Evolv Defy Climbing Shoe

Three months ago, a day after my first climb, I bought a pair of Defy shoes with the intention of dedicating the summer to learning how to climb. In pursuit of this goal, my Defy's spent at least 2 hrs, 4x/week, on my feet either in the gym or at the crag being critical to my progress through 5.10d lead and V3. I would recommend these shoes to others with the instruction to keep a few things in mind before they buy.
Q) They do stretch. I wear 10.5/11 in street shoes and got them in 10.5. After suffering for a month, they finally broke in and became quite comfortable. In the middle of month 2, however, they had stretched too much, and as I was getting better and needing to dial it down, the velcro straps wouldn't go far enough to allow it. My next Evolv's will def be a size or more down. The break-in time will suck, but I'll end up with shoes that fit so well, I'll be very happy to pay for resoling.
R) The rubber runs out pretty quickly. I've heard others talk smack about Trax rubber, but I've found it quite sticky and trustworthy on sketchy clips. The problem is that I have two gaping wholes in the toes, and the rubber on the heel is separating from the shoe. This may be due to beginner's footwork, but other reviewers have mentioned the same problem.
S) Lastly, I know it's weird, but they really do reek! I was happily surprised to read this comment in other reviews (glad to know it's not just me). So, make sure you get odor eaters, or something.

I've only been climbing for five months and this is my first and only pair of climbing shoes, so I can't speak well on the relative stickiness of the rubber or "rock feel" or anything deep like that. But I can say I love 'em. I expected to have to take them off frequently, but the arch isn't extremely overstated nor are the toes overly pointed, so I can actually walk around in them a bit (though they're definitely not an all-day-comfort shoe). For sizing: I wear a 10 and have pretty wide feet, and I wear an extremely thin wicking sock when I climb (even though they're lined, I fear the potential for stink), and the size 10 fits me well. After five months of indoor and outdoor climbing at least once a week, there are some signs of wear on the sole, but no thin spots or signs of breaking. (Most of the wear came from one particular long climb on a rock face that had been baking in the scorching sun -- I think I literally meted my shoes on that.) I climb around 5.10's right now, which I consider a solid climb, so I consider this a solid shoe. Maybe the crazy 5.14-ers out there need the super-pointy, barely-there slippers, but for me, these work well.

I bought a pair of these shoes elsewhere about a year ago, and decided I need to let people know about them. I bought them because I couldn't stand the rentals at the gym, and instantly knew i made a good buy. I was just beginning to climb, and now I boulder in the same pair at least once a week. I do mostly gym routes, and have had no problem with holes in the toes or the soles coming unglued. I take care to make sure they are well aired out and dry after using them (synthetic shoes supposedly stink) and they stay in my living room without any offending odors.

My normal shoes are 11's and after trying on a few pairs, I bought a pair of the Defy's in size 11. They curl my toes, and make walking slightly difficult, but they are not uncomfortable. I now have callouses on the top of my big toes from rubbing, but I never got any blisters.

They are clearly the most popular shoe at my gym, and they just re-did the rentals to use all Defy's. These shoes are totally synthetic for the Vegan community. They are great for beginners, or for veterans who want a more comfortable shoe.

Thanks.

Matt T

I wear a sz. 10.5 in a street shoe and got these in a sz. 10(43). These are my second pair of climbing shoe, my first being the LS Barracudas which I got in a 43 aswell. The cudas have stretched and no longer allow the precision I want. At half a size small, these shoes are precise! I love the velcro straps for quick in and out. I've noticed that when the shoes are dry I can only keep them for a few minutes at a time before I want them off, but once my feet start sweating they stretch just a little bit and becomes slightly more comfy - only very slightly though, lol. I've only used them indoors so far and love them on tough boulder routes. The edging is great (due to a tighter fit) and the rubber sticks well, smearing is not as good as the cudas IMO. When I get home I give them a quick spray of febreeze and hang them on a quickdraw to air out. I don't wear socks with them. For the price that backcountry has them right now you can't go wrong is you're look for your first shoe or just another pair of gym shoes.

This was my first climbing shoe. It was suggested to me as a good beginner shoe in that it performs well and is also priced well. As a beginning climber you will wear down the rubber of your first pair of shoes quickly as you get use to foot placement. So you don't want to go all out on your first pair.

Secondly, as far as sizing goes. When I first purchased them I went with street shoe size 10.5 and they worked well. They were a little tight at first but stretch out slightly after warming up and sweating in them a bit so keep that in mind. Also, after a month or so of climbing when my feet adjusted to wearing tight shoes I realized I had dead space in them when curling/pointing my toes. So I exchanged them for a full size smaller. I also suggest you do this. Exchange once you are comfortable with going smaller. Making your shoes too tight at first will make climbing no fun.

As a climbing instuctor at a camp for 2 months, I decided to get a pair of Velcro's of Mocs. I love my Pitons, but it was too much shoe for the day in day out climbing I did. I did not feel like blowing a $120 pair of shoes for all day 5.6's or 7's so I got these puppies. At first I was skeptical as they were actaully comfy (for ANY SHOE) and I had only heard of eVolvs a couple of times. Pretty much the guy sold me after I climbed on there wall and their edging was amazing for a velcro. The smearing isn't like my Pitons, but hey I can't complain. With 10 to 20 climbs a day for, 6 days a week, 2 months this year, these guys have help up like champs. They are my go to shoe unless I really need edging and smearing power. GREAT SHOE!

I bought these shoes about a month and a half ago not really sure how much I was going to be able to climb, and as would be expected I left town and haven't been able to climb but once since I bought them, until last week when I got in way over my head with my first real slab climb. I didn't realize until I had struggled my way to the first bolt that this might be a little above my abilities, but leaving gear behind is lame, so at least I needed to try to finish. These shoes provided some very much needed friction in very tight spots, I am definitely a fan. So far I haven't been able to find out about the overall durability, but functionally I back them 100%.