Evolv Oracle Review
Compare prices at 2 resellers Pros: Exceptional edging, quick lace closure, comfortable for its sharp downturn, great at toe hooking
Cons: Big toe volume, painful in cracks
Manufacturer: Evolv
Our Verdict
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Evolv Oracle | |||||
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Awards | ![]() | ![]() | |||
Price | $179.95 at Backcountry Compare at 2 sellers | $195.00 at Backcountry Compare at 3 sellers | $180.00 at Backcountry Compare at 3 sellers | $185.00 at Backcountry Compare at 2 sellers | $156.00 at Backcountry Compare at 3 sellers |
Overall Score ![]() |
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Star Rating | |||||
Pros | Exceptional edging, quick lace closure, comfortable for its sharp downturn, great at toe hooking | Versatile, durable, comfortable | Great precision, aggressive/down turned toe tip, sensitive, great toe and heel hooking, precise fit, comfortable, easy on/off | Incredible sensitivity, great edging, durability | Best edging shoe on the market |
Cons | Big toe volume, painful in cracks | Expensive | Not comfortable for all-day climbing, expensive, not the most versatile, hard to fit, single strap broke prematurely | Specalized use, expensive, might be hard to resole | Expensive |
Bottom Line | Reasonable savings for an ultra-premium shoe | An awesome shoe for long climbs requiring a variety of crack climbing and edging techniques | A tried and true modern classic, this model excels while steep and technical climbing | An incredibly sensitive and comfortable shoe that excels at edging | This high performance model is the ultimate balance of support and sensitivity |
Rating Categories | Evolv Oracle | La Sportiva Katana Lace | La Sportiva Solution | La Sportiva Futura | La Sportiva Genius |
Edging (20%) | |||||
Cracks (20%) | |||||
Comfort (20%) | |||||
Pockets (20%) | |||||
Sensitivity (20%) | |||||
Specs | Evolv Oracle | La Sportiva Katana... | La Sportiva Solution | La Sportiva Futura | La Sportiva Genius |
Style | Lace | Lace | Velcro | Velcro | Lace |
Upper | Synthratek VX synthetic | Leather/Lorica | Leather / Lorica | Leather/Synthetic Leather | Suede leather / Microfiber |
Width Options | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular |
Lining | None | Pacific (forefoot and back) | HF in toe box and arch area only | Unlined | Unlined |
Rubber Type | TRAX SAS | Vibram XS Edge | Vibram XS Grip 2 | Vibram XS Grip2 | Vibram XS Grip2 |
Rubber Thickness (millimeters) | 4.2 mm | 4 mm | 4 mm | 3 mm | 3 mm |
Our Analysis and Test Results
Performance Comparison
Edging
The Oracle features a split outsole, meaning the firm black rubber of the heel and forefoot is separated by flexible red rubber at the arch. This reduces foot strain while it's held in a downturned position. The forefoot outsole is also made especially stiff to allow you to focus the full strength of your foot into the toe edge of the shoe. We found this design to be highly effective, which is why the Oracle receives top marks for its edging performance.
Cracks
The downturn of the Oracle brings your foot into a ninja-like position with toes curled. This position has huge advantages on steep terrain, but corresponding disadvantages for crack climbing. Foot and toe jams feel considerably more painful when your toes are curled, and the Oracle's rubber-coated upper does little to relieve this discomfort. This shoe could still be useful for hard crack projects where the crack is too thin to jam any part of your foot inside, but for anything wider there are a lot better shoe choices.
Comfort
Downturned shoes are ordinarily less comfortable than their flat-soled brethren. The Oracle bucks this trend to some degree due to a couple of innovative features that enhance its comfort. The most effective might be the "Knuckle Box" which is a molded area of extra space for your curled big toe to nestle inside. This relieves significant pressure on the knuckle that you're usually forced to endure with other aggressive downturn designs. The Oracle also boasts extra rubber on the heel and synthetic upper to pad your foot while heel or toe hooking. Finally, the still sole on the forefoot provides plenty of sport for slow technical sequences. For these reasons, our testers think this is one of the most comfortable high-performance shoes.
Pockets
While the "Knuckle Box" greatly improves comfort, it also increases the volume of the toe box. That's not a good thing if you're hoping to squeeze the Oracle inside a tiny pocket. In addition, the toebox is also pretty wide horizontally, further limiting the shoe's usefulness for pocket climbing. One feature it does have in its favor is the "Love Bump" — a molded concavity on the underside of the toe that fills dead space and gives you an even better angle for pulling with your toes while pumping up the steeps.
Sensitivity
All shoes have to strike a balance between support and sensitivity. The Oracle strikes this balance with some bias toward support. Its stiff sole provides plenty of support, but it simply can offer as much sensitivity as a softer design. These shoes are also fitted with 4.2 mm of Trax SAS rubber. This is a little thicker than average and markedly more than ultra-sensitive performance shoes. Nevertheless, in many situations, our testers ended up preferring the additional support of the Oracle over the higher sensitivity of other models.
Value
The Oracle is currently Evolv's priciest offering, yet it's still a fair bit cheaper than the top shoes from Scarpa or La Sportiva. Our testers think it can definitely hang with any of those shoes, so we consider it an awesome value for an ultra-performance shoe.
Conclusion
Add the Oracle to the ever-expanding list of outstanding climbing shoes. It features a slew of innovative features that enhance performance and comfort, while still being priced for a few dollars less than its closest competitors. Although it's not the best shoe to chose for pockets or cracks, for all other disciplines, it performs excellently.
— Jack Cramer