What mountaineering boot is the best for hiking?

I've got some long approaches on mixed terrain and am looking for the boots that perform on snow and ice, and hike best! Thanks!

how difficult is the climbing and what is the temperature like. If it is not super technical (maybe 70°/AI3/M4 at most) and not super cold than the Scarpa Ribelle Tech are awesome. They are stiff enough for shorter steep sections on frontpoints, climb rock better than any other boot I ever had and hike uphill almost as good as trailrunner

Salewa rapace or crow.   Did rainier in the crows. Climbed wi3 in both.  Both are good down to 15 degrees for an overnighted or two but wouldn’t want to be out longer than that in cold temps.  On rainier I didn’t use approach shoes-very comfortable. For more comfort order a half size larger and add padded insole. 

I'm needing these to keep warm down to around 0. I don't plan on climbing anything extremely technical or harder than wi3. ​Ill definitely go check out those boots this morning! Sounds like ​all three of those boot options are pretty solid. Thank you!

Kyle, That was supposed to say 20 Fahrenheit, not 0. Maybe the lowest would get to be 15 while belaying. I have very little experience mountaineering in the winter or ice climbing, but that is changing this winter. I'm hoping to be able to use these boots and do some easier peaks in Utah (Mt Timp, Superior, and Mt Olympus). Mt Olympus is basically a long steep hike that gets icy and can have some low angle ice to climb at points. Timp and Superior will have deeper snow and will be much colder.

Jakob, how cold do you think you could use the Ribelle Techs in?

akafaultline, if you had to choose between the two, which would you pick?

For those mountains you listed, the approach (imho) isn't long enough to be worried. I've done each of them multiple times in the winter. If you're really worried, just use trail runners until you get to a point that you NEED the boots. If you're going to do something more like the Pfeifferhorn, Lone Peak, or Thunder, then you might want to think more about this. But even then I just stick with mountaineering boots the whole way.

I use Salewa Pro Gaiter though. It has an adjustable shank that I always leave loose unless ice climbing. So I guess it's supposed to be better for walking but I don't really notice much of a difference.

Now you have my unpopular opinion :)

Joshua Taylor wrote: Kyle, That was supposed to say 20 Fahrenheit, not 0. Maybe the lowest would get to be 15 while belaying. I have very little experience mountaineering in the winter or ice climbing, but that is changing this winter. I'm hoping to be able to use these boots and do some easier peaks in Utah (Mt Timp, Superior, and Mt Olympus). Mt Olympus is basically a long steep hike that gets icy and can have some low angle ice to climb at points. Timp and Superior will have deeper snow and will be much colder.

Jakob, how cold do you think you could use the Ribelle Techs in?

akafaultline, if you had to choose between the two, which would you pick?

I mean this nicely and hopefully can save you some coin.  Assuming you're talking about the "hiking" trails.  These are all non tecnical objectives and can be done in a winter hiking boot.  An insulated merrel etc.  I know because i've done them.   Now if you're talking about the South ridge of Superior, or the west slabs (not commonly done in winter, though I belive Kyle Dempster  RIP and others have gone and climbed the W. slabs and surrounding mixed lines in winter)

Timpanogos also is non tecnical, i've done it midwinter in warm hiking boots and microspikes.  A soft warm hiking boot+microspikes will be way more comfortable for long hikes and will perform fine on most wasatch non tecnical peaks.

However,  if you're looking at routes like everest ridge on Timp, South ridge on superior, and W/E on olympus then a mountaineering boot is warranted.  They also in my experience provide more security if you run into hard snow conditions and need a real crampon.   A single leather boot like a la sportiva nepal evo or equivalent synthetic boot (scarpa phantom, LS g5) etc is the standard and will serve you well on other climbs in the lower 48.  

double boots are generally not needed in the Wasatch

Best,
Greg
Edit: cheap boots hiking or the mountaineering variety can be had for cheap at the local consignment shop The Gear Room. 

I’ve done Everest ridge in asolo fugitives-with temps near 10. As well as superior in salewa Rapaces.  Climbed the GWI several times in the rapaces too. Between the crow and rapace-to me once they are on your feet their isn’t much difference but the crow do seem a little bit stiffer for ice.  But the rapace should be more durable cause of all leather vs fabric on the crow.  But I’ve abused the crows pretty hard in the last couple months and still look great.  Both are equally comfortable so I’d go with whatever you found on sale.

I loan out my rapace and crow boots pretty regularly for people to crag in.  Ive used the rapaces, as well as loaned them out here in Ak with temps down to -10 f for 6 hours or so at a time. That is definitely beyond the limits of the boot but we were on climbs with very short approaches so if we needed to bail early we could.  Even for la sportiva Nepals, mont blancs etc, -10 is beyond their intended use

I picked up the Sportiva Trango Cube GTX last winter.  I haven't given it a proper alpine thrashing yet, but some cragging and shoveling in them to break them in has left me satisfied and confident that they'll do well for mountaineering/mixed ascents with long approaches.  I think with the right socks they'd be fine in below freezing temps, but probably not much good past single digits.

