UKC

Hi i have been climbing 8 months now and have gone through 2 pairs of evolv defy's. does anyone know if the stealth rubber is extremely soft? as i am now in the market for a new pair does anyone have any suggestions ? anyone know af shoes with harder wearing rubber?

cheers for your help.

In reply to climberjamie:

Evolv's use trax rubber which is highly sticky and does rub through fairly quickly.

5.10 use stealth rubber. They're two different brands.

Try improving your footwork, and they will run through less.

In reply to canadiankate: Yes Kate, for sure my first pair were down to footwork, scraping down the wall onto holds and also i realised i sometimes scraped my feet down the wall when being lowered off. When i bought my second pair i stopped all this and they wore through even quicker! any suggestions on a new pair?

In reply to climberjamie: (meant trax rubber in original post)

In reply to climberjamie:

I have a pair of Defys for indoor and easy single pitching, I cannot really complain about the wear to be honest, unless you are climbing alot it may be a footwork problem (keep you feet "quiet")

For more serious business I wear 5:10 Galileos, they are fantastic. Stealth Onyx is super sticky and very durable.

In reply to canadiankate:

5.10 use stealth rubber. They're two different brands.

Try improving your footwork, and they will run through less



I am not quick enough it seems, you got there before me

In reply to GrahamJ: I've got a pair of Evolv Defys too (the black ones, right?) been wearing them indoors since last autumn and still going strong. I am pretty heavy on the feet too, but try and keep the footwork precise.

In reply to Chris F:

That's the ones. Uber comfy and I found them less smelly than any of my other pairs.

In reply to climberjamie: Soft rubbers like Trax and Stealth wear out quicker than harder stuff like Vibram. Although the new Stealth Onyx is harder wearing than the C4. Although as others have suggested fast wearing rubber is probably down more to user error

In reply to GrahamJ:

Really? Mine are awful, I assume becasue they were made from man made stuff rather than leather.

I have Elektras and love them, had them for a good 8months now and I haven't found them to be quicker to wear down than any of the other shoes I've tried.

In reply to magpie:

They are a synthetic and leather mixed construction.

They have three vent holes in the arch and the sole lining which I think helps.

In reply to magpie: Mt defys pen and ink something terrible too.

In reply to climberjamie:

It really depends on the shape of your foot when fitting climbing shoes. Try Gambits from 5.10 for the stealth rubber, or vantages from scarpa as they both are fairly good beginner shoes.

Also when warming up focus on foot work. if bouldering or on your first route try to make no noise whatsoever with your feet. only put your foot down once on a hold and that should help. Alternatively do a route you know very well but use only the features instead of footholds.

kate

p.s. where do you live in england?

In reply to climberjamie:

Well you say in your profile that you climb several times a week, pair of shoes every 4 months doesn't seem excessive.

In reply to Chris F:

I can second that :-P

In reply to climberjamie:

I always recommend chillis as they are hard wearing and fairly comfy for beginers. Maybe try these or scarpers until your footwork improves?

On a side note, if you buy scarpers buy them tight, iv always found they stretch awfully

I have a pair of Evolv Defy's. They are uber comfy and the rubber is not bad, but...

1. v soft sole ie. no support, so your feet get tired standing on edges etc

2. the synthetic lining makes my feet hot and sweaty and they start rolling inside the shoe (tho they do fit well and are quite snug) to the extent I can't trust them outside in warm weather. shame.

In reply to climberjamie:
I personally went from defys (which lasted about 4 months) to anasazi velcros which lasted me a year before the toe started going through (and I still use them for DWS / easy stuff).
I think some of it was that I was concentrating a lot more on my feet in the more technical shoes, and also the fact I can't afford too many pairs of 5.10s!

In reply to climberjamie:


Red Chilli shoes seem to be made of sterner stuff than Evolvs or 5.10s. Mine are probably pushing 9 months old now (indoors once/twice a week, outdoors occasionally) and still seem to have plenty of mileage left in them.

In reply to climberjamie: I'm now on my second pair of Defys but I do a serious amount of climbing in them. My first pair of Defy certainly lasted longer than the previous pair I wore out which were 5.10 Anaszi Velcros.

It's a generalisation but the higher the 'performance' of the shoe, the quicker you are likely to wear them out. The Defy is a very good mid-range shoe but I've found that velcros (and slippers) do wear out slightly faster than lace-ups. Unfortuantely, even with reasonable technique indoor climbing, depending on the wall surface, can still result in accelerated wear. Watch out for flagging on textured surfaces and repeated failure on boulder problems especially.

I've got both Defys and Anaszi Velcros on the go currently and the Evolvs get worn most of the time as they are far more comfortable. The 5.10s have a slight performance edge on very thin climbing where non-existant and tenuous footholds need to be used, but that amounted to a grand total of 4 routes/problems in a full year of climbing.

In terms of comfort and build quality I certainly can't fault the Defy and I have every intention of getting another pair in the future.

In reply to pottsworth: Ok so i bought some anasazi velcro's. much stiffer sole and harder rubber. more agressive fit but should last longer!

Thanks guys for all your advice.