La Sportiva K4S

[Kevin_Matlock]

Anyone have any experience with this boot?

I had my mind set on double boots, until I saw these. They seem bomber, are lighter than doubles and seem just as stiff, but they are so much thinner and it's hard to imagine them being as warm as a double. I'm also not so sold on that fake leather in front of the tongue. Just wondering if anybody can put my mind at ease on my purchase... gotta make sure before I dirty them up and can't return them.

[OlegV]

Hey Kevin,

I am trying to sell my K4S - great boots. They climb vertical ice, mixed and snow just fine. I had them on during winter ascents including Rainier, Baker and BC. Combined with the overboots, it is a very warm boot. I wouldn’t use them during the long expedition, as the boot gets wet and impossible to dry. Very light and sporty boot. Frenchi know how to climb and how to make best boots.

 

The problem with my pair, I purchased them on the Internet and the boots were 1/2 size smaller than I need. When I noticed the problem (my heel developed blisters on the approaches), it was too late to return them.

 

The bottom line, you are more than welcome to try them, if the size is right (10 US, 44 EURO).

[RogerJ]

I've had good luck with mine, but since I just recently got them, my experience is limited. My feet stayed toasty warm around 0 f doing nothing special, but I've yet to do anything multi-day with them.

 

Word of warning. If you have toe bail crampons don't assume they will fit. I had to really fxxk around with my Grivel G-14's. After a call to Grivel, it was apparent I was not alone on this.

 

Best...

 

-r

[Kevin_Matlock]

Hey Oleg! Hows things?

I saw you were trying to sell a pair of boots, but didn't realize it was the same F'n thing!

I've already bought my... but I went with size 11 for my big gun boats.

And they DO seem to be a major bitch if I got them wet; thus part of my dilema.

 

 

Roger - you are spot on. Last night I threw my poons on the boots and it was a challenge at best... and this was with the boot loose in my lap. Can't imagine how much of a pain this would be with them all laced up on your feet.

The salesman (Gavin @ Climbaxe... good guy, lots of help ) told me that you sometimes have to get the mallet out and litterally bash the toe bail into the front of the boot just to get the damn thing to seat. I might take an exacto knife to mine and very carefully cut the slot a little larger. But then again, maybe I'll just puss out.

 

 

In playing with the boot last night I realized what that intermediate lace hook is for now. The guy at the store didn't know why La Sportiva has such an odd design. But now that I figured it out it's SWEET! It's so you can have 2 zones of lace tension. I used to do this with my hiking boots all the time, but I just laced them all wanky to make it work. La Sportiva's solution is really smart (provided that eye hook keeps it's grip over time).

 

Thanks for the input guys; I'll probably just stick with and give them an honest trial.

[Kevin_Matlock]

...and, did either one of you guys need a break in period with your boots? Well, Oleg, you said yours were too small in the first place, so I guess that's not a fair question.

Roger... were your dialed in right off the bat, or did you have to deal with pain on the first few trips?

Thanks.

[RogerJ]

Kevin,

 

As with most of my footwear, I break them in summiting the mighty Mt. Tabor numerous times, dogs in hand. I probably put on 15-20 hours before heading to the mountains. That's less time than I usually like to on a new boot but I was no worse the wear.

 

Top answer your question more directly, I had little to no problems during break in, especially after I got the lower lacing dialed in. However, I seem to do really well with La Sportiva's for fit in general.

 

Now back to farting around with my flippin crampons

 

-r

[RogerJ]

Hey Oleg,

 

Did you find these boots were harder to dry than other single boots?

 

Thanks for the insight.

 

-r

[OlegV]

Hey Rojer - I think so, the upper part of the boot works as a vapor sponge. Once this sponge gets wet, the moisture spreads into entire boot, and since is made of some kind of plastic, the water doesn't evaporate and stay with you for the rest of the trip.

[jaee]

My experience has been mixed with this boot. I'm glad to see others reflect similar thoughts. I've had mine for a couple years now.

 

Warmth: Great for couple day trips around here. Gets cold and wet out longer. I'll never climb in leather boots in Alaska again. After 2 weeks I couldn't keep my feet warm in camp.

 

Lacing: Round laces slip. Have to tighten them up a couple times a day.

 

Crampon compat: Blew a crampon 20+ feet out from a shitty screw. It was on moderate ground, but caused me a bit of concern. This was also with G14 crampons. My tip for getting them to fit: Strap the crampons on tight and do a little impact engineering on them with your hammer. Beat to fit, paint to match.

 

Material: The plastic coated material is starting to delaminate. I've seen this on a couple other K4S. Just a wrinkle here and there, but it's spreading.

 

However, given all of those things, they are the most comfortable single boot I've used. The fit is good for me, but there's no room for error. I *have* to use a thin liner and medium sock or else I get a couple blisters. Coupled with the G14 they are a great climbing boot.

 

Boots and gloves, difficult they are.

[RogerJ]

I just got back from 5 days in the N. Cascades with a lot of mixed weather. These guys worked out pretty good for me. Comfy, warm etc. We did luck out with sun the latter part of the trip, so keeping anything dry was a piece of cake.

 

I'll use them again on multi-day stuff in the PNW and where climates are similar.

 

-r