Evolv Phantom Review: The BEST Bouldering Shoe to Date 

haha thanks =] Hoping to buy the madrock visions next, though the next shoe review will probably be the black diamond shadows or I might do a "everything you need to know about carabiners" video haha I have a lot of options. Thanks for watching though, if you have any requests for sure send em through

Haha what a legend

now go climbing haha!

Always appreciate the support =)

And much appreciated on the comment =)

thats awesome to hear, I do agree with the heel, honestly its only slightly too big but also I did size a half size too big by the looks of it, but as you said it still performs perfectly fine. For me if it wasnt for the strap issue this would be a contender for first pick against the theorys but alas, the wear and tear on it is just too frustratingly significant as much as I loved using them

@@BeorOng That's fair! I don't use too many toe hooks at the moment (perhaps to my detriment) so the wear and tear hasn't popped up as much for me, but your review of the theories definitely has me thinking about them once I'm through with the phantoms. Thanks for all the helpful reviews!

@@atherismagic4639 no worries man, more to come...I should stop rly...but least it helps others haha

id say they are pretty comparible, the lace design means you can adjust a bit more comfortably for the mid foot with the phantoms but id say the skwamas still beat it out in heel fit for me, that being said i prefer the rubber of the phantoms, but the strap of the skwamas as well... so its one of those cases where i cant have the best of both worlds. I think I actually have less room for the toes in the phantoms regarding slip and move though so id say phantoms beat out skwamas in that regard. Overall if you like the skwamas you'll probably like the phantoms too. Just wish I could get the best of both shoes in one.

@@BeorOng de

77l

Haha what a legend

My theorys have been the best for bouldering so far, my shamans have been excellent for outdoors, and i just bought a couple of shoes from madrock to test

Hey P, if you have space you might want to size down. I know I said i sized to street shoe size, but honestly I think I may have made a little mistake here. For me the phantoms are the only shoe in my lineup that is sized more for a comfort fit. Ive found that the sizing is still quite good, the heel has never really pulled off and it gives me enough room for it to not be painful. That being said if I wanted to go back into where the rest of my shoe lineup go, I would say sizing a half size down would bring it back to a more performance fit, and a whole size down would probably get me into a full painful boulderfit (I generally go performance though). My toes are never in a full "fist" I know there are some boulderers that do this (ondra im fairly sure sizes down ridiculously) but that just sounds god damn painful, I size my shoes with the intention of my toes probably in a half downwards position under no tension. The thing is I prefer to not have my toes fully flexed down because you cant "run" with your feet like that, which means youre not really going to be using those shoes for volume climbing and parkoury movements, so yours might be alright, but potentially can size half a size down. Id say base it on the heel, if you can rip the heel off with a really hard heel hook then size it down, if it holds I think youre fine

@@BeorOng very helpful advice. thanks!

How are you finding that strap loop? Every toe hook i do frays it more and more and i dont know how much left its got in it

I would say the phantoms. I actually really like these shoes but just be aware if youre someone who resoles, Id probably say these shoes have life in em for one run before you're playing a game of "what breaks first" -- laces, stap loop, or rubber

Also sorry for the late reply, I keep forgetting to check comments on past videos

In its defense, the rubber wore through before the strap so at the very least for me it lived its one lifetime, just do think it would get through a second with a resole so i would still reccomend overall if you dont plan on resoling anyway and just letting it die with dignity haha

So i bought them at the same size, however i think i should have sized the agros half a size up cause they absolutely killes my feet...its also a slightly narrower shoe so that didnt help

Theyre still ok, though ive used em less and less cause my theorys have just taken more priority as well as testing of other shoes

haha its funny cause when i find a shoe i like its always a case of "these are my indoor shoe... but i like em so much i want them to be my outdoor shoe as well" im planning on getting a pair of boostics potetially as a another pair of outdoor shoe for a harder edging performance but havent found a specific shoe I like that I want to keep just for outdoor use, potentially my skwamas

@@BeorOng I'm currently using the Testarossa as an outdoor-only performance shoe. But I'm coming to the realization that those shoes doesn't fit my foot. They're very uncomfortable and the heel is super baggy. They are probably the best looking climbing shoe ever though, and the toe box is as precise as they come.

@@parptarf Testarossas are better for wider feet.

@@BeorOng A little update. Phantoms are now in for their first resole and they made me addicted to Evolv shoes. The fit is excellent. Done some outdoor bouldering in them, but mainly used them for everything but crack climbing indoors. The Testarossas are now in a new home and no longer torture my toes. Replaced them with the new Shaman Lace, which is now gonna be my main shoe for everything while the Phantoms are away. Very similar performance to the Phantoms overall. I think I need to try out the Zenist too.

@@parptarf Thanks for the update!! Can you say more about how the Phantoms compare to the Shaman Lace? I have the Shaman Velcro which are fantastic and can’t decide which to try next.

Still going strong for now

Interesting im finding mine quite comfortable on a matched shoe size, and i have relatively wider feet

@@BeorOng I have a high and wide foot 🦶 that’s way, maybe the people have considering this too before to buy the phantom but it’s like scarpa, you have to go up one full size to compare la sportiva

@@Alessandromarangoni123 appreciate you chiming in. This is why i love the climbing community. Always looking out for one another. Other than the sizing howd you find climbing in them?

