This is awesome, thanks for the love! Some notes: - The Dark Spine is a heel midsole not a heel rand, so it's a plastic spine that sits beneath the heal outsole (the black rubber), whereas the heel rand on the Shaman Lace is the white piece that wraps around the heel beneath the heel outsole. - Oracle and Shaman Lace stiffness are essentially identical. Uses all the same parts in the same thicknesses. - Zenist is pronounced like a Zen monk for context ; ) - Shaman Velcro vs. Lace does not have a width difference. They are built on the same last, but sometimes a lace up shoe can allow for more adjustment at the front of the shoe to make it easier for a wider foot to get into. Everything is pretty spot on, thanks for the awesome review!
Rad! Stoked for ya Jonathan and excited to see more content!! I find that sometimes climbers (novice or experienced ones) don’t know the differences between soft and stiff shoes, or low vs high volume, etc. It can feel intimating and overwhelming to see so many tech specs and unfamiliar vocab when shopping for shoes. It would be cool to see videos explaining what those terms mean to help people when looking for their first or next pair of shoes :) Hope you’re well dude, miss ya!
Nice review, I like your presentation style. I don't know too much about climbing shoes myself but one idea I have for longer videos like this could be to add time stamps into the video description to break the video into specific aspects of the review. It would make it easy to quickly look up and compare between other shoes reviews of yours in the future.
Great review! Couple things. It'd be helpful to hear a bit more about the features of the shoe (rubber, laces, dark spine, TPS midsole, etc), in addition to how these perform both new and then over time. Do they maintain their downturn? Do they get better at smearing over time? Any hotspots or points of discomfort? How do they do with edges vs volumes and different types of climbing? Also, standardizing the way you present the sizes relative to street shoe is hugely helpful! A lot of reviews will say they downsized without giving any indication of their street size. But great work! Excited to see more of these in the future.
Thank you so much! Amazing feedback! I'll be sure to include your suggestions for my next review on the zenist! My street shoe is 9 and I size performance at 9 and comfort at 9.5 in these shamans. Held their shape fairly well and honestly some of the best edging down turned shoes I've worn! Thanks again
@@theshoeruclimbingreviews8145 For sure! And you might want to slowly show the camera the shoe and the shape of the underside and last as well? I'm also a shoe nerd and probably watch too many of these. Also love the Ginger Runner for running shoes reviews and generally think he's the gold standard!
@@theshoeruclimbingreviews8145 thanks just the info I was looking for. I have them ordered in an 8 and 8½ with my street shoe being 8. I tried a friends phantom lvs in a 9 and really liked the fit for my shape of my foot but knew I need at least ½ a size less so I'll see which works and I prefer laces so went for these.
Do you feel like the heel fit is different from the velcro version? I liked the heel fit of the shaman pros, but not the velcro version. How do you like these for slab or face climbing? Really awesome review! Hope to see more from ya
Hey! I just ordered the Shamans Velcros to climb almost exclusively indoors …! Should I send them back and get the Zenists? Much appreciated. Also love the review…! Nice amount of depth but also no waffle 👍👍
I absolutely love the shamans so I would never say send them back! Lol. The zenists are definitely amazing shoes especially for indoor, but as time goes on I notice the heel is soft enough to not fit as nicely as the shamans. I think you've made a great choice and will be very happy
Hey Shoeru, curious since you mentioned it: recommendations on a similar fit (wide forefoot narrow heel) with just a *slightly* wider toebox than the Shaman?
Hey! Thanks for reaching out. The phantom is slightly wider than what you get in the shaman If you are looking for a very bouldering specific shoe. The butora acro fits wide toe box with narrow heal very well also.... They have the acro comp if you prefer a softer shoe as well
@theshoeruclimbingreviews8145 How do the shamans fit compared to the nexxo?? I had the shaman lv (classic low volume foot and small heel here) but my entire climbing kit was stolen and have found a nexxo for sale. I sized up in shaman lv to a 41.5. they stretch out as I wore them in but Im light so it takes months for it to happen. the old pair I have are comfy. The nexxo I found is a 41 but interstate. Am considering them so interested to hear on fit??? especially compared to shaman lv
The phantom lv is my plan for after the drones! And the new shamans are definitely more performance based with a more aggressive downturn. The previous shamans were more of a comfort/intermediate aggressive shoe.... If I'm not mistaken
The Oracle's are my favorite shoe for indoor bouldering, can you tell me what shoe is more close to the old Oracle's? the new lace or the velcro shamans? Thanks in advance!
