heard of any of these?

[layton]

Need new ice boots. doesn't need to be too warm. roomy toebox, light, durable a must.

 

Vasque Ice 9000:

 

Vasque Super Alpinista:

 

Scarpa Phamtom Light

 

Scarpa Freny XT

 

Scarpa Freney Pro:

 

Scarpa Cumbre:

 

Kayland Super Ice:

 

Too many new boots. All I know is the La Sportiva Trango Series sucks balls. The Nepal Extreme was the only good boot I've owned, but it is a blister fest breaking it in, and too heavy, not to mention way $$

[Bronco]

If you want light, cross off the Cumbre. I have the similarly constructed Matterhorn thermo and they are nearly as heavy as a plastic boot. Roomy toebox and very durable, not the lightest.

[iain]

If you want to look like Sting, I recommend the first two

[Sphinx]

The first two should be extremely warm. The Freney XT is Scarpa's response to the Trango series.

[mtngrrrl]

An older model Freney is on sale on the BD site along with a couple of other Scarpas. I cannot recommend for or against though.

 

 

[IceIceBaby]

I climbed with the Kayland Super Ice and I was very happy although the approach wasn’t that comfortable and I have the opportunity to climb with Scarpa Cumbre which were great climbers but my fat foot were suffering in them for some odd reason the Vasque fit me well but I never had the chance to try the 9000 series but from what I could tell they are very much like the Kayland Super Ice which I really liked…now if only they were comfortable for walking

They all warm to modeate temp (~0) and they all great boots go with what fit…and less is more in term of stitching as far as durability concern

However I hardly can see any of the above boots thrashing in less then 5 years of abuse

Other words u can expect AT LEAST 5 years of service from any of the boots u looking at

BTW

take the pair u trying and weight them in the store scale

if looking for light boots then in man sizes (43-44) it should be around 5lb ~ 6oz

 

[Dru]

Steve Harng has the Cumbre and says they are good for everything.

[layton]

I went to Scarpa's webpage and none of the boots I showed they make are listed. WTF? How many boots did they come out with this year?

I orded the Vasque super alpinista over a year ago and finnaly cancelled my order cuz they don't exist. I think they're finally out, but I'd like to find a shop to try em on.

 

Who has em besides mountain gear and mtn tools?

[cj001f]

michael_layton said:

I went to Scarpa's webpage and none of the boots I showed they make are listed. WTF? How many boots did they come out with this year?

Huh? Check out www.scarpa.net - it's the useful Scarpa site.

[Colin]

"All I know is the La Sportiva Trango Series sucks balls."

 

I haven't used them, so I'm not disagreeing, but I'd really like to know why/how they suck.

 

 

"However I hardly can see any of the above boots thrashing in less then 5 years of abuse. Other words u can expect AT LEAST 5 years of service from any of the boots u looking at BTW."

 

I have had a pair of Scarpa Freneys (the blue ones) for about 2.5 years now. They've been good boots in general, but they definitely are falling apart. I had to have one of the soles re-glued after about 13 months, but more significantly the uppers are really falling apart (my socks are becoming exposed on the achilles of each boot). I don't think that the Freneys are particularly flimsy or anything - I just don't think that any of those boots pictured have all that much durability. A heavier-weight boot (Nepal Extremes) is certainly more durable. I still think that the lighter-weight boots kick-ass, but there definitely is a trade-off in durability.

[IceIceBaby]

Hi Colin,

The Scarpa freny is not full on ice climbing/ mountaineering (well not in the same category as the one pictured) but anyway, I don’t know if u used bee wax or alike to waterproof them…that will reduce the life span of the boots significantly (b/c they all the same they will and do rot the threads and weakening the seams…the only way to waterproof boots in my experience is with silicon spry and my favorite is Tectron…as for the method I have posted that previously so you can do the search)

Also try to take care of your boots by cleaning them after each trip with dampen cloth saddle soap will help every so often (try to avoid the seams anytime u apply any soap or cleaning/conditioning treatments) air dry the boots AWAY from heat source

If u do this I will say u should expect AT LEAST 5 years of your boots.

