To help get 100,000 kids climbing, TOMS teamed up with So iLL to create a line of shoes to benefit nonprofit 1Climb. Founded by professional climber Kevin Jorgeson and So iLL founder Daniel Chancellor, 1Climb believes that every kid, no matter their situation, should have the chance to try climbing and plans to provide them with the opportunity.
Through a close partnership with Boys and Girls Clubs, 1Climb is on a mission to change lives and the future of climbing. They either take kids climbing or bring climbing to them by building climbing walls across the country and providing kids with passes to visit their local climbing gyms.
The TOMS/So iLL collaboration shoes feature a lifestyle slip-on and a climbing shoe. Both use ultra sticky Dark Matter Rubber that was originally developed for the Navy Seals to ensure foot placement on the most treacherous approaches. So iLL and Action Sports Equipment have taken that technology and applied it to climbing and lifestyle shoes. It’s worked so well, that they even managed to make a high performance, sticky, colored rubber – the first of its kind.
The TOMS Collaboration Street (LV) climbing shoe offers a tighter fit for those with a more narrow foot width (lower volume), providing better heel tension and higher performance. Designed with Dark Matter Rubber in Dynasty Green, the TOMS Collaboration Street (LV) features minimal stretch and a thin midsole which provides a softer, more sensitive fit. A downturned toe helps put puts your feet in a strong, powerful position for overhanging sport climbs, routes at the gym, and boulder problems.
TOMS and So iLL are running an Indiegogo campaign to take pre-orders on the shoes. The lifestyle shoes go for $89 and the climbing shoes for $149. Expected delivery is May 2019. The companies claim that 50% of the rock climbing shoe orders and 25% of the lifestyle shoe orders will be used by 1Climb to finance new climbing walls and day passes to local gyms. The remainder will cover shoe production and shipping costs.