Light mountaineering boot recs

apogee wrote:

Crap. Can't find TX4 Mid GTX anywhere...it looks like they were discontinued some time ago. Back to the drawing board...

Can be imported from Europe, they're just discontinued for the NA market.

You can also look at the many super gaitor trail running shoes that would serve you well and can probably be found on clearance right now. 

that guy named seb wrote:

Can be imported from Europe, they're just discontinued for the NA market.

You can also look at the many super gaitor trail running shoes that would serve you well and can probably be found on clearance right now. 

Per the La Sportiva rep I just talked to the TX4 mid will be coming back in the form of the TX4 Evo mid, and should be available in a few weeks/maybe a month (even in NA). 

Bit of thread drift but La Sportiva seems to be overhauling quite a few of their footwear lines with the predictable wins and losses for their consumers, depending on what has been your go-to product and what you look for in a shoe. Overall I'm getting pretty frustrated with the difference in availability between LS NA and LS Europe/world. Multiple models of shoes/boots that have been LS classics for years if not decades are only available in Europe, and are actually sometimes pretty hard to get imported to the US - I don't think you can shop directly from the international site.

Hey, another person who actually gets that the Sierra is neither the rockies nor the alps! I'm in Aequilibriums, my buddies got Scarpa Ribelles on discount.

I have a pretty wide foot and high arches: most touring boots cause me debilitating pain. The LS aequilibrium, to my own surprise, fits me pretty well. Can't attest to the durability; haven't used em nearly enough (it replaced my trango techs, which were great until they wore out within maybe 4 trips; those I cannot recommend). From the couple outings I've done, I appreciate the slightly stiffer sole when using them in crampons, and they do still climb reasonably well (I think I'd draw the line around 5.6 with them).

Once the snowpack melts a bit more (early july) I usually switch to approach shoes, spikes, and trekking poles (or an axe if I'm worried).

Karl Henize wrote:

IMO, kicking into hard ice or doing moderate mixed climbing feels terrible in the Fil-Flex toe baskets on Taiss Light boots.  Even when the sole is jammed tightly into the basket posts, the toe of the boot still moves up and down and rotates within the basket.  The stock toe baskets that come on most crampons seem to be optimized for larger 4 season boots, like the Nepal.  

Something like the Grivel Transformer Bail (Size Small) seems like it would offer a much better fit on the Taiss Light than any stock toe baskets that come with crampons.  However, it seems like Liberty Mountain might be the only distributor in the US that actually carries them.  I have never actually seen or heard of seen anyone using them.  

https://us.grivel.com/collections/crampons/products/transformer-bail 

https://libertymountain.com/ntn22642-grivel-transformer-crampon-bail.html 

Grivel semi autos work great for me with the mammut taiss as well as the camp semi auto crampons with steel front points and aluminum frames. I encountered the same issue with the petzl toe bail as others are describing. Key is to use a semi auto crampon that has the front “posts” built into the frame. It took a little trial and error but ultimately I’m really happy with the taiss. 

They are not the as comfortable as approach shoes or my other mountaineering boots for long hikes/descents but they climb rock and ice really well with and without crampons.

I talked with La Sportiva today- as mentioned earlier in this thread, the TX4 GTX Mid has been discontinued, and the TX4 Evo Mid is supposed to replace it. The rep I talked with did not have a specific date that the Evo would be available, and was pretty vague about anywhere between a week or multiple weeks. Just gotta keep monitoring the LS website to see when it comes in to stock.

If anyone sees this shoe somewhere, please post up here. The Sierra season for this type of shoe/boot is nearly upon me...

https://www.rei.com/product/229697/la-sportiva-tx4-evo-mid-gtx-approach-boots-mens?sku=2296970013&store=&CAWELAID=120217890018439124&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=101885829072&CATCI=pla-451844983606&cm_mmc=PLA_Google%7C21700000001700551_2296970013%7C92700054049570292%7CNB%7C71700000066696218&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwjqWzBhAqEiwAQmtgTyDIBZdjtZiYSZixJG6iwVl-tjZXdO9p0KaxA_Pt2uS3MtlEsnF2lhoCKBsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks, Bug Boy. Ordered a pair...we'll see how it goes.

Recently returned from a Sierra trip where I used the TX4 Evo Mid GTX's for the first time. Conditions were typical for this time of year- very little snow, and on either trail/talus/scree most of the time. Overall they worked out well- there's more room in the footbox than a typical La Sportiva shoe, so hiking was good- no discomfort problems. Used the factory insole, though I might add a Superfeet at some point. Good ankle support and overall foot protection.

Almost as sticky as a pure approach shoe when scrambling or cruising talus- climbed 4th class and small amounts of easy 5th class in them. The cleated sole worked well on trails, mud or wet terrain. In snow, they worked reasonably well- they aren't a mountaineering boot, so they don't edge into snow like that, but they did better than a true, simple approach shoe.

So far, they've been a good choice, and seem to fill the niche I was looking for in these kinds of mountain conditions.

I've got my eyes on Mammut Taiss Light Mid GTX -- anyone know how they compare fit-wise to the Kento Advanced High, or La Sportiva Aequilibriums?

For context, I'm a hiker looking to get into more technical routes and mountaineering. I've always had trouble finding shoes with my wide forefoot, low arches (need supportive insoles almost always) and somewhat narrow heel. I normally wear Altra Lone Peaks and Meindl Meran for hiking. Neither shoe is particularly great walking in scree, snow patches, sharp ridges or generally whenever you'd need to balance on pointy things in exposed terrain, so I got La Sportiva TX4 Evos that fit me quite well: the straight big toe feels great after wearing Altra and the heel is snug without any rubbing or hot spots. It isn't Altra wide but just enough so to not feel painful. It's a good shoe for walking on rock and scrambling, but now I'm looking for something with a bit of a shaft, wpb membrane and slightly deeper tread, that could fit crampons but not have a ton of insulation and weight for 3-season use.

So far I've tried LS Aequilibrium LTs which felt maybe a touch narrower than TX4s, but maybe workable if they would break in a little; Mammut Kento Advanced High which had a nice snug heel and the toebox shape wasn't too bad (straight-ish big toe), but more restrictive forefoot width than Aequilibrium LTs; and Scarpa Ribelle Techs but they were too tight in the toe box (big toe canted inwards), too narrow at the metatarsal heads, and to top it off, a loose heel. I'm now pretty sure Scarpa doesn't fit me - even though they're usually recommended for wide feet and have a lot of different lasts for different shoes, I've found every Scarpa to fit the same for me, including my ski touring boots, and a pair of Mont Blancs I tried on the other day, plus a couple of rock climbing shoes, only to find they all give me heel lift and cram my toes into an unnatural-for-me position that feels like wearing dress shoes. In contrast, LS TC Pros were a good fit and match my forefoot shape well enough to be workable (bought them, started rock climbing just a few weeks ago and the thick rubber felt really great for my untrained toes and clyde build), and another LS that fit me pretty well were the Nepal Cubes I rented out for a couple of days on a mountaineering and ice climbing class. I would love to get more into ice climbing but for that I'd want a stiffer and warmer boot than what I'm looking for now.

I've been trying to read everything I can about these kind of boots and saw it being mentioned here that the Taiss Lights would be slightly wider than LS which seems promising. So I was wondering if anyone knows how they compare to Kento Advanced Highs and Aequilibriums specifically, or if anyone has other suggestions for me.

Sometimes I wish manufacturers would just publish the width in millimeters like they do with ski boots

If the Nepal Cubes were good, maybe the Nepal Treks are what you are after for now?