Bootz Ylectric wrote: I picked up the Sportiva Trango Cube GTX last winter.  I haven't given it a proper alpine thrashing yet, but some cragging and shoveling in them to break them in has left me satisfied and confident that they'll do well for mountaineering/mixed ascents with long approaches.  I think with the right socks they'd be fine in below freezing temps, but probably not much good past single digits.

I found a killer deal on the ICE cubes, but they seem like they may be overkill. I have been looking at the cube, but can't find any reviews on how cold they will work in. Ill keep looking into these. Thanks!

The salewas are going to be a lot more comfortable than the Trangos on approaches imo.  Much more flexible.  But the la sportivas will be better on ice.  I owned the trangos and sold them for the salewas and personally won’t go back to the trangos.   With crampons, the the salewas stiffen up significantly to effectively lead wi3 etc so I preferred to have a more comfortable boot for the approach (more flexible).  

I'm doing a three-day, <15-mile backpacking trip in the UP this weekend. Temps between 20-35F, with ~6-8 inches of snow on the ground. Those conditions are around my cutoff for my Asolo TPS 520s. How unwise would it be to use this as an opportunity to break in some new Nepals?

Joshua Taylor wrote:

I found a killer deal on the ICE cubes, but they seem like they may be overkill. I have been looking at the cube, but can't find any reviews on how cold they will work in. Ill keep looking into these. Thanks!

They're barely insulated, are super stiff and flat so aren't comfortable for approaches at all, they climb fantastically though.

Definitely not ideal for your purposes.

that guy named seb wrote:

They're barely insulated, are super stiff and flat so aren't comfortable for approaches at all, they climb fantastically though.

Definitely not ideal for your purposes.

Its funny how on every review it says something completely different. I will pass those up then. Any other suggestions than the others listed?

Greg's advice is sound. You'll get a lot of mileage out of a pair of Trango Cubes. I've climbed Pfeifferhorn NW Couloir, Olympus Memorial Couloirs, Everest Ridge, Triple Traverse, and similar with those boots. However, if you're even thinking about ice, I'd recommend the Nepal Cubes. They're a bit stiffer/heavier, but not unbearable to hike in. For most Wasatch adventures, I can get away with the Trangos and some Microspikes or Air Tech Lights.

Trango cubes are nice! Also most stuff in the Wasatch (unless one is slow, sorry) is not a two day event. Because you're moving almost the whole time you don't need heavy crazy double boots.

I have Crows and love them for approach/spring mountaineering. I wouldn't really use them for winter, though I guess that depends on conditions and objective.

I did a fifteen mile, roundtrip hike/climb two weeks ago in my Phantom Techs.  We did a WI3 line on Mt. Colden in the Adirondacks and my feet were fine all day.  The most comfortable mountaineering boots I've ever worn.  Temps were about 10-20ºF throughout the day. 

Have a bit of a curve ball answer.

The North Face Verto S4K
-It's softer than the Trango's (so more comfy walking) and a wider forefoot.
-It has way better heel hold than anything from Sportiva, and as good if not better that most Scarpa (again the softer midsole helps)
-Made in the same factory as Salewa's mountaineering stuff in Romania. Know the dude who did both.

The S4K Ice is the same upper with a stiffer midsole and more insulation. So it doesn't walk quite as well.

Joshua Taylor wrote:

Its funny how on every review it says something completely different. I will pass those up then. Any other suggestions than the others listed?

IDK much about what boots are good on ice and since your just starting out you want something to both grow into and that will work well for your needs now, I would avoid the trango cube unless you plan on getting new boots once you want to start climbing harder ice routes. 

Scarpa Mont Blanc Pro GTX or La Sportiva G5. Both shoes are actually stiff boots and both will take you allot further in your climbing than Trango cubes. Just wear some trail runners for the approach, no matter how good a mountaineering boot is at hiking it will fucking suck compared to any trail running shoe.

Jakob, how cold do you think you could use the Ribelle Techs in?

Temperature ratings for boots are quite difficult. It depends too much on factors like how ofter you stop, if your socks are sweaty, if it is windy or if your feet are mosty in dry powder.

For me the Ribelle Techs are fine down to -10°C as long as I keep moving. Apparently, they have the same amount of insulation as the Scarpa Charmoz.
Also for me they don't get too sweaty as long as it isn't too hot. I think it is the perfect 4000m+ boots in the Alps in Summer as well as maybe up to 3000m in winter for fast and light missions. (ok maybe apart from the Salomon overshoes/crampon system which they, unfortunately, don't plan on releasing https://www.salomon.com/en-us/blog/building-the-salomon-shoe-crampon-system-prototype. Damn I want them so bad...)