Evolv > Kaos 2

Noodles > Intro: Now Dustin's been off of the radar for a while, he's not been answering emails or any of my calls *sniff*; why? Well because he's been kicking the sh*t out of these shoes below and writing another well informed review on Evolvs new Kaos II. Enjoy the read, he's making some big claims that I'm going to need to look into.
Dustin > Kaos II:If anyone remembers the first version of the Kaos you probably remember a bulky heal cup, sensitive smearing and some yellow synthetic material that after a couple of solid sessions, becomes more of a mustard and dirt colour and smells so bad that every time you bring them to the gym or crag, you think that federal authorities are going to arrest you for possession of biological weapons.

Evolv has truly improved upon the design of the original Kaos with their new K-2s. At first look, they're a pretty bland pair of shoes. I mean, looking at the rest of the Evolv line you've got some line of some pretty flashy shoes and then...you have the very simple, black and grey K-2s. Don't let simplcity fool you though, these shoes may not have all the pimped out graphics of other shoes, but what Evolv didn't spend on graphics, they put into R&D, I won't spoil the conclusion of this review but, I can tell you this, these shoes are awesome.

Now, I'm a big fan of heel hooks, I won't lie. Any shoe that can't give me a solid technical heel hook, on plastic or on rock, isn't worth my time. The K-2s heel cup fits perfectly while providing sensitive technical heel hooks. The first time I put it on my heel slid so easily in that I thought for sure it was going to slide out heel hooking but I was happily disappointed. The heel cup fits comfortably, while still allowing for a aggressive pulling and torquing.

One of the coolest things about these shoes, which I'm finding out is standard on all Evolv shoes, is that the fabric on the shoe is a perforated synthetic. Now I know what your thinking, because when Buck said that to me, I could only stare at him blankly and wonder 'say what now?'. The long and short of it is this, the perforated synthetic allows the shoes to breath more, which means that no longer will you have shoes so rancid that when you open your pack at the crag or the gym, you wonder what died in there.

Let's talk about edging. At first try I thought the edges were bomber, the shoe is stiff enough that it will perform well for edging and allow some sensitivity for smearing. The reality, as it went for the month that tortured, tested and abused these shoes for (believe me, I did terrible things to these shoes in the name of informed reviewing) that these shoes only become better at edging, even after the break in period. After two weeks the shoes began to simply stay, on everything, on every angle. I don't even like flat soled climbing shoes, I haven't put on a pair of non-downturned toe shoes since my first pair of Kaos but these shoes perform like down turned shoes while keeping all the benefits of an edging-based design. Even after the edges wore down, I found that the shoe still managed to stand on itsy bitsy dime edges. Smearing I will admit, took two weeks to really meet the level of expectation I had for this shoe. When I see flat soled velcros I think of a smearing shoe, ones perfect for walking my feet up the wall to hand foot match but out of the box... I found they really needed some breaking in.

The true beauty of this shoe however comes from Evolv's philosophy of shoe fit. I will admit that I was one of those kids that crammed my toes into shoes way too tight for me just to accommodate the stretch of shoes but no longer. Brothers and Sisters, I have seen the light! Evolv's synthetic upper stretches at most a 1/4 of a size and after a month of me doing awful things to them (I will admit, I drove over them with my truck a couple of times...) they still fit the same as when I got them out of the shipping box.

So here's my closing note. These are a great shoe. They're all-around shoe. For those who don't like down turned shoes, these are the shoes for you. Evolv, I believe, has finally made a shoe that is, if not comparible, then better than all the other classic, all-around shoes. I would say that finally Evolv has put out a shoe that can sit on the same shelf as the Miura or the Anasazi and out perform them. This company has got it's sh*t together, and I think it's time we all take a good look. The K-2s are bad ass and brand new. I would recommend them to anyone who wants a high sensitivity edging shoe...that will never wreak. Peace all. K-Lace review on the way.