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belisarius_534After over 10 years of faithful service my 3 season Karrimor walking boots have died a death with multiple split stitching and the beginnings of several holes. Its time to buy a new pair but I've been stuck in with several options.
I want to be able to both use them year round in snow-free conditions, but also for winter walking with crampons.
Now, for actual ice climbing I use big, fully rigid plastic boots with step-in (with clips) Grivel G14 crampons. With no bend at all, these are horrible to walk much distance in, so no good for winter walking.
The first option I've been considering is the Scarpa SL, which is a reasonably flexible 3-season boot. The disadvantage would be that they are too bendy for my current crampons, so I'd have to buy a new strap-on pair of those as well at extra cost.
The second, more expensive option is the Scarpa Manta, which is a proper 4 season boot but with just a touch of bend. Initially I'd thought these would be too stiff for year round use, but plenty of people who have done reviews think they are good for summer walking as well. These would fit with my existing crampons, which would make the overall cost about the same as the SLs. Going for these would also mean I could do easier winter climbing without having to wear the plastic monsters.
Hmm...
I want to be able to both use them year round in snow-free conditions, but also for winter walking with crampons.
Now, for actual ice climbing I use big, fully rigid plastic boots with step-in (with clips) Grivel G14 crampons. With no bend at all, these are horrible to walk much distance in, so no good for winter walking.
The first option I've been considering is the Scarpa SL, which is a reasonably flexible 3-season boot. The disadvantage would be that they are too bendy for my current crampons, so I'd have to buy a new strap-on pair of those as well at extra cost.
The second, more expensive option is the Scarpa Manta, which is a proper 4 season boot but with just a touch of bend. Initially I'd thought these would be too stiff for year round use, but plenty of people who have done reviews think they are good for summer walking as well. These would fit with my existing crampons, which would make the overall cost about the same as the SLs. Going for these would also mean I could do easier winter climbing without having to wear the plastic monsters.
Hmm...
