Review: Scarpa Mojito GTX Shoes

- Product provided for the purpose of review, thanks to outdoorkit.co.uk - 

Manaufacturer's description: "The new Mojito GTX features the same Spyder sole unit, suede upper and rubber toe rand which has made the Mojito so popular and adds a Gore-Tex membrane for those times when the weather turns British"

From the web: 

A striking design; different to most of the outdoor style shoes on offer in the UK. Laces all the way down to the toe box allow for a perfect fit, according to Scarpa at least. Gore Tex lining allows this shoe to be worn in all  the weather Britain has to offer and a solid brand reputation means this shoe could be really handy during winter when most outdoor shoes get a little bit wet and cold. 

First impressions: 

These shoes feel really stiff, there's not much give in them at all, great if you're looking for a hardwearing and tough shoe but not great when you've broken them in and sizing changes. A good design, I'm not sure how sold I am on the lace all the way down look, a bit odd and impractical for my liking. The Spyder sole feels really grippy, the standard with Vibram of course, this is their new style though and it feels great on rock and wet surfaces, very trustworthy. Overall the shoes look good I think, a refreshingly different look that won't suit everyone's tastes but when do a pair of shoes ever do that?





Out and about: 

After an initial break in period I quickly became disappointed with Mojito GTX shoes. I love the firmness but the cost of this is a very unforgiving shoe, after a few hours my knees were definitely feeling uncomfortable and cramp had kicked in. I have other pairs of Scarpa shoes in this size and they don't make my feet feel like this so why should the Mojito GTX? For the hefty price tag (£135!) I expected a shoe I could happily wear around town, up a hill and on the approach but this shoe didn't quite excel in any of these categories for me. Stiff enough to go up hills but lacking the ankle support, too unforgiving to wear all day and too expensive to treat like rubbish on the approach to a climb. 

A really grippy Vibram sole.

The very long lace didn't help with getting the shoes tight, the problem with such a lace is that nothing happens at the bottom when you tighten the top. I tried working my way up but it was difficult to maintain a taught lace with the suede upper and by the time I got to the top the bottom has become loose again. A great idea in theory but in practice it was disappointing. 

I couldn't find fault with the level of waterproofness the shoe provides, I wore them out in some stinking weather and they did brilliantly - keeping my feet warm, letting them breathe and keeping the water out. 

Don't get me wrong, these are a good pair of shoes but the precision of fit has to be spot on and you need a wallet which can handle the high cost.

For the price tag I expected a more comfortable shoe, especially one which has 5/5 on the Scarpa website for city walking, 4/5 for approach and trail walking and is aimed at the high end market for outdoor shoes. 

After wearing them for some time, I'm now beginning to think I judged the shoes a little too quickly. They become more comfortable as time goes on as the fabric stretches, these shoes take some serious breaking in! 

Overall, the shoes are good. I think for the price tag I expect a comfortable shoe from the minute the box opens, there shouldn't be a need to wear them for a month before they become comfortable or even bearable. If you get the sizing spot on then I think the shoe is great, and if you like the style!

Positive points:

• Great build quality and materials
• High level of waterproofness for a shoe
• Grippy Vibram sole
• The design is bold and refreshing (even if I didn't love it)

Not-so-positive points:

• A tough shoe, takes a while to break them in.
• They hurt my knees after a day of walking in them, I think the sole changed my step slightly and caused the pain in my knee.

Thanks for reading, if you're after a pair of Scarpa Mojito GTX shoes then try outdoorkit.co.uk, the shoes currently have 15% off the RRP.

Review: Evolv Shaman Rock Shoes

- product provided for the review by outdoorkit.co.uk -

Mmm... A very pretty pair of rock shoes

 Today's review is of the Evolv Shaman rock shoes, developed in partnership with Chris Sharma (the ultimate climber), these rock shoes are right at the top of the market coming in with an RRP of £115. Features include: a Knuckle Box and Love Bump, synthetic uppers, TRAX high friction rubber and 3 straps to get the shoe as snug as possible. The Knuckle Box and Love Bump combination work together to keep your foot in a comfortable yet strong position.

First impressions were good, a super tight fit out the box meant they'd stretch out and become the perfect size for my feet (I ordered the same size as my approach shoes). The love bump is obvious straight away, the shoes balance on each end when on a flat surface, a bump is seen in most shoes at this end of the market - they mirror the natural shape of your foot and allow you to fit the shoe properly.

The "Love Bump".

Trad Climbing

Hound Tor, Sheeps Tor and Chudleigh Rocks have provided some great excuses to get these shoes up some trad routes, both single and multi-pitch. The Shamans did very well, sticking well on defined holds but also gripping the rock while smearing. They did fair better on the granite, I think this may have been to do with the higher levels of friction on the rock and the huge amounts of polish on the limestone at Chudleigh. In all the time I've been wearing these shoes my foot has only slipped once and that was on a very glass like patch of rock at Sheeps Tor, it's been great having shoes on that you can trust. Climbing shoes don't make you climb any better, they just allow you to climb at your best, they help get the best out of your footholds and they give you the confidence to really commit to moves.

