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| Pre-Pontas (The Vantage Era) |
The Pontas have been a great all rounder - perhaps a little tight for wearing all day on multi-pitch routes, but that’s just down to how I sized them (with performance in mind!).
I was expecting the shoes to take me instantly from climbing HS to E5! Which I now understand takes practice, training and dedication to achive, not just a new pair of Jedi shoes! - The shoes however did make me feel more comfortable at the edge of my ability simply because they were an excellent fit and I could feel the rock under my feet.
The Ecotrax sole is soft which gives excellent sensitivity and gives you good feedback of whats going on under your foot. The shoes inspire confidence even when you are forced to stand on those non-exitent holds; but where they really excel is smearing, and the grip that you can extract from the rubber is just awesome! This however does come at a price - as with everything there has to be a compromise and with the Pontas that is unfortuantly the rate at which you can wear a hole in the toe area. This is probably more a criticism of my footwork than the shoes! I have owned a few pairs of Evolv shoes and they all use the same/similar rubber for the sole and typical wear is about 6-12 months which to be fair is not bad at all- just helps you to make a conscious effort to be precise with your foot placements so as not to drag your toe up the wall - which will rapidly wear down any climbing shoe!
I have mainly used the Pontas on gritstone and limestone and they perform well on both - obviously it’s fair to say that they excel on grit for their smearing ability but still inspire confidence when it comes to standing on edges. As a training shoe for use at the wall they are good too. You find yourself standing on miniscule holds that the laws of physics just shouldn't allow and in total confidence! If you’re a bit of a boulder monkey but can’t face putting your feet into a ridiculously downturned shoe then I would urge you to try a pair of these. You can feel everything and they enable you to generate quite a lot of power at your big toe (making it easier to stand on those little holds without tears forming in your eyes!) If like me, you often find yourself climbing upside down and prefer overhangs to slabs, the Pontas make heel hooking and toe hooking effortless. The rubber rand helps to protect your foot and also keeps the shoes from 'bagging out' too much (depending upon how tight you decide to size them- I personally recommend going 1/2 or a full size smaller.) The useful toe hooking patch over your big toe makes it more comfortable when you are hanging by your feet for whatever reason.
The Pontas are available with both lace and Velcro fastening - The Velcro were my weapon of choice and I
have found them to generally fit people with wider feet- whist the lace ups have a slightly different rand design which makes the shoe stiffer. It can also be better suited to people with slimmer feet as they are more adjustable (but harder to get off if you size them too tight!)Would I recommend them?
Definitely - If you’re after a good all round shoe, maybe an alternative to the classic Five Ten's - give them a try!
Would I buy them again?
Probably - I'm one of those people that like to try something different each time, however if I can’t find an alternative that fits as well as these then I will definitely be getting myself another pair!
Jon - Shop Manager
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