3-Season mountain and snow hiking boots

Looking for some boots for summer alpine objectives in New Zealand/the lower 48, as well as winter backpacking and alpine use in Australia/Tasmania. Intended objectives will involve long (potentially multi-day) approaches, summer glacier travel, rock scrambling, snow gully climbing, and potentially some easy alpine ice.

Requirements are:

• Very waterproof, will be used for hiking through snow
• Semi-automatic crampon compatible
• Reasonably lightweight
• Comfortable enough to walk in for a multi-day approach

Basically a heavy-duty backpacking boot with a heel welt is the goal.

The main options I've been looking at are the Scarpa Chamoz, the Lowa Mountain Expert, the La Sportiva Trango Tech, and the LS Karakorum. Unfortunately none of them are distributed to the area I live in, and only the Karakorum is available on my continent, so I can't just go to a shop and try them without ordering from the US.

To that end can any of you provide feedback on these four, or suggest something else I should be considering for this use?

EDIT: Add the Lowa Mountain Expert to the list. 

All of those boots would fit your needs and are from a reputable brand, so it really comes down to personal preference and fit.

Another option to consider would be the Hanwag Friction II, very heavy duty but still a comfortable hiker. Not sure if it is sold over there though.

Get the karakorum, they are built on a hiking last and have a bit more padding in the midsole, boots like the charmoz are great for technical rock but when it comes to hiking they arent nearly as comfortable and have pitiful durability in comparison to the karakorums which if taken care of are almost indestructible. As much as I like the trango techs the sticky soles on those things need to be replaced almost every year if youre really beating on em. Although the karakorums dont have a membrane I still have good luck with waterproofing as long as I treat the leather every so often. The karakorums are just as capable for difficult scrambles and 5.easy but are much more usable outside of technical mountaineering, the flex on them is much smoother while still being stiff and they feel great when hauling a huge pack on off trail terrain.

Kevin Mcbride wrote: Get the karakorum, they are built on a hiking last and have a bit more padding in the midsole, boots like the charmoz are great for technical rock but when it comes to hiking they arent nearly as comfortable and have pitiful durability in comparison to the karakorums which if taken care of are almost indestructible. As much as I like the trango techs the sticky soles on those things need to be replaced almost every year if youre really beating on em. Although the karakorums dont have a membrane I still have good luck with waterproofing as long as I treat the leather every so often. The karakorums are just as capable for difficult scrambles and 5.easy but are much more usable outside of technical mountaineering, the flex on them is much smoother while still being stiff and they feel great when hauling a huge pack on off trail terrain.

Thanks for the advice. Some questions:

1. Do La Sportiva do all of their own resoling for the Trango Techs, or can you get third-party resolers to do it?

2. Do the Karakorums handle ice at all?

3. Just realized the ones that get distributed down here are actually the Karakorum HCs, any idea what the difference is?

Ryan Mac wrote:

Thanks for the advice. Some questions:

1. Do La Sportiva do all of their own resoling for the Trango Techs, or can you get third-party resolers to do it?

2. Do the Karakorums handle ice at all?

3. Just realized the ones that get distributed down here are actually the Karakorum HCs, any idea what the difference is?

1. Most resolers will resole them. I get my trangos resoled every 1-2 years and its about 100 bucks each time.

2. Easy ice and in small amounts. None of the boots you mentioned will be effective for sustained ice, for that your need a rigid boot that will not be any good for hiking.

3. Yeah the HC is a whole different boot. Its a bit more technical and it doesnt have much padding in the midsole so it will be just as uncomfortable as any other mountaineering boot for extended hiking.

An easy workaround to the whole "mountaineering boots beating the piss out of your feet" problem is to simply approach in trail runners or approach shoes. This saves my feet on big trips and it takes some of the wear off the boots so the soles last longer.

Salomon s/lab x alpine modular.
Why would you get the karakorums heavy af and for no real benefit other than burly af. You can do most of what you want to do in trail running shoes. 

Kevin Mcbride wrote:

1. Most resolers will resole them. I get my trangos resoled every 1-2 years and its about 100 bucks each time.

2. Easy ice and in small amounts. None of the boots you mentioned will be effective for sustained ice, for that your need a rigid boot that will not be any good for hiking.

3. Yeah the HC is a whole different boot. Its a bit more technical and it doesnt have much padding in the midsole so it will be just as uncomfortable as any other mountaineering boot for extended hiking.

An easy workaround to the whole "mountaineering boots beating the piss out of your feet" problem is to simply approach in trail runners or approach shoes. This saves my feet on big trips and it takes some of the wear off the boots so the soles last longer.

Thanks again.

I'm trying to avoid having to carry heavy mountain boots in a pack if I don't have to, and consolidate my shoe quiver as much as possible, hence this search.

How rigid are the Trango techs for hiking, compared to the Karakorums?

that guy named seb wrote:

Salomon s/lab x alpine modular.

That's an interesting suggestion. Never heard of them, but the design is intriguing. How insulated/waterproof are they?

Ryan Mac wrote: How rigid are the Trango techs for hiking, compared to the Karakorums?

That's an interesting suggestion. Never heard of them, but the design is intriguing. How insulated/waterproof are they?

Waterproof enough once the outer shell is on. You don't need warm the lower 48 and nz in the summer is going to be hot, just because you're stood on a glacier or climbing snow gullies doesn't mean it's not t-shirt weather. For perspective mont blanc (higher than anything you will be doing) is done regularly in trail running shoes and 3 season hiking boots. Wear (or carry) a big insulated leather boot and you will suffer. 

I've had some trango extremes in the past, they suck to hike in but kick steps pretty well, only wore them when I absolutely had to and approached climbed and did as much snow as I could in trail shoes. 

that guy named seb wrote:

Waterproof enough once the outer shell is on. You don't need warm the lower 48 and nz in the summer is going to be hot, just because you're stood on a glacier or climbing snow gullies doesn't mean it's not t-shirt weather. For perspective mont blanc (higher than anything you will be doing) is done regularly in trail running shoes and 3 season hiking boots. Wear a big insulated leather boot and you will suffer. 

I've had some trango extremes in the past, they suck to hike in but kick steps pretty well.

Thanks. Waterproof enough for extended snow hiking where you have to wade, or just resistant? And are they rigid enough for a small bit of easy ice if it happens to be there, or are you just hosed if conditions are harsh enough for that?

Ryan Mac wrote:

Thanks. Waterproof enough for extending snow hiking where you have to wade, or just resistant? And are they rigid enough for a small bit of easy ice if it happens to be there, or are you just hosed if conditions are harsh enough for that?

They're completely rigid as far as I'm aware, they're as waterproof as any boot out there really. If you're wading through snow you should probably turn around, the zipper would be the only ingress point for water but in snow you shouldn't see much of that.