New Sportiva "G-Tech" Ice Boots?

Wonder what people’s thoughts are for these and rainier and baker etc? 

akafaultline wrote:

Wonder what people’s thoughts are for these and rainier and baker etc? 

I would expect they are warm enough for most people during the regular season similar to other single/tech boots.  

In general I think doubles are overkill for rainier and if it’s unseasonably cold, footwarmers.  

But for folks with cold extremities + moving slower with a guided group etc.  maybe not.  

I’m sure a rainier guide will say tech boots get trashed by the rocks etc. stick with leathers. But my phantom techs have held up great and I won’t be buying leathers again unless I quit my job and start guiding rainier 30 times a season on a guides salary :) 

Hope that helps

But no, I wouldn’t risk it if you’re regularly there guy/gal with cold feet skiing/climbing/whatever.  

It’ll never make sense to me when folks in my group that are notorious for not being warm enough dress lighter/buy the less warm option than the “regular” people because it’s the new light hot tech.   Don’t shoot yourself in the foot.  

akafaultline wrote:

Wonder what people’s thoughts are for these and rainier and baker etc? 

yep, seconding greggrylls, most folks don't really need Nepal Cubes or Mont Blanc Pros for Baker or Rainier outside of winter conditions (and even then, eh...). I opt for lighter boots that walk better every time I'm on either in the summer/fall, with the exception of some of the techier routes that include technical ice climbing, then I'd opt for Phantom Techs or the g5 Evo (or possibly this!). My guess is that this boot will be noticeably less warm than a g5 Evo, FWIW. 

Here is some firsthand information that might help folks.

Physically handling and looking at G Tech vs G5

G Tech is much thinner feeling for overall insulation.

Bottom sole is thinner, so is less of an insulation value under foot.

Whole construction - durability seems lighter.  Maybe they would hold up to as much abuse as a G5 would, but I am not sure…

G Tech has a much narrower heel, and fit my foot very well with zero heel slip.  Maybe the least I have ever had in a mountain boot.  They also walked real well.  The boot felt really great to wear! (For my foot that is…)  

G5 will be discontinued, and more G Tech boots will come out.  Next season will be a G summit, which might?? be the replacement for the G5

The G Tech is a little less warm than the G5.  I was told this at the Sportiva store.  Makes sense in my handling and viewing of both boots.  In the store, while wearing each for awhile…. My foot got warm in the G5. I did not feel that warmth in the G Tech.  I had each on for awhile.

In the end, the G Tech fit me a little better, but I went with the G5.  It fit good enough with my bunion and narrow heels.  Warmth was top priority over everything perfectly fit.  I think a different insole will bring fit up to #1.  I have worn LaSportiva footwear since 1989.

@Cor, are the G Tech's sole fully ridged? 

Jake S wrote:

@Cor, are the G Tech's sole fully ridged? 

They seemed to flex at the toe area a little more than the G5.  That said, they did seem to offer plenty enough support for front pointing.  (Or so it seemed when I would stand up on my toes a bit..)

More thoughts would be:

If you’re using them in the lower 48, and your feet generally run warm.  Great.

If you have funny feet from cold damage, or generally run cold, it might be on the light side.  In thinking back about boots, the G5 is more like the Batura, where the G Tech might be more like the Silver Bullets were for warmth.  I am guessing a little here though.  I have not had either out in the field.

Another thing that comes to mind.

The G Tech walked like I was in a light hiker. G5 walks pretty good, but more like a boot.

The G Tech was flexible on the sides.  G5 is hard like a boot.  So, if you grabbed the side of the boot, behind the toe area, it flexes like a sneaker would.  Or maybe a better example would be, if gives on the side like an old model TC Pro, where the G5 doesn’t flex, like a new TCPro.  Make sense?

The G5 has a goretex toe cap, and maybe a little more general water proofing.

Fancy looking boots. I wonder if they have them in a more reserved style.

So G-Techs are the Sportiva version of the Phantom Techs, and it seems the G-Techs aren’t as warm as the G5’s. Does that mean the Phantom Techs aren’t as warm as the G5’s too? I was under the impression that those boots (Phantom Techs and G5’s) were similar in warmth.

Eliot Hack wrote:

Climbing Magazine Writes this about the g-tech  " Lots of brands make mountain boots, but few do it well. La Sportiva continues to deliver. The G-Tech is an ultralight boot with lightweight insulation, so it won’t be your main workhorse for colder temps or when you anticipate standing around belaying for hours. However, in moderate conditions where movement is more continuous than not, it’s a standout home run. Its agile, low profile enables the most precise foot placements on techy ice and mixed pitches, and the carbon insole walks better than any other ice boot in our quiver. Overall, The lightweight, svelte construction elicited a comparison to putting on rock shoes after climbing in approach shoes—so much so that by the end of a trip to Cody, Wyoming, our testers were fighting over who got to wear them. Other highlights: the external BOA fit adjustment system that’s effortless to operate in gloves for on-the-go adjustments. The wraparound, full-coverage gaiter provides a huge warmth return for its weight (and frankly is a must have for any mountain boot these days as far as we’re concerned)."