If you love the oracles you will definitely love the shaman. And I think Velcro vs lace will be preference. Built on the same last so they should fit nearly identical. I personally prefer Velcro indoors for ease of getting in and out of them
Definitely! Unless you feel like your phantoms have stretched out and gotten too big over time. Then maybe half size down. But I wear them the same size as my street shoe for a performance fit
How is your street shoes? 1/2cm/1cm longer than your feet or do your toes touch the end? My street shoe is 7UK but my toes touch on the end. I tried 7UK shamans and they felt too tight, wonder if after breaking in they would be nice... I couldn't put my feet in the 6.5UK even trying hard. I couldn't get 7.5UK in UK so I ordered from Germany, for my surprise they were way tighter than the 7UK I tried from UK. Super weird... So now 7.5UK and 8UK are available in UK. Will probably order both and return the one that is too big. What do you think?
My toes are about a thumb width away from the end of my street shoes. And I think buying both and returning one is the best way to go. It took at least 2 weeks to break in
@@theshoeruclimbingreviews8145 Thanks. But I meant when your feet are in the street shoes, do your toes touch the front or is there a gap? My toes touch the front of my street shoes so I think my street shoe is very short compared to most people hence why I think saying using street shoe size or one size down from street shoe on climbing shoes is very subjective. I couldn't put my feet inside of a 6.5UK, simply would not go in, and my street shoe size is 7UK. I think reviewers should start using feet length measurement instead of street shoe size as a reference.
I believe the phantom is an all around stiffer shoe, but has a more sensitive toe. I am planning on those being my next shoes so I will be able to clarify a little further then!
This is awesome, thanks for the love!
Some notes:
- The Dark Spine is a heel midsole not a heel rand, so it's a plastic spine that sits beneath the heal outsole (the black rubber), whereas the heel rand on the Shaman Lace is the white piece that wraps around the heel beneath the heel outsole.
- Oracle and Shaman Lace stiffness are essentially identical. Uses all the same parts in the same thicknesses.
- Zenist is pronounced like a Zen monk for context ; )
- Shaman Velcro vs. Lace does not have a width difference. They are built on the same last, but sometimes a lace up shoe can allow for more adjustment at the front of the shoe to make it easier for a wider foot to get into.
Everything is pretty spot on, thanks for the awesome review!
Amazing! Thank you so much for the feedback! Zenist coming soon👍
Hey Evolv! Doesn't the Shaman Lace also have the additional rubber TPS midsole for added stiffness?
Made me want to buy them even though I don’t climb! Great job and can’t wait to see you expand your channel!
Wow! Thank you!
This guy's the best shoe reviewer in the West... Some even say the world. Dope review, cool shoe.
Oh wow! Thanks, man!
Rad! Stoked for ya Jonathan and excited to see more content!!
I find that sometimes climbers (novice or experienced ones) don’t know the differences between soft and stiff shoes, or low vs high volume, etc. It can feel intimating and overwhelming to see so many tech specs and unfamiliar vocab when shopping for shoes. It would be cool to see videos explaining what those terms mean to help people when looking for their first or next pair of shoes :)
Hope you’re well dude, miss ya!
Ok! I love that idea. Thanks guys! Love and miss you both
It’s very obvious that you know your stuff! Can’t wait to see more content!
Thanks, man!!!
Nice review, I like your presentation style. I don't know too much about climbing shoes myself but one idea I have for longer videos like this could be to add time stamps into the video description to break the video into specific aspects of the review. It would make it easy to quickly look up and compare between other shoes reviews of yours in the future.
Thanks Ed! I'll take that suggestion!
Love this shoe, excellent review
Great review! Couple things. It'd be helpful to hear a bit more about the features of the shoe (rubber, laces, dark spine, TPS midsole, etc), in addition to how these perform both new and then over time. Do they maintain their downturn? Do they get better at smearing over time? Any hotspots or points of discomfort? How do they do with edges vs volumes and different types of climbing? Also, standardizing the way you present the sizes relative to street shoe is hugely helpful! A lot of reviews will say they downsized without giving any indication of their street size.
But great work! Excited to see more of these in the future.
Thank you so much! Amazing feedback! I'll be sure to include your suggestions for my next review on the zenist! My street shoe is 9 and I size performance at 9 and comfort at 9.5 in these shamans. Held their shape fairly well and honestly some of the best edging down turned shoes I've worn! Thanks again
@@theshoeruclimbingreviews8145 For sure! And you might want to slowly show the camera the shoe and the shape of the underside and last as well? I'm also a shoe nerd and probably watch too many of these. Also love the Ginger Runner for running shoes reviews and generally think he's the gold standard!
@@theshoeruclimbingreviews8145 thanks just the info I was looking for. I have them ordered in an 8 and 8½ with my street shoe being 8. I tried a friends phantom lvs in a 9 and really liked the fit for my shape of my foot but knew I need at least ½ a size less so I'll see which works and I prefer laces so went for these.
