The Eldo GV is the Gore-Tex lined, synthetic version of the Eldo, which also comes in natural materials, both with and without a liner. As always with approach footwear, the sole is at the soul (ed: groan) of the scrambling shoe, and is an interesting mix of varying degrees of tread, a traditional heel brake and a pronounced climbing zone at the toe. The heel lugs at the brake side are noticeably deeper than the forefoot. As such, it’s a lightweight shoe which covers traditional stomping ground of the British scrambler well – plenty of boggy, vegetated off trail on the approach plus a technical feature set also suitable for rock.

David Lintern Recommends

Overall, this is an excellent shoe, especially for off trail approaches, as long as the fit works for you – it’s lightweight, waterproof and technical enough to manage hard scrambling.
Pros
  • Good heel brake and ground-feel
  • Grippy
  • Can resole
Cons
  • relative lack of comfort at the ankle
Quick specs
Price: £175
Weight: 680g (pair size 10.5)
Pros: good heel brake and ground-feel, grippy, can resole
Cons: relative lack of comfort at the ankle
Materials: Polyester upper, Vibram rubber outsole, Eva midsole
Features: Asolo/Vibram AG with MegaGrip compound (rubber-Eva), Gore-Tex liner, wraparound rand, heel brake.
Sizes: UK7-12.5
Women’s version: yes

The midsole is softer than others on test, which I expected to be an issue on the crag, but in practice the feedback or ‘groundfeel’ is excellent and lets you know exactly what’s happening underfoot, while still feeling protective enough. The outsole does bend a little on the edges because of that thin and flexible midsole, but less so at the toe, so it’s not a fatiguing shoe to wear. The Eldo did feel long on my foot, but the toe was still precise enough when scrambling.

The lacing on the Eldo GV is fine, but I’d have preferred more tension than lace eyelets can provide – it means the fit relies more on the knot at the ankle, rather than along the length of the foot. Alongside the softer midsole, a deep heel cup prevents heel rise but I would have benefited from more padding at the ankle. This may be by virtue of the synthetic upper, or the lacing system, equally it may be because I have low ankle bones.

Overall, the Eldo GV is an excellent shoe, especially for off trail approaches, as long as the fit works for you – it’s lightweight, waterproof and technical enough to manage hard scrambling.

Written and tested by David Lintern

David walked and scrambled over the autumn and winter, in and around the Cairngorms, and specifically at his local crag (in between storms and snow), which has both trad and sport climbs of all grades and plenty of vegetated terraces and greasy rock to explore in between