As the guy who wrote this I'll weigh in with a bit more elaboration based on some of the questions here. (*The sample size we had fit my testers, not me.) The G-Tech is a lightweight, super technical oriented boot with minimal insulation, much thinner and lighter (i.e. less warm) than the G5 or Phantom Tech but warmer than the Ribelle. I would colloquially label them "3 season plus." Aside from walking great, for harder, steeper ice or mixed the lightweight and flexibility are fantastic; for endless WI4 front pointing those benefits are irrelevant and you'd be better served in a stiffer, more robust boot. In late season Cody where temps were moderate and we kept moving they were standout, if you're headed to Canmore this winter or typically stand around at long belays I would pick something more hearty unless (maybe) you're really turning up the rowdy meter on the Stanley Headwall etc.

Cor wrote:

Here is some firsthand information that might help folks.

Physically handling and looking at G Tech vs G5

G Tech is much thinner feeling for overall insulation.

Bottom sole is thinner, so is less of an insulation value under foot.

Whole construction - durability seems lighter.  Maybe they would hold up to as much abuse as a G5 would, but I am not sure…

G Tech has a much narrower heel, and fit my foot very well with zero heel slip.  Maybe the least I have ever had in a mountain boot.  They also walked real well.  The boot felt really great to wear! (For my foot that is…)  

G5 will be discontinued, and more G Tech boots will come out.  Next season will be a G summit, which might?? be the replacement for the G5

The G Tech is a little less warm than the G5.  I was told this at the Sportiva store.  Makes sense in my handling and viewing of both boots.  In the store, while wearing each for awhile…. My foot got warm in the G5. I did not feel that warmth in the G Tech.  I had each on for awhile.

In the end, the G Tech fit me a little better, but I went with the G5.  It fit good enough with my bunion and narrow heels.  Warmth was top priority over everything perfectly fit.  I think a different insole will bring fit up to #1.  I have worn LaSportiva footwear since 1989.

Is the length of the g tech same as g5 for the same size? Do I need to down size as there is thinner insulation? Thx

Alpinist Oscar wrote:

Is the length of the g tech same as g5 for the same size? Do I need to down size as there is thinner insulation? Thx

For what it’s worth…. I had a 42 G tech on and it felt good, and a 41.5 G5 that felt good.  This may be, and I am guessing here, the G tech has a more chiseled toe front, where the G5 is more rounded.

@Cor so the shoe last is more similar to trango than nepal ?

Alpinist Oscar wrote:

@Cor so the shoe last is more similar to trango than nepal ?

If memory remembers right, yes.  A different last.

So tried on the G Tech last night. Ugh! I measure a 41.5 on a Brannock device. D width. I do have a bit of a high volume instep. Most conversions are 41.5 = 8.5  (which is what I measure). LaSpo usually calls 41.5 8.5+.

My G5s are a 41 and with my Smartwool compression mountaineering socks they fit perfect. My G2SMs are a 41.5 to account for a thicker sock or altitude swelling. They fit great too.

I couldn’t get my foot into a 41. Or a 41.5. The gusset elastic is too tight and doesn’t stretch enough. I could get my foot in a 42 however they were way too big heel to toe.

Observations. Stupid lite! Not sure how they’ll hold up. Seem fragile. I think they’re a niche product built for certain conditions and environments (and will shine in them!). Don’t think they’d get much use in New England due to our typical weather. Not even shoulder seasons.

Just my two cents. 

Bryce Dahlgren wrote:

So G-Techs are the Sportiva version of the Phantom Techs, and it seems the G-Techs aren’t as warm as the G5’s. Does that mean the Phantom Techs aren’t as warm as the G5’s too? I was under the impression that those boots (Phantom Techs and G5’s) were similar in warmth.

I run warm, climb in Montana Wyoming and Alaska... The phantom techs are significantly colder than g5s... Like every person, including me, that has climbed in them gets cold feet... My batura 2.0s(the older version before g5s) I trust down to like -10f in Hyalite and would do the same in g5s... Phantom techs get cold around 15f unless I'm moving/running.... Sounds like sportiva is better at making boots warm in similar wieght ranges compared to Scarpa.... 

Anyone know anything about the new G-Summit? Replacement for the G5 EVO? 

Dallin Carey wrote:

Anyone know anything about the new G-Summit? Replacement for the G5 EVO? 

I heard a rumor over the weekend that the G5 was going to be replaced by a new book along the lines of the G-Tech. guessing this is it. 

bearded sam wrote:

I heard a rumor over the weekend that the G5 was going to be replaced by a new book along the lines of the G-Tech. guessing this is it. 

Yep.  Not out until next season it looks.

G5 replaced with Gtech summit.