Do you feel like the heel fit is different from the velcro version? I liked the heel fit of the shaman pros, but not the velcro version.
How do you like these for slab or face climbing?
Really awesome review! Hope to see more from ya
Hey! I just ordered the Shamans Velcros to climb almost exclusively indoors …! Should I send them back and get the Zenists?
Much appreciated.
Also love the review…! Nice amount of depth but also no waffle
👍👍
I absolutely love the shamans so I would never say send them back! Lol. The zenists are definitely amazing shoes especially for indoor, but as time goes on I notice the heel is soft enough to not fit as nicely as the shamans. I think you've made a great choice and will be very happy
@@theshoeruclimbingreviews8145 Thanks for advice and taking the time to reply! Can’t wait for them to arrive. Keep up the great work mate 🙏
Hey Shoeru, curious since you mentioned it: recommendations on a similar fit (wide forefoot narrow heel) with just a *slightly* wider toebox than the Shaman?
Hey! Thanks for reaching out. The phantom is slightly wider than what you get in the shaman If you are looking for a very bouldering specific shoe. The butora acro fits wide toe box with narrow heal very well also.... They have the acro comp if you prefer a softer shoe as well
@theshoeruclimbingreviews8145
How do the shamans fit compared to the nexxo??
I had the shaman lv (classic low volume foot and small heel here) but my entire climbing kit was stolen and have found a nexxo for sale. I sized up in shaman lv to a 41.5. they stretch out as I wore them in but Im light so it takes months for it to happen. the old pair I have are comfy. The nexxo I found is a 41 but interstate. Am considering them so interested to hear on fit??? especially compared to shaman lv
Hello thanks for the review! Any chance do you know the sizing difference between this newer model to the orange/blue 2016 shamans?
Thanks for the question! I size them exactly the same!
Could you do the new instinct S or phantom LV!
Oh also, how does this compare to the previous shaman if you have any clue
The phantom lv is my plan for after the drones! And the new shamans are definitely more performance based with a more aggressive downturn. The previous shamans were more of a comfort/intermediate aggressive shoe.... If I'm not mistaken
The Oracle's are my favorite shoe for indoor bouldering, can you tell me what shoe is more close to the old Oracle's? the new lace or the velcro shamans? Thanks in advance!
If you love the oracles you will definitely love the shaman. And I think Velcro vs lace will be preference. Built on the same last so they should fit nearly identical. I personally prefer Velcro indoors for ease of getting in and out of them
Excellent!
Great review, keep em coming. Horizontal video instead of vertical would be nice tho
Thank you for the advice! I have a video coming out Monday about the anatomy of a climbing shoe and they will be horizontal from here on out!
I very much love buy the new shaman, i ams actualy wearing a phantom, do you think I have to go with the some size for the shaman?
Definitely! Unless you feel like your phantoms have stretched out and gotten too big over time. Then maybe half size down. But I wear them the same size as my street shoe for a performance fit
Love bump Konkel.
Haha! You found him!
You're my hero.
I can be!
Great shoe. Great review. Great man.
Thanks dude! Miss you
Awesome review! 🙏🏼
How is your street shoes? 1/2cm/1cm longer than your feet or do your toes touch the end?
My street shoe is 7UK but my toes touch on the end. I tried 7UK shamans and they felt too tight, wonder if after breaking in they would be nice... I couldn't put my feet in the 6.5UK even trying hard. I couldn't get 7.5UK in UK so I ordered from Germany, for my surprise they were way tighter than the 7UK I tried from UK. Super weird...
So now 7.5UK and 8UK are available in UK. Will probably order both and return the one that is too big. What do you think?
My toes are about a thumb width away from the end of my street shoes. And I think buying both and returning one is the best way to go. It took at least 2 weeks to break in
@@theshoeruclimbingreviews8145 Thanks. But I meant when your feet are in the street shoes, do your toes touch the front or is there a gap? My toes touch the front of my street shoes so I think my street shoe is very short compared to most people hence why I think saying using street shoe size or one size down from street shoe on climbing shoes is very subjective.
I couldn't put my feet inside of a 6.5UK, simply would not go in, and my street shoe size is 7UK.
I think reviewers should start using feet length measurement instead of street shoe size as a reference.
Never wanted to try evolvs until now!
They're my go to!
My.Idol.
Is Evolv Phantom stiffer than Shaman??
I believe the phantom is an all around stiffer shoe, but has a more sensitive toe. I am planning on those being my next shoes so I will be able to clarify a little further then!
@@theshoeruclimbingreviews8145 Great! Looking forward to it!
Whoa you look just like this dude I work with!
Is he efficient?
@@theshoeruclimbingreviews8145 Totally
Great review of the shoe! Now start an onlyfans for your feet.
Stay tuned!