Mammut Taiss Pro High GTX Review: Stoked

So far, I’ve only used these boots for early season cascades guiding around Washington Pass, Baker, and Shuksan. I have about 2000’ of 5.8 or easier alpine granite on them, a few easy pitches of water ice/mixed, and many miles of steep snow/glacier slogging. 

I have used them in temps between 15-50 degrees F and have had warm, dry, and comfortable feet.

Fit: I’m a 47 in phantom tech, 48 in G5/Nepal, 47.5 in trango cube. 

I have the Taiss Pro's in a 13 and they fit like a glove.

Likes:

-These are the most comfortable boots I have ever worn. Other mountain boots I have used extensively include zodiacs, trango cubes, charmoz, nepals, G5’s, phantom techs, g2sm's, and baruntses.

-the stiffness stops further back than the trango cubes/charmoz, so the toe flexes closer to your heel, right under the ball of your foot. This makes them noticeably more comfortable hiking and better at rock climbing, especially slabby terrain.

-outsole is sticky and is durable so far.

-excellent ankle flex, better than phantom tech.

-lateral stiffness when kicking into firm snow is impressive given the ‘deeper’ toe flex. It climbs rock and snow better than trango/charmoz.

-boas are fast and easy to adjust on the fly.

-cozy insulation for chilly alpine rock days or long glacier slogs. I’m a cold footed human and appreciate this

-excellent water proof outer and a tight, sock-like ankle area have kept my feet bone dry, even during the wettest PNW mank postholing sessions.

-they look SICK

Dislikes:

-Boa exposure. The boa concerns me. in wide cracks I have had to place my foot further out so the boa doesn’t get crushed against the side of the crack. On talus I have bumped the boas open twice now. If the boa broke, it would be a nightmare in the field. Some of the upper and the carbon plate on the heel are showing wear, but nothing too bad or unsurprising.

-insulation is on the heavy side if using these for warmer objectives. I haven’t hiked hot summer trail in them yet and I think it might not be too fun, but neither is hiking hot summer trail in phantom techs.

Of note:

-the calf burn when ice/mixed climbing is real. Which is’t surprising given the toe flex. Long easy water ice would be fine, but I would not want to send steep pillars in these.

-when you tighten crampon straps (I have used Vasaks, Lynx, and Irvis Hybrids so far) the strap compresses the insulation/your foot a little bit easier than other boots, so you have to back the strap off just a hair more to not cut off blood flow.

-So far this boot is perfect for May/June cascades stuff, but i'm curious how it will do when it gets hot.

For me, this is an ideal boot for alpine objectives that involve snow/glacier/ice/rock where you want a boot that particularly excels at rock climbing while its cold, sacrificing some front pointing capabilities. Routes like the Fisher Chimneys or N face of Shuksan, early season Mt Goode, early season routes on the Grand Teton, early season Mt. Whitney routes, etc.

Let me know if you have any questions

Stoked

-Noodle

Hi Noodle

Thank you for your review !

Is it easy to put them on? They don’t have zippers on their gaiters

Thank you 

Hello Noodle Dude, thanks for your review..

insulation wise , how do they compare to the phantom tech's ? I know that on paper they should be warmer, but practically ? Also is it not too much of a disadvantage to not be able to use automatic crampons ?

thank  you

Alpinist Oscar wrote:

Hi Noodle

Thank you for your review !

Is it easy to put them on? They don’t have zippers on their gaiters

Thank you 

They are a tight squeeze to get on and off, but if you are careful and purposeful its a nice attritbute as they fit snugly even when the boa is loose.

Nouwanda White wrote:

Hello Noodle Dude, thanks for your review..

insulation wise , how do they compare to the phantom tech's ? I know that on paper they should be warmer, but practically ? Also is it not too much of a disadvantage to not be able to use automatic crampons ?

thank  you

I would say they are about equal with a phantom tech in warmth. I personally like the versatility of the toe basket instead of a bail because if something were to come loose, it is less likely I would kick the crampon totally off at an inopportune time. 

What La spo/scarpa boot would you compare the stiffness to?

In between a trango tech and a trango cube

This is why I love the community, was tossing around a few boot ideas and finally picked these up because you left such a detailed review. Thanks!

Noodle Dude wrote:

They are a tight squeeze to get on and off, but if you are careful and purposeful its a nice attritbute as they fit snugly even when the boa is loose.

Thank you for your reply! I want a fast get on and off. So I may turn to La sportiva G tech which will be available soon :)

The Mammut Taiss Light GTX are amazing. I bought them to train crampon use and found out I love them. You can go out all day in really gnarly wet conditions and be 100% fine, climb decently, and they are really durbale. To scramble real comofrtably without them being so stiff to be sketchy it took a handful of trips for the boot to start flexing in that way. 

