3 out of 5 stars
by Jackie Pearce
This is a pretty awesome boot overall. It is really lightweight. Very sturdy – reduces calf burning significantly. Super comfortable* and VERY warm, even in -30! I also found that crampons went on this boot like a dream, which is always nice.
If you are looking for this boot but it is not in stock, if the store has the Scarpa Rebels in stock, they are made on the same last so they have the same fit.
What I didn’t like about this boot:
It is made for someone with goat legs, the boot doesn’t fit well for someone with muscle, thicker socks or anything above 4% body fat**.
I had a really hard time trying to do the Velcro up on the liner (inner boot) and the top tab in particular could not be lined up so you ended up just leaving it with the Velcro un-attached, which meant it wasn’t a snug fit and that over time your socks would be destroyed from the Velcro attaching to your sock. As at the beginning of the day it was attaching to the pull tab, but as you move it just gets stuck to your sock by the end of the day.
There is also a snap at the top of the gaitor that was about an inch apart from each end by the time I got the boot zipped up, this did not affect the performance of the boot, it only created frustration that a company is designing a boot for muscular people and not giving them room for said muscles. By the end of the day you had a really nice deep line in the middle of your lower leg from where the gaitor dug into your leg as a result of being built for goats, not people.
Here you can see, that after wearing the boots for only a few minutes (time necessary to take these photos) there is already an indentation into the skin, now add all day on an ice climb, and add in a couple days, and you have major discomfort.
Now, the real issue with this boot is the sloppy heels, there is just way too much room in the boot and heel lift is a real issue. I talked with two other people who both own these boots, both male and they also agreed there was way too much room in the heels. One spent countless hours trying to remedy the situation with various types of heel fittings. In the end, he decided that they were not able to solve the issue, and that for a thousand dollar boot, he should be getting a better fit. Please note, I decided no one needed to see a picture of my bleeding, blistered and otherwise gross heels after ten days in these boots.
*With the exception of the heel lift!
**Actual percentage of body fat may be different, just a guess.
