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Winter alpine boots


erewhon

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Looking to replace my lead koflach's.(pieces of krap) madgo_ron.gif Thinking about the Lasportiva Trango Extremes or Scarpa Alphas with intuition liners...Does anybody have any ideas on these two creatures for use in semi technical alpine climbing? ie Sandy Headwall, Yocum Ridge, Sunset Amphitheatre? How warm are the Trangos? How delicate are the Alphas?

LET THE DEBATES BEGIN! rockband.gif

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erewhon said:

Looking to replace my lead koflach's.(pieces of krap) madgo_ron.gif Thinking about the Lasportiva Trango Extremes or Scarpa Alphas with intuition liners...Does anybody have any ideas on these two creatures for use in semi technical alpine climbing? ie Sandy Headwall, Yocum Ridge, Sunset Amphitheatre? How warm are the Trangos? How delicate are the Alphas?

LET THE DEBATES BEGIN! rockband.gif

Fer those climbs plastics are fine, as well as heavy leathers. I've heard of people putting holes through Alphas fast, and the Trango isn't anywhere near as warm or waterproof.

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on almost everything The Trango extreme do me well…but if u looking for a real worm and watertight boots and willing to lose a LITTLE technical ability try the LOWA Civetta extreme is the ticket to date I dont know any better warm, agile and low profile (almost like leather) boots

Even the Alfa don’t come close

Geek_em8.gif

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erewhon said:

How warm are the Trangos?

 

.. depends. At least for me they're not warm enough for winter cascade stuff at altitude (ie. >10k). But for everything else they're warm enough with one exception - deep snow. Every time I've been in a prolonged post holing or deep snow situation my feet have gotten very very cold in these boots.

 

I've got the trangos and the big honkin scarpa invernos, and i almost always take the trangos, I figure as long as I don't expect to get frostbite I can take a little bit of cold in exchange for the light weight, comfort, and precision. As always ymmv.

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erewhon said:

How are the Civetta's for weight? How stiff comparatively?

it is about 6lb which is average for plastic boots and they do climb ice like a dream I wont hike more then 8 hours in them they are too stiff...but if in the cold and u need to do something technical then they are great

BTW, I also heard that they are decent alpine ski boots

 

 

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Ursa_Eagle said:

PaulB said:

I tried Intuiton Liners in Alphas and found that the liner was too bulky for the shell. Made the ankles much more loose than I liked.

 

I would have thought that bulky liners would make for a tighter fit, not more loose... confused.gif

The fit was pretty tight around my foot, but the overlap closure of the liners was too big for the ankle of the shell to wrap around and provide good support. Some people might not mind this, but I didn't like it. In the end, I returned the Alphas and put the liners in my ski boots.

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fredrogers said:

Anyone have any feedback on the Scarpa Thermo Cerro Torre?

 

Very good boots (if they fit) I would have gotten them but they don’t fit me…honestly in today’s market it is hard to make a mistake buying gear…there are so many excellent products out there so comparing them is like splitting hair Geek_em8.gif

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  • 11 months later...

Intuition liners are great IF they are fit right. The "if" is huge. Many stores don't have employees who know how to fit them right. If they feel sloppy in the store, make them fit the liners again. If they're sloppy the second time, make them do it yet again. Make them do it until it's right, otherwise you will be hating life.

 

Alphas are nice light boots, but they have one problem. They don't have a full gusset inside them. The result is that if you use them a lot, the seal will start to decay. Eventually your feet will begin to get wet in slushy snow.

 

Invernos have the same problem as the Alphas. Civettas are nice. I don't have any experience with the Trango Extremes.

 

One other thing to consider is using toe warmers on extremely cold days. I've done this on Denali, Illimani, Huyna Potosi and on winter ascents of Rainier -- all of which can be extremely cold mountans. I naturally have cold feet so I'm constantly worrying about my toes. So far boots and overboots have never done as much for me as chemical toe warmers.

 

Jason

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Clearly I should go try some on, but in the meantime I've read that Koflachs are typically best for medium-narrow feet (?) I'd be curious to know if anyone with wider feet has had success with them (Verticals, or the other models for that matter), and whether or not thermofits / shell modifications were needed. My toes just barely fit in the Invernos (was thinking of thermofits).

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The Koflachs are the best cold mountaineering plastic. They are much more comfortable in non-vertical terrain than the Asolo, Lowa or other plastics (only good on steep ice in weather too cold for leathers). Alphas are better in technical terrain (more technical than anything on Rainier). The La Sportiva Olympus Mons climb great and are warm.

 

Anyone used the new montrail boot/crampon combo?

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