I felt the shoes were the right size for me on single pitch routes but over longer and more tiring multi-pitch climbs the shoes began to ache my feet, this is very common in climbing shoes but I'd love it if a brand could find a way of reducing the fatigue while keeping the shoe tight. The 3 straps worked well to get the shoe tight but I found they would catch on the beginning of the velcro, this means if your foot can just fit in the shoe with a tight squeeze then it's very easy to not get them much tighter, I found that I had to keep remembering to pull the tab past the velcro to get a proper fit.

The small velcro bump which can stop you from getting the shoe as tight as possible.

The lack of definite point at the front of the shoe meant footwork needed to be a little more precise, this wasn't too bad but is something I needed to get used to after using a slightly more pointed rock shoe. Another minor issue with the Shamans is the heel fitting, the rest of the shoe fitted fine but that was a definite pocket of air below my heel, this didn't affect my climbing but on the descent it kept making a funny noise, much to the amusement of my climbing partner!

Bouldering
Bouldering is a bit from different from trad climbing, it requires much more precise footwork up short, but technical routes. The shoes handled bouldering well, I felt really comfortable using my foot for heel hooks and toe hooks - something my old Scarpa rock shoes didn't do. The precise foot work took a bit more thinking due to the point issue I mentioned above, after a couple of hours I had got the hang of the new shoes and I was confident in my foot placements.

A cheeky heel hook!

Summary
These are a great pair of rock shoes, not only do their job excellently but they also bring confidence and power to the rock. As I said before, they won't turn you into Chris Sharma but they'll certainly help you become the best climber you can be and that's what great rock shoes are all about. I'm looking forward to taking these shoes up plenty more routes in the future!

Thanks for reading!

Thanks again to outdoorkit.co.uk for providing the Evolv Shaman rock shoes.

If you'd like more information about the shoes then feel free to ask me on twitter or talk to outdoorkit direct through their Facebook or Twitter.

Review: Petzl Corax Harness

- Product provided by outdoorkit.co.uk for the purpose of review - 

"CORAX is the multi-purpose harness par excellence. It comes in two sizes, so adapts to all user shapes. Its comfort and ease of use make it suitable for a wide range of users for climbing, mountaineering or via ferrata"

Skip to the bottom for a quickfire review of the Petzl Corax!

The Corax is a lightweight, reasonably priced harness aimed at a variety of users. Coming in at £60 RRP it's right in the middle of price range for harnesses. Four gear loops and a simple but solid design mean it's great for both outdoor and indoor climbing, other features include: Frame Construction Technology, Waistbelt equipped with two Doubleback buckles, two rigid & two flexible gear loops and to top it all off a bright green belay loop. A total weight of 530g means this is a heavier than average harness. The Corax is available in S-L (60-90cm) and L-XL (75-105cm).

This is a good harness, not exceptional but good. It won't help you climb any grades higher or turn you into Chris Sharma but it will help you stay safe and that's the real goal of a good harness. It's comfortable, well ventilated and breathable; these are all great characteristics for a harness and they help you focus on your climbing whether you're out in the wind getting some solid British trad in or you're tearing up the top-roping indoors, these features are subtle and easily forgotten by manufactures, I'm glad Petzl has made the extra effort to include them where others would focus on weight (not THAT important with a harness). 

Straight out the bag it's easy to get this harness set up even though all the buckles are adjustable, the two waist buckles help keep your belay loop central and your gear loops symmetrical. One thing I found odd with the Corax was the huge difference between the waist and leg size, the harness fits my waist with a huge amount of slack spare and could easily fit someone much larger than myself but the legs only have about 3-4 inches left to give - I'd be interested to hear why they've done this and whether they tested it out on anyone of a larger stature! 

If you were new to climbing and unfamiliar with the different points of a harness then I guess the bright green belay loop would be beneficial, I'm not completely sold on it and it doesn't really fit in with the blue and black theme of the harness though - purely an aesthetic complaint. 

Petzl are a reliable brand with great construction of equipment and the Corax is no exception, there aren't any loose threads or sewing errors to be seen and the harness feels solid.

The 4 gear loops provide plenty of room for gear and the mix of flexible and rigid loops is a nice feature, on the routes I took this harness up I never struggled to find room for gear. The 2 waist buckles helped with trad climbing too by keeping the gear loops symmetrical, knowing exactly where your gear is can be the difference between falling and topping out on a climb.

Plenty of room for gear on the Petzl Corax.

Quickfire review!

Positive points:

• Comfortable, well-thought out harness.
• Four gear loops providing lots of room for trad gear.
• Bright and obvious belay loop (would've preferred bright blue but I'm picky!).
• 2 adjustable waist buckles to keep the belay loop central and gear loops symmetrical. 
• Solid Petzl construction.

Not-so-positive points:

• Bright green belay loop! 
• Huge difference between waist and leg loop sizing - try before you buy!

Summary:

A good harness, not too expensive and not too cheap. Solid construction and good design help make the Corax what it is and I'd be happy to recommend this harness to a friend. 

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Thanks for reading, please share with anyone you know looking for a new harness.

Thanks to outdoorkit.co.uk for providing the Petzl Corax to review, if you're interested in buying the Corax it's currently got 10% off the RRP on their website. 

If you want more information about the Corax please don't hesitate to tweet me, @PaulWRickard.

Or you can contact OutdoorKit through their Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks again,

Paul Rickard