A few months ago, The Plastic Fantastic team was asked to test out the brand new Kronos and Kira line from Evolv.  These are the latest additions to Evolv’s range of technical all-around shoes.  The Kronos is a standard width shoe, while the Kira is a lower volume version geared more towards females.

Though the low volume Shaman fit me really well, and I originally intended to test out the Kira, after a visit to the Evolv store, where I was able to try on multiple sizes in each shoe, I ended up choosing the Kronos.  I found the Kira to be a bit too narrow and I had to size up an entire street size before I could slide my foot into the shoe. At that point it was a good width for me, but too long in the toe.  The Kronos on the other hand fit beautifully! I opted for half a size down from my street size and the only way I can describe it, was like putting my foot into a hug! Haha. Everything about the shoe was snug, supportive, and comfortable!

Once the shoe selection and sizing was all worked out, it was time to put the Kronos to the test! As you may know by now, I’m pretty dedicated when it comes to reviewing gear, so the past few months I have worn this shoe non-stop!  It’s become my training shoe of choice at the gym, its been with me on day trips to local crags, long weekends in Bishop and JTree, and accompanied me across the country on my epic road trip!

Over the past few months, the Kronos have served me well on everything from slab, to crack, to the steep overhang of the Red River Gorge! Though I love my LV Shamans, I’ve traditionally worn less aggressive shoes and the Kronos have now surpassed the Shaman as my go-to shoe in most circumstances.  Not only are they incredibly comfortable right out of the box, as I mentioned above, but they turned out to be extremely versatile as well!

As we all know, The Evolv rubber is fantastic, and I felt comfortable with this shoe on most any type of climb.  The flexible mid sole allowed for great smearing, while the stiff rubber around the toe, and the slightly down-turned design still made for a great edging shoe. I thought the extra rubber over the toe box was also great for toe hooking. The one downfall I found, was that by choosing the Kronos over the Kira, the heel was actually a tad too wide on me and I didn’t feel 100% secure.  My heel never blew off and my foot never popped out of the shoe, but that little bit of insecurity was always there in the back of my mind.  This could be mitigated somewhat though, by the excellent Velcro closure system on these shoes, which feature two-way adjustability.  I found the shoes to be nearly as customizeable as lace ups because of this, but without the added hassle!

Other than the too-wide heel, the performance of the Kronos was spot on and it quickly became my shoe of choice for everyday climbing, whether indoors or outdoors. This was the shoe I could use on epic endurance days in the gym, it was the shoe that came with me to the Red River Gorge, and this was the shoe I could bring to JTree and use to play on boulders, lead some slabby sport, jam in a crack, and still feel comfortable enough to wear for the down climb.

The only time I opted for my Shamans over the Kronos was when I knew a climb was extremely thin and I wanted just a bit more stiffness for toeing down and generating power, or when there would be a lot of heel hooking involved.

Besides this, the Kronos have really become “my” shoe!  They’re versatile, comfortable, and just all-around great.  I would definitely recommend this shoe to beginners and advanced climbers alike, especially for situations where you want all day comfort without losing out on performance.

For more info and a full review of the Kronos and Kira, check out this video by the Plastic Fantastic Climbing team!