My own experience is with Nepal Top (regular), which I own for over 7 years and use constantly in the winters and the boots are STILL in superb condition

 

[Dru]

i have been climbing the hell out of my scarpa freneys for 2 years now and aside from some rand damage they are fine except they took about 6 months to break in. i even walked into prusik twice in them when they werent broken in yet, boy was that dumb. i figure im gonna need to re rand them in about another 6 months to a year.

[layton]

Good info so far. It's damn hard to find a shop that carries ANY of these picured boots. I'm surprised the Freney took so long to break it, it looked pretty soft. Alas.

 

The reason I detest the Trango series from La Sportiva is because they only last about one season, if that! I have heard countless climbing partners bitch about their trango "s" or "ice" or "whatever" blow out after just a few uses, myself included. Also, the fit is very bad for me. Too much volume, too tight on the toes. I have to get major surgery done to remove a massive bone spur next to my pinky toe due in part to my Trango Ice boot. Anyone that's seen it has said, "Fuck Dude, that things huge!"

 

I'm seriously concidering ordering the Vasque boots and wearing them around the house for hours on end and using em on the treadmill at the YMCA then returning them if they don't fit (after my surgery).

 

ps. the bone thing was 90% my fault, the other 10% is La Sportiva wouldn't take em back. In fact, the WILL NOT WARRENTY BOOTS ANYMORE (cuz they know they suck).

[Sphinx]

Yeah, the lighter the boot, the lower the durability. Duh. Why'd you buy them if they didn't fit you?

[layton]

I tried to sell em but no one bought em so I was forced to wear them (felt good in the store for an hour) cuz I had no more $$.

 

I don't agree with the light = not-durable comment. It's all in the craftsmanship.

[Sphinx]

I hadn't realized that surgery is cheaper than boots.

[IceIceBaby]

michael_layton said:

I don't agree with the light = not-durable comment. It's all in the craftsmanship.

 

Well the truth is somewhere between …in order to make the boots light they resorted to a “trick” materials which are lighter but don’t have the same ability to mold and durability and flex of leather so they came with a combination of the two = A LOT more seams to bond the various patches of materials

Now every cobbler will tell u this elementary rule “if u looking for the most durability and waterproofness then go with one piece leather boot with the MINIMUM amount of seams”

Less is ALWAYS more in mechanics of gear if looking for durability

But leather is heavy and if using the standard Nappa leather (it is all Nappa leather, just different treatment to the leather hence the proprietary names) in standard 3mm width with good Vibram sole it will be in the upper 5lb lower 6lb with no fancy hardware

Now if u will have some better R&D and better craftsmanship and design u might be able to reduce the weight a bit but there will be always a tradeoff for durability

[Dru]

the long break in for the freneys was due to the rubber rand i think. once i got em good and stinking wet ice climbing in the winter, the leather softened up and they broke in faster

[Beck]

the vasques arent even in full production is what i heard....

go for a boot like thermo cerro torre by scarpa, etc....

[lummox]

tecnica. salomon.

there other brands of boots.

get the ones that fit.

[rbw1966]

I have the salomon pro ice and love them. Right out of the box I did a 5 mile approach with no problems.

[David_Parker]

michael_layton said:

It's all in the craftsmanship.

 

As I have said many times in the past, just buy a boot made in Italy that fits. Brand name doesn't matter, it's just marketing.

[layton]

The only problem is there aren't many places one can try a good ice boot on. Special orders = u must buy it...same with ordering online from a european website.

 

I think I'm gonna go with a cheaper, less durable boot that fits and by the time it wears out, the new generation of ice boots will have come into the shops and the crappy wierd ones will have died out by then. It's a bad idea to buy a product in it's first season of production.

 

Anyone think it's weird the Vasque has been advirtising the fuck outta their new line (Alpinist Mag,etc...), yet they haven't been out for over a year (and looks like it'll be a while still)???

 

I have hears that the Vasque series is the shit, but these were demos used 3 years ago in the Ruth.

[lummox]

the vasque boots have way exposed lace eyelets. they look susceptible to getting bashed. and i dont undnerstand the clear plastic bra thing on em.

[babnik]

lummox said:

the vasque boots have way exposed lace eyelets. they look susceptible to getting bashed. and i dont undnerstand the clear plastic bra thing on em.

 

i do... they look cool and that means they can sell for an extra $100