I may look into getting this next level boot too!

I bought the Taiss Pro High GTX, but it seems to me that the ankle protection is too short .  They give me the impression of a short shoe where the support function ends below the ankle. Noodle Dude what do you think about? 

I like the amount of ankle flex because it gives me more precision for tricky front pointing/rock climbing, but Ive always had burly ankles and never really felt the need for super stiff high top boots.

Update: I got a pair spent the whole day stomping through waist high snow at my st Helen’s, boa worked great, gaiter kept my feet totally dry and even when working up a sweat my feet came out dry and warm. The only thing is they can be a little cold when just standing around in 10-20 degree F weather but once I started moving they were super nice. Loved them, light weight and felt more like boots and not “mountaineering” boots. Would recommend. 

Hey How are these width wise? I have a wider foot and will be using these for cooler weather mountaineering objectives mostly in crampons or in snowshoes. 

they’re pretty snug, you’d want to go a half size up or maybe a full size. I have narrow feet and a half size up fits really well. 

Noodle Dude wrote:

So far, I’ve only used these boots for early season cascades guiding around Washington Pass, Baker, and Shuksan. I have about 2000’ of 5.8 or easier alpine granite on them, a few easy pitches of water ice/mixed, and many miles of steep snow/glacier slogging. 

I have used them in temps between 15-50 degrees F and have had warm, dry, and comfortable feet.

Fit: I’m a 47 in phantom tech, 48 in G5/Nepal, 47.5 in trango cube. 

I have the Taiss Pro's in a 13 and they fit like a glove.

Likes:

-These are the most comfortable boots I have ever worn. Other mountain boots I have used extensively include zodiacs, trango cubes, charmoz, nepals, G5’s, phantom techs, g2sm's, and baruntses.

-the stiffness stops further back than the trango cubes/charmoz, so the toe flexes closer to your heel, right under the ball of your foot. This makes them noticeably more comfortable hiking and better at rock climbing, especially slabby terrain.

-outsole is sticky and is durable so far.

-excellent ankle flex, better than phantom tech.

-lateral stiffness when kicking into firm snow is impressive given the ‘deeper’ toe flex. It climbs rock and snow better than trango/charmoz.

-boas are fast and easy to adjust on the fly.

-cozy insulation for chilly alpine rock days or long glacier slogs. I’m a cold footed human and appreciate this

-excellent water proof outer and a tight, sock-like ankle area have kept my feet bone dry, even during the wettest PNW mank postholing sessions.

-they look SICK

Dislikes:

-Boa exposure. The boa concerns me. in wide cracks I have had to place my foot further out so the boa doesn’t get crushed against the side of the crack. On talus I have bumped the boas open twice now. If the boa broke, it would be a nightmare in the field. Some of the upper and the carbon plate on the heel are showing wear, but nothing too bad or unsurprising.

-insulation is on the heavy side if using these for warmer objectives. I haven’t hiked hot summer trail in them yet and I think it might not be too fun, but neither is hiking hot summer trail in phantom techs.

Of note:

-the calf burn when ice/mixed climbing is real. Which is’t surprising given the toe flex. Long easy water ice would be fine, but I would not want to send steep pillars in these.

-when you tighten crampon straps (I have used Vasaks, Lynx, and Irvis Hybrids so far) the strap compresses the insulation/your foot a little bit easier than other boots, so you have to back the strap off just a hair more to not cut off blood flow.

-So far this boot is perfect for May/June cascades stuff, but i'm curious how it will do when it gets hot.

For me, this is an ideal boot for alpine objectives that involve snow/glacier/ice/rock where you want a boot that particularly excels at rock climbing while its cold, sacrificing some front pointing capabilities. Routes like the Fisher Chimneys or N face of Shuksan, early season Mt Goode, early season routes on the Grand Teton, early season Mt. Whitney routes, etc.

Let me know if you have any questions

Stoked

-Noodle

Do you know the diference in warmth, stiffness and preformance between this boot and the taiss light?  They both look awesome

This one is stiff, full shank. Can’t say about the warmth difference but they did me well with just light weight wool socks in 10-20 degree weather. A little chilly but only when standing around. 

Noodle Dude!

Jason4Too wrote:

Noodle Dude!

YOU FOUND MY GHOST ACCOUNT

Just found this thread and thinking about grabbing a pair, but the only mountaineering boots I've had so far that worked for me are La Sportiva Aequilibrium ST GTX with some aftermarket insoles. Anyone have a fit comparison to the same last? Would like something of similar stiffness (maybe a little more) but better for snow and cold in the PNW.

They are warm and very stiff soles but the upper is totally flexible. I wear a 10.5 American street shoes, 44.5 in the Aequilibrium a 44 2/3 in the mammut and a 45 in the Nepals.