Indoor Performance
The Geshido excels at small edges and chips, and also holds its own on extremely overhanging climbs where you have to toe-in to large bucket holds. I have yet to try them on any cracks, of course, but so far they seem to stand up to everything in the gym.
I’ve been most impressed with how well the Geshido sticks to plastic. I’ve had a few pairs of shoes (one ancient pair of Evolv slip-ons in particular) that work reasonably well outdoors, but just don’t stick well to plastic. I think the combination of TRAX rubber and the structural design of the shoe helps with performance in the gym.
I feel confident wearing these shoes on glassy holds, whereas some others (like the La Sportiva TC Pro and Five Ten Blackwing) are more reliable on grittier, outdoor rock. Furthermore, I’ve found that the VTR of the Geshido also helps on tiny plastic holds. Shoes like the Five Ten Blackwing and Anasazi LV use flexible (and sometimes thinner) rubber in the toes to improve sensitivity. Evolv seems to have taken more of the opposite approach by keeping the toe stiff. Although this may decrease sensitivity to some degree, it certainly improves control by not flexing and conforming as readily to the holds
Although the Geshido excels on most plastic holds, I found that the heel slips a little bit during really aggressive heel hooks. However, I think that this is most likely due to my foot shape: my heel does not completely fill 100% of the foot cup. I imagine that the average male heel might fit this better.
I was also impressed with the relative lack of compromise between comfort and performance in these shoes. Aside from the comfy love bump, which was comfortable right away, these shoes really did not take long to break in. And with the laces, I found that after climbing a few days with the laces loosened, I could quickly tighten them all the way without much pain at all.
Climbing with the laces loosened has been helpful for warming up, too. I don’t feel the need to warm up in older, more comfortable shoes before climbing in the Geshido. With the laces loosened, I still feel comfortable climbing moderate routes without compromising much performance, and when a climb calls for the utmost in control, all that’s left is to cinch up the laces.
On the topic of laces, Evolv used their “speed lacing closure system” on the Geshidos This system pulls the laces through longer sections of leather than a traditional eyelet system. This means that you can tighten the whole shoe in one tug instead of tightening the laces at each cross. This is a fairly minor feature, but it does slightly increase the speed at which I can lace up the shoes.
What I find more notable about this system, however, is that it is not very complicated. So, should you ever break your laces, it will be a snap to replace them.
Bottom Line
As far as gym climbing goes, I am impressed with the Geshido’s stellar performance in the gym. The comfort and ease of break-in make this shoe a great choice for more beginner and intermediate climbers looking to step up their footwork performance. And the high degree of control and precision make it a great shoe for aggressive climbers who hate binding their feet.
I look forward to testing them on more specific outdoor terrain, and I’m very curious to see whether they work as well on real rock as on plastic.
Update
You can now click to read my review of the Geshido’s performance outside.