Compared to the soft-as-possible bouldering shoes of today, the Acopa Merlin ($195) is stiff and stout. It’s difficult to stroll into a climbing gym without spotting a pair of Evolv Defys ($109).

the Evolv Phantom is about as aggressive as they come. As one of the most downturned climbing shoes on the market, the Phantom is a high-end, ultra-performance shoe that slays steep boulders. An ...

Modern climbers have the opposite problem. Go to any outdoor recreation store and prepare to be overwhelmed by shelves of cutting-edge climbing shoes and marketing gibberish. That’s how I felt ...

“In climbing you just don’t see that many cool shoes, shoes with different colorways and different options, and we wanted to introduce that,” Shiraishi says. She brought the idea to Brian Chung, Evolv ...