Evolv Shakra Review (2023): How Good Is This Bouldering Shoe?

Published on: 04/26/2023

Bottom Line

Introduction

The Evolv Shakra is an aggressive, downturned shoe that also manages to be highly comfortable and versatile. With velcro strap closure, a synthetic upper, and 4.22 mm TRAX SAS sticky rubber outsole, the Evolv Shakra climbing shoe is also vegan, making it one of the few high-end climbing slippers to use fully plant-based materials.

Modulating between thicker and thinner rand rubber to eliminate pressure points, the Shakra also offers plenty of protection over the big toe knuckle, making toe hooks feel effortless. As a lower-volume shoe, climbers with small to medium-sized feet will likely find it easiest to get a dialed-in fit with the Shakra.

Comfort, Fit, and Sizing

Arguably the Shakra’s greatest strength overall is the comfort it offers climbers, even during longer, more intense sessions. This is due in large part to the shoe’s clever design, which uses Evolv’s ‘Knuckle Box’ and ‘Love Bump’ technologies to help the Shakra feel as natural as possible, even despite its aggressive, downturned profile.

The Knuckle Box works by placing the big toe in a gently curled position, which helps transfer power through the length of the Shakra. According to Evolv, it also eliminates the hot spots that you’ll often find towards the front of other shoes. Simultaneously, for maximum comfort, the Love Bump elevates the ball of the foot and helps the toes stay active without strain.

The Shakra boasts a lower-volume shape overall, meaning climbers with, well, lower-volume feet will generally be able to get a more accurate fit with it. We found that this shoe fits fairly true to climbers’ street shoe size; since the Shakra climbing shoe uses a synthetic upper, any stretch after breaking it in is minimal. Climbers with wider feet may want to go up a half size, but, as always, try before you buy.

Performance

Edging

While certainly serviceable, the Evolv Shakra’s edging power does leave something to be desired. Ultimately, it’s clear that comfort has been Evolv’s priority in designing this shoe, and it does show in its performance; the Shakra lacks the stiffness you want to provide a truly support edging surface, especially on sketchier holds.

With that being said, the shoe is still fairly sensitive, allowing you to feel smaller edges more accurately than you might with a model that uses thicker rubber.

Smearing

Smearing is definitely one of the Shakra’s strengths. The shoe’s 4.2mm TRAX SAS outsole is nice and grippy, helping the climber stick to the rock with ease. Combine this with its supple flexibility, especially through the arch, and you can effortlessly transfer plenty of much-needed energy through the Shakra on smears.

Hooking

The Shakra offers decent performance on heel hooks, though its heel cup is perhaps a bit softer than it ideally would be for moves like these. While you may experience some slipping on smoother surfaces, we didn’t have any issues with the heel cup actually collapsing, which is all too common in softer climbing shoes.

The Shakra’s toe-hooking performance is fantastic, though. Thanks to the shoe’s Molded Trax SAS Toe Patch, the forefoot gets plenty of protection when toe hooking. This feature also provides extra toe coverage to make sketchier hooking maneuvers far more viable than they otherwise would be.

Jamming

Downturned shoes in general are less than ideal for being jammed into cracks, and this much is true for the Shakra, too. While its design works well to eliminate dead space and reduce pressure points, making it easier to work into smaller jams, your toes will start to hurt after a few longer cracks in this model.

Application in Different Climbing Styles

Sport Climbing

The Shakra handles most sport climbing routes nicely. Its sensitivity allows you to really feel and dig into each hold, and the midsole is both flexible and grippy, making this shoe a knockout as far as smearing and dynos are concerned.

Outdoor vs Gym Climbing

We’d argue that the Shakra lends itself more to gym climbing than outdoor routes, due to how soft and sensitive it is. With that being said, it’s durable and hardy enough that you can feasibly use it for outdoor climbing, too, provided that you’re not jamming it into cracks for hours on end.

Bouldering

All in all, the Shakra is a decent bouldering shoe. It’s comfortable and very quick to pull on and take off, which makes it great for longer, more strenuous sessions. However, it’s worth noting that it’s not quite as stiff or aggressive as you’d ideally like for maneuvers like edging and heel-hooking.

Trad and Crack Climbing

This is clearly not a climbing slipper made primarily for crack or trad climbing, and it shows. While, as a more aggressive shoe, the Shakra is remarkably comfortable for trad sessions, it’s simply too soft to offer the level of support you’d want when climbing in this style for extended periods.

Unfortunately, the Evolv Shakra’s crack climbing performance is frankly lackluster at best. The shoe is on the narrow side, which, combined with how soft it is, means that the foot is subject to pretty massive amounts of friction when using it in cracks. Additionally, its velcro straps will wear out fairly quickly when you utilize the shoe in this way.

In Conclusion

Ultimately, the Shakra by Evolv is a great choice for climbers looking for a versatile, exceptionally comfortable shoe. Climbers looking to invest in their first pair of aggressive shoes may want to look into the Shakra, too; despite its aggressive downturn, it’s still comfortable enough that those of us with less conditioned feet can still get plenty of mileage out of it.

As probably one of the most comfortable climbing shoes out there on the market today, the Evolv Shakra is a great choice for anyone looking to get a versatile pair of climbing slippers that they can easily wear for longer sessions without pain. Most climbers will likely find that the Shakra represents good value for money, thanks to it combining these features with its impressive durability. With that being said, if you’re on the hunt for a more specialized or truly high-performance model, then you’ll likely want to look elsewhere.

Evolv Shakra FAQs

Facts

Technical Specs

Use

Technologies

Reference: Evolv‘s official website

Technical Specs