Evolv has switched up the color options for these lightweight kicks. All of the other features remain the same.
December 2018No model feels as light on our harnesses as a pair of Evolv Cruzers.
The thin-soled Cruzer Psyche climbs well if it fits snug. Not being a very stiff shoe, a looser fitting, hiking-sized Cruzer left our testers with a disconcerting floppy feeling, but when snugged up this shoe edges well and provides an awesome degree of sensitivity not usually found in an approach shoe.
The Cruzer Psyche is a stiffer shoe than its little brother, the Cruzer classic, and while it retains the much of the Cruzer Classic's sensitivity, it edges better than the original. Our testers could feel edges better in these shoes than any other contender in this year's line up. This made for more enjoyable scrambling over the feldspar knobs and edges found on Cathedral Peak and the Matthes Crest.
Armed with a thin outsole of TRAX High Friction rubber, these shoes smear almost as well as the champion of smearing, the Five Ten Guide Tennie and its stealth rubber. Our testers enjoyed warming on up easy granite slabs in Pine Creek Canyon while their feet remained fresh and comfy.
The Cruzer Psyche has one of the lowest profiles of all the approach shoes we reviewed. The comfortable and breathable canvas upper is not as durable as leather shoes like the La Sportiva Boulder X or the La Sportiva TX4, so repeated use in cracks will significantly decrease the lifespan of this shoe.
These shoes are not ideal for long approaches or carrying heavy loads. The soft EVA midsole is a welcome addition to the Cruzer Classic (which has no midsole), but it still wasn't enough to keep our testers comfortable for the long haul. The pronators among us in particular, as their heels slid around and slightly off the heel.
These shoes offer the least supportive of all the shoes tested. While slightly more supportive than the Cruzer Classic, they still aren't what we would choose to hike around with heavy packs or stand in aiders all day, but that isn't what they were designed for. If you're cruising around the boulder field, roadside cragging, or walking around town, the Cruzer Psyche is more than adequate.
If you're going to be climbing long free routes and you need to have shoes clipped to your harness for the walk-off, these are the shoes you want to have, hands down. At 17.4 ounces for a men's 9.5, they are the lightest shoes we reviewed. The floppy canvas upper compacts and compresses, and one of our testers managed to squeeze through the notoriously narrow Harding Slot with these shoes still on his harness. Laced up tight, we found we could store a few bars and a headlamp inside without worrying about them falling out.
These shoes are the least expensive pair of kicks in our review. For those who like to have a quiver of shoes, having a dedicated descent shoe is a no-brainer, but there low durability score and specialization costs it our Best Buy Award, which goes to the durable but more expensive La Sportiva Boulder X.
