evolv Cruzer Psyche

Well-made shoe that does the job and is super lightweight. Fits well.

The Evolv Cruzer Psyche is a very conventionally-designed shoe that came AFTER the Evolv Cruzer, which has an unconventional upper in the heel area. Its one departure from classic shoe construction is an overlapping slit instead of a tongue. This non-tongue seems to work just fine, makes entry a touch easier, and is very comfortable. 

I don't climb; I hike and backpack in this shoe with 30 pounds or less on my back, no poles, on New England's rocky and wet trails. But as a cyclo-tourist, I utilize the approach shoe concept for the same reasons as climbers do. In my many decades of bicycle touring I have made the occasional hike in my bicycling shoes (one reason I prefer mountain bike racing shoes for touring), but as I hike more lately, the mud and rocks play hell with my shoes and cleats. Hence, the lightest suitable hikers are called for, and approach shoes fill the bill.

I started with a pair of leather Scarpa Margaritas (no longer made, it seems) and loved them too much. A season or two of hard outdoor work nearly used them up, but I'm not complaining: I beat them to death. Then I got a pair of Arc'teryx Axrux SL synthetic shoes, which I also loved, but, alone among all shoes I have ever owned, they developed a toxic stink that I could not get rid of.

So then I got these Evolv Cruz Psyche shoes, canvas. Despite the muck and goo I have dragged them through, they still smell fresh. I throw them in the washing machine frequently, in with my clothes. No problem. They take longer to dry than even my leather shoes (which I also throw in the laundry, by the way). And even the dew on the morning grass will wet them through. Other canvas products resist water better, so I don't know what's up with that. On a three-day hike that means wet feet all the time. But you know what? It seems worth it. They do everything else so well, and weigh so little, and look so good, that I can pull my merino-wool socks on, stick my feet in damp shoes, and be happy all day. 

They seem like they are well made, and they are certainly holding up well after a season of frequent use. I don't baby them. As for grip on various surfaces, it is good or better than any light shoe I have tried. If I run across a lighter shoe that I like the looks of, I will probably give then a try too, but these get no complaints from me. I am the curmudgeon minimalist, and these suit me fine.

Background

As mentioned above, I have owned other approach shoes; I used these unladen or with under 30 pounds of load in rocky, wet New England for a year, which is to say, a dozen times on the trail and a couple dozen times around the farm or around town.