foot developed a small hole recently. Awesome shoes though.

Love the shoe. It smears great and edges well. The only complaint that I have on them is that the sole and toe box are tearing apart from each other. Gonna get em resoled and keep climbing in them. I wear a 13 in Vans and boots, I got an 11 in these. They were tight as hell to start with, but stretched just a little and they fit like a glove. When I take them off they've formed a nice suction on my toe. Overall, I'm happy with them, just a little disappointed with the durability. Maybe it was bad footwork on a beginners fault, but none the less I'd recommend them.

This was my first climbing shoe. It was suggested to me as a good beginner shoe in that it performs well and is also priced well. As a beginning climber you will wear down the rubber of your first pair of shoes quickly as you get use to foot placement. So you don't want to go all out on your first pair.

Secondly, as far as sizing goes. When I first purchased them I went with street shoe size 10.5 and they worked well. They were a little tight at first but stretch out slightly after warming up and sweating in them a bit so keep that in mind. Also, after a month or so of climbing when my feet adjusted to wearing tight shoes I realized I had dead space in them when curling/pointing my toes. So I exchanged them for a full size smaller. I also suggest you do this. Exchange once you are comfortable with going smaller. Making your shoes too tight at first will make climbing no fun.

I have owned these shoes for over a year and they have not worn out after a lot of climbing. I have used them in multiple gyms, on Georgia limestone overhangs, Tennessee sandstone cliffs, and Montana boulders. They are very versatile and I like that the velcro makes them easy to slip on and off. I would recommend these shoes to anyone looking for a solid, go-to shoe.

I previously owned a pair of these for about 1 year before wearing through the toe. Not too bad for how much I used them. The fit was great, the velcro straps are perfect length (unlike some other velcro shoes) so they don't flap around, and the rubber was like fly paper.

I loved these shoes, except for one thing. Because they are organic, they hold odor much more than leather. After a period of time, the smell was unbearable (but at least it kept people away from my route). Evolv has addressed the issue, and continues to look for ways to be safe to the environment and stop the odor.

i had the opportunity to use these shoes a couple times over the summer. i was impressed with how comfortable they are and how much grip they provide on even the most smooth surfaces. i would definitely recommend these shoes to somebody

Defffyyyy gravity. These suckers are like super glue! One of the best sport climb shoes I've ever had. Natural EcoTrax soles keep it green while sticking you to the rock. I wear a 10.5 street shoe, got the 42.5 in these and they're awesome. A little uncomfortable at first but what climbing shoe isn't? Buy them.

This was my first pair of climbing shoes. I am very happy with them. They have great traction on the wall and rarely slip. They fit well - they are the same size as my Nike cross trainers. I love the easy on, easy off Velcro! I would definitely recommend these shoes.

These shoes are a true fit. buy them to your actual shoe size. Yes they will stink after about 40 days of climbing. But all shoes do. If people are complaining about the stink then maybe its their feet? Wash your feet people!!! Easy on and off shoe. No like real easy. The nylon lining inside helps the shoe glide off and on! This shoe is perfect for the climber that doesn't have the skills yet for a 5.12 or up.

1. If you stink...the shoes will stink. Wash your feet and take them off after you climb.
2. They DO stretch, but only a tiny bit. My street shoe is an 11 and i wear 10's in these and they're perfect.
3. I've put over 60 hours on these shoes so far and they are still in awesome condition.
4. They're not THE MOST technical shoe...but they climbed a 5.13b in the gym about a week ago. Awesome shoe...would recommend to anyone.

These are pretty good climbing shoes. They're stickier than my 5.10 coyotes, but not as comfortable. The soles are pretty good at edging to. I actually really liked these until I got my Montrails. I LOVE my montrail climbing shoes. They're almost too sticky indoor climbing, but these offer better traction outdoor. Go figure.

Great shoes for the price. Started using them as a gym shoe since they were cheaper and wound up using them for my bouldering set since they grabbed so well on the rock. Edging... is decent. I would of liked a stiffer sole, for my preference.

The smell. I found it odd that it came up a lot during the reviews, but i completely understand now. Never had i been the person with smelly feet, but for some reason after a session in these shoes you're feet smell due to the material i guess. But the shoes end up smelling too. I even toss those anti-smell gadget ball things to help. Nada.

only have a few climbs in them and im new to the sport but i love these shoes. they fit really tight with toes curled and lets me climb pretty aggressive dont want them on inbetween climbs but then again what shoe do you really want on inbetween climbs super sticky and they make me feel like spider man brought a whole new level to climbing for me oh and backcountry's customer service unparralled helped me every step of the way def buying from here again

As a beginner I've enjoyed using this shoe for a full season. It took the gym wear without a problem and handled outside in cracks, face climbs, and overhangs. The edge OK, but I had to develop a lot of my own foot stability. The weakness of these shoes was that heat kills any edging ability they have. My hot defy's always smelled normal and fit consistently. They also lasted a long time.

These are the shoes I bought when getting started. I instantly stopped slipping like when I used rentals. I find them to be great all around shoes good for smearing and edges. They do stink after a while, but thats probably because I can wear them all day and be comfortable. I go to the gym at least three times a week and outside once a month for about 8 months and the shoes are still in great condition. I bought a half size smaller than I wear and they are a great fit. Great for the price

Bought these shes at a local outdoor retailer and got them for 50 using discounts and such. good shoe for the price. Work great on smearing, gym climbing, and outdoor. I bought these true to size. most shoes i wear are 12 to 13 and got these in a 12. theyre snug but thats how its supposed to be. good for beginning climbers looking for an in expensive shoe. Havent had a problem with the rubber yet but they are only a month old. i climb almost every day in the gym 2-3 hours.

I bought my evolvs over a year ago as my climbing became more technical shall we say. I chose them because they are the only Vegan friendly shoe that actually fits my foot and helps my climbing. I have climbed regularly both inside and outside in these shoes and can wear them comfortably for long periods and only recently have i noticed wear on the toe area! I love these shoes and think they would be absolutely perfect if they didn't reek so damn much how do i stop this with my next pair?

great shoe! wears too fast & stinks if you don't take em off after every climb

These shoes fit really well in the toe box. I have a small heel and always have a problem with the heel cups, and I have a high arch. The heel cup was a tad too deep for me, causing an open space between my heel and my arch. I then tried the Electras, the women's version, and they fit great for my small heel. These have good support and are really comfortable on!

These shoes were great the first month I was climbing. By the end of that month however they already smelled worse than any odor I have encountered, and were below my level. The worst part about these shoes is the synthetic liner. it soaks up sweat like a sponge. They will never smell good. and make sure you get a half size to full size smaller than your street shoes. overall, not a horrible first shoe

Since I've tried these shoes, my feet technique has improved, I've started to climb better. I'ts amazing how excellent gear can make you achieve improvement in this sport!!!

I ordered these shoes and they were a size too small, so i sold them to my sister (turned a $5 profit... :)...) and ordered the right size...these shoes are great...i l love them...they're super sticky and super cheap compared to the galileo's I wanted...buy them...

I would not recommend these shoes for slab climbing. A few short toe drags on semi-rough rock and you will soon have a hole in the toe. They are ok for more vertical climbs with less friction-dependant foot work. But I was dissappointed with how quickly and easily the holes developed.

These were the first climbing shoes I owned, the rubber was sticky and they edged okay. My biggest problem was that I developed a hole in the toe within the first 4 months granted I had a problem with dragging my toes up the wall (that problem has since been resolved), but I still think they could make the toe more durable.

these shoes reek. Im serious, if you buy them buy odor eaters and an odor proof container to put them in.