Carlos from Philly

Three things to focus on:
1) This shoe is a weapon, hands down. It's very specialized; expect to be off your game if you're using it for very vertical routes, slab, dime edges, smearing, etc. Not crippled, but definitely not on your game.
However: the second you move to steep overhangs or caves, roofs, bouldering, precise toe points, heel hooks, toe hooks, foot drags, etc, you'll realize what you're wearing is a very very specific, technical shoe. PERFECT for overhung bouldering more than anything, i think.
2) size this shoe to break in. i bought the shoe in a SNUG size, and i don't regret it. It was difficult to get on, and hurt to wear for more than five or ten minutes at a time. But by week two, everything was PERFECT. Still very snug, but not uncomfortably so. The shape of the shoe has completely conformed to my foot perfectly; heel hooks are ROCK solid (moreso than i ever remember them being), and every part of my foot is touching part of the shoe. no dead space, no shifting, no nothing. Perfect fit...
3) as for sizing, the best frame of reference i have for you is the Evolv Pontas. I wear the Evolv Pontas in what is a PERFECT size 8 after a week or two of breaking in; i wear the Team 5.10 in what is a PERFECT size 9.5 after two weeks. I don't know why there's such an absurd difference in the sizing, but this is it. I can't speak for other brands, but if you wear Evolv and have your perfect aggressive sizing down (emphasis on aggressive; don't size this shoe like a multi pitch shoe or it'll be worthless), i'd bet a size and a half up is what you want in the Team 5.10. That said, i ended up with three sizes in hand before realizing which one was perfect... if you can't find a dealer locally, Backcountry has a phenomenal return policy.

Great stuff. I keep two rolls in my bag-- one "full width" roll, and one "partial width" roll. The full width roll i use for taping wrists or arm tendons, while the partial roll is used to tear smaller width tape for fingers.
It rips really well, and seems to be more textured and subsequently "grippier" (to both skin and rock) than other tapes i've used-- which is invaluable when taping the more important fingers.

At this price, it makes a lot more sense to buy the Organic Fullpad.
More foam, more features (three layer foam, big zippered pouch for food and gear, HEIGHT adjustable straps for different sized climbers/types of hiking, hybrid vs taco design for season after season of intact foam, hip straps, etc.

The main thing here is the foam-- less than the competitors and only two vs three layers. If you want this level of quality, get the Metolius Stomp for a bit less $.
If you want to pay this price, get the Organic Fullpad for better quality (also about ten dollars cheaper).

First off, these shoes are great.If you like the Defys, you'll love the Pontas-- if you're looking for something a good bit more agressive and a tad more "precise".I tend to look at my Defys as a comfortable, broken in pair of training shoes, and the Pontas as a performance pair of racing flats.The Pontas are essentially a performance minded big brother to the more relaxed Defys.I recommend getting both: wear the Defys on long Sunday mornings at the gym, and the Pontas to harder group trips to new outdoor spots (once you've spent a few weeks breaking them in on plastic, of course).DON'T size up/down/etc when going from Defys (this conversation seems to come up quite often). Going from a broken in pair of Defys to new Pontas is not going to be the most comfortable thing in the world. This has nothing to do with the sizing, and more to do with the fact that the last thing you climbed in were essentially snug Christmas slippers.If your Defys feel PERFECT (as an old pair of well fitted Defys will), then go with the same size in Pontas. Once they're broken in, you'll get the same sensitivity with an added aggressive edge you won't confuse with "too tight".That said, these things are terrific. The teeniest nicks in rock become ledges; smearing is fantastic.Note: this style of shoe (pointy, asymmetrical, big-toe emphasizing) either fits or doesn't; if you love the Optimus (round box) style, you'll probably feel weird and cramped in these (but you most likely already know that).Ok, on to the smell thing.For whatever reason, Evolv (and other synthetic, i guess) climbing shoes will start to stink really badly after awhile. At first i thought it was just guys, but my girlfriend-- who honestly never has BO and barely sweats even after hours of running/riding/climbing/whatever on the hottest days-- took her Evolvs off the other night at the gym.I was genuinely offended!To fix this, i recommend this simple solution (which works brilliantly every time):1) Spray (liberally) the inside of each shoe with Odor Eaters spray (it's cheap and can be found at any drug store).2) Pour a bunch of baking soda in each shoe and shake everything around until it's coated.3) Put them in a plastic grocery bag (sorry, California), tie it tight and place it in your freezer overnight.4) Take them out the next day, remove them from the bag and let them sit for a few hours (i let them sit while i'm at work).5) Dump the powder out into your trash or whatever (warning: it's going to smell a bunch), then wipe the excess baking soda off with a paper towel or whatever (smacking the shoes-- open end down-- into the trash works too).6) Spray with another hit of oder eaters and you're done. They'll smell great. Do this once a month or whatever (depending on how often you climb).

Killer bag. Small without being TOO small, yet is very portable.

Pros:
- drawstring closes super tight (i keep this in my backpack almost every day; yet to get so much as a streak of chalk on any of my stuff)
- small without being tiny. fits neatly away into the corner of a backpack, yet holds enough loose chalk + a chalk sock to boulder for days and days.
- mouth stays open forever.
- doesn't tip over.
- comes with a waist strap for use without carabiner (i actually use this as a makeshift "dispenser" for tape; message me if you want to know how i did it, it works quite nicely)

Cons:
- few extra features (no pockets, etc)

A pocket for tape, et al would've been nice, but otherwise this bag is perfect IF you're looking for a small bag.
I can't comment on the large size, but the small one is really everything i could've asked for.