Evolv > Optimus Primes

What the Evolv site says: The Optimus Prime climbing show is the fourth instalment of the Sharma Signature Series of shoes. Who else better to design a climbing shoe than one of the strongest, most well acclaimed climbers in the World. Designed on a down cambered last, the Optimus Prime has a deeper fitting heel and a much stiffer heel cup than the Optimus.

Designed on a completely different last than any other climbing shoes, the Optimus Prime offers a symmetric shoe box (round toe box) It also has the oval grid pattern rand for added protection and for improved toe hooking while the hook-and-loop fastener maintains the shape for a tight fit

Chris: The Optimus Primes are the latest installment of signature shoes designed by Chris Sharma. The aggressive down turned last is great for steep terrain and bouldering. These are the first pair of down turned shoes that I've owned and it took a little time before I could get used to them. When I first got them on my feet, I couldn't believe how well they hooked. At that time I wasn't too comfortable using my heel and I would do rounds on the boulder wall using my heel exclusively. Even after weeks of practice I didn't gain much confidence with hooking, but it all changed with these shoes. For some reason every time I put my heel on a hold, I could crank out the move (and they say shoes don't make a climber ;). What these shoes don't do very well is edge, the down turned toe throws your body dynamics way off. The best way to describe it is that I need to stick my butt way out when my feet are on crimps. Chris and the guys at Evolve must have had a really good night prior to designing these shoes to get the idea of enclosing the shoe with rubber. If you're like me and like your shoes tight, the rubber around the shoe doesn't allow for much expansion and they are as tight as the day I got them. The rubber also serves a couple more obvious reason: 1-gives more protection when toe hooking and 2-it looks really cool. I'm still waiting for them to turn into a robot

Mike: It seems to me that the industry is starting to realize that climbing shoes don't have to fit tight and require severe toe cramming to obtain maximum performance which is a welcome development for us folks with wide feet. At first glance you can immediately tell the Primes are moving towards new shoe shaping utilizing a symmetrical (rounder) toe box. Initially when I was sizing these I found them very similar to other brands of Evolv and managed to get them snug without any pain spots right off the shelf. The heel is deep and fitted with very little dead space which means awesome control when the heel is need for a little action. I also found the cut around the ankles soft and low which means little to no digging.

On plastic I found them to work well on both horizontal and vertical terrain. They felt quite a bit stiffer than other Evolv models which means they held weight well on micro edges plus with the benefit of a symmetrical toe box not a lot of concentration was required to place the shoe in an optimal position. Because of the generous width I was able to keep these on for long periods of time before my feet needed a break which is a nice change. The split uppers and double hook loops made for quick on and offs plus I found you could really crank the hell out of them for a secure fit.

After about a dozen climbs in the gym I'm still enjoying these shoes however they aren't the first weapons I reach for a route or bouldering session. I found they lack the sensitivity of the Predator or Talon likely due to the stiffness which also negatively impacted their smearing performance. On occasion I found myself double having to double check foot placement because I couldn't get a good read of the feature through the shoe. Also because these shoes are a thick(er) synthetic with generous rubber webbing pattern I found they have had little to no stretch since I bought them, so head the warning, don't downside these animals. I'm looking forward to giving these guys a work out on real rock to see if my initial reactions still hold true.

Jeremy: When we were sent some Evolvs we were pretty happy, as Chris and I both have the same size feet it means we can switch between shoes pretty quickly, we had a set of Pontas (which I ended up getting) and the Optimus Primes that Chris climbed a lot in. From the outset I found the shoes didn't smear all that well and that really put me off, so I chucked on the Pontas to see what the difference was... the answer? The Pontas are easier to smear with than the Primes, but the Primes are far superior on overhung terrain.

The hook-and-loop closure, does make for easy on's and offs which I found useful as I found my toes being pretty cramped up in the toe box of these shoes, strange as the toe box is actually pretty wide!! Overall, if I now had a choice between the Primes and the Pontas, I'd take the Primes... because I know where I'd use them, I'd get them out into the water for some DWS as there is a lot of rubber and not too much fabric... so they'll dry out nice and quickly!

One thing I did notice about the shoes was when Chris had had them for a good long time and he went away to HP40 for some Christmas climbing... Evolv says that there is "added protection" on the toe box.... I say hmmm; there is added protection sure, but the little area of fabric that sits between the rubber was completely destroyed and ended up looking like a teddy bear with its stuffing hanging out after a week out on the rock bouldering. I doubt that it was from Chris overusing toe hooks over the period of time he had the shoes (you very rarely see him do this) but he did use this move a lot on the rock..... the top of the toe box was pretty well mint when he left... when he got back it was time for some new shoes due to the damage..