@@BeorOng I use them mainly for buldering but also on overhanging routes, the sole is crazy it sticks to everything you just need to trust them. they have no pressure points like other emblazoned shoes. the strange thing I use to do is wear them for a few minutes before climbing then I take them off and put them back on and they are extremely easy to put on and comfortable as if they had memorized the shape of my foot, these shoes are the top

@@Alessandromarangoni123 totally agree, honestly my new fave shoe...that being said i really hope that strap loop holds...otherwise ill be pretty dissapponted

I know I’m hecka late, but you were able to downsize that much on instincts😂 you have probably already gotten new shoes but I went one half size down

mine felt pretty good quickly, albeit mine were maybe a half size bigger t han what id normally size, the phantoms from memory only took me like 3-4 sessions to feel quite nice (at least 1-2 full sessions with maybe 5 or so using them for warm up for about 20ish minutes each)

Did they break in eventually? I just bought a pair of phantoms and downsized half a size based on Evolv's advice and on my Evolv Supras (also half a size down) and they are very tight. Similar fit to my Flagships but those are softer on the uppers and they broke in after wearing them at home for few days and 2 sessions on rock. Still very tight but don't hurt my feet. The Phantoms feel like I have bricks on my feet. Clunky and stiff everywhere. My pinkies are squished. 3 days wearing them at home. Hopefully they'll break in and soften a little bit. But I'm having doubts.

its less that the rubber isnt comfortable for toe hooks, I actually really love my phantoms, but the one and only concern is that fraying on the first loop of the strap. Each toe hook frays it more and more so its a countdown of when it breaks

Id say very minimally, they were pretty ok (bit painful at first out of the box, more like a bit of moulding to foot shape.maybe like a quarter of a size of stretch

@@BeorOng OK cool. Thank you for the quick response

@@johnosborn8881 anytime dude, hope you enjoy em if you run with it. Personally my current faves

I still love em, but the rubbers now worn through as well so will need a resole if i want to keep using em. Funnily enough the rubber gave out first before the laces or the loop. Laces have no real issue was more the loop that held em. That all being said, as great of a shoe as it was it seemed to just wear out everywhere faster than all my shoes

Surprisingly the outsole gave out before the strap which makes me happy but at the same time the strap being that frayed means theres no point resoling. I actually really like the shoe but its just a shame that ive more or less sidelined em in favor of my resoled theorys and currently in rotation are my resoled skwamas and my evolv shamans (in this regard i prefer the feel of the phantoms over the shamans, but shamans still a good shoe)

@@BeorOng thanks mate! Did you end up resoling the skwamas with another compound? Any thoughts on performance?

@@smokyham7 had em resoled in neofuse, still playing around with em and want them to resoften up a bit before i make a call but so far no issues

Haha well much appreciated, stay tuned. Might do a giveaway for the milestone

Im actually surprised at this myself but the loops held out, and the outsole at the toe looks like is giving out first (has a small hole)

@@BeorOng oh wow! That's crazy! I might have to try them. Would you still suggest getting them? I do some outdoor but mainly indoor and all bouldering

@@johnosborn8881 honestly i still love em, great shoe and if i had thr money would deffs keep getting them. Id say this is my top pick of a shoe atm, followed by skwamas, then my acro comps...a few tweaks on anyone of those shoes would make it perfect though

@@BeorOng heck yeah! Thanks man! 👊🤓

@@johnosborn8881 anytime! hopefully more shoe reviews soon, just been a bit busy but easing everything out so i can focus on youtube a bit more =]

I dont unfortunately, the normal phantoms fit me quite well though. I think I could have gone half a size down though overall for a more bouldering fit

yeah good question considering i think the skwamas are an amazing fit. Skwamas are what I use to size all my shoes cause for me they just fit so amazingly well, I think the sock of this makes this just that little bit more comfy, and the straps allow me to shape it a bit more around my foot with probably less deadspace around the toes. The only two things Id say skwamas beat the phantoms in are the heel and straps but for a wide foot like mine both are great shoes fit wise, in terms of sizing my skwamas are US 5 and a half (UK 4 and a half, or EU37 and a half) my phantoms are US 7 (UK 6, EU 39.5) My street shoe size is UK size 6, so phantoms I sized true, skwamas droped by 2 and both I consider a pretty perfect fit, I could most likely still force dropping a half size down for both, but its in "painful" territory at that point so its up to you on whether you want it to be a full boulder fit or performance

"Acro comp" from butora

I would say its pretty comparaible, for me a high end shoe all cost around the 200-250 mark, still not cheap by a long shot but Id say the most affordable higher end shoe that I approve is butora -- either acros or gomis as long as they fit your foot profile

A little bit but id say they felt pretty good pretty early on, more like the rubber softens up so it feels a little nicer. Honestly I love these shoes man haha let me know how it goes with your pair

Dude i figured out the design flaw in it, the strap needs to start left side not right...like scarpa...or of course just add an extra flap over it

Im 5'4 im more or less child size haha