I’m looking for unfettered opinions on the internet. I want some new boots! I have a pair of Phantom 6000s that I love for ice climbing. They’re cozy as hell and light enough for casual approaches and the kind of ice climbing I do. However, I hiked mount Washington in the winter this year (lions head route) and my feet and legs were… miserable…
So I need some new boots! The use would be some alpine climbing, and general mountaineering. Ideally it would be something I could wear in semi cold weather while climbing Mountains like Mt. Hood, while not being too warm to eliminate some rocky scramble climbs in the summer. My feet run VERY hot while moving, so I’m leaning towards a 3 season or even a summer boot. I’m not sure if it needs front and back crampon welts, but I would prefer heel welts. Strap on crampons would probably be OK though. I want something to fill the gap between my Lowa Tibets, TX4s, trail runners, and Phantom 6000s. Cost isn’t the biggest concern, but does matter a little bit.
I'll start by saying I'm not well versed in this area, but you could take a look at the various versions of La Sportiva's Aequilibrium. I have had a good experience with the ST GTX (synthetic Gortex). They were quite comfortable for things like Mt. Shasta (simple Avy Gulch) and winter romps around Mt. Baldy, Gorgonio, etc. in the San Bernadino area (pretty much all under 10,000ft). All three have Gortex so maybe they will run a bit warm. They are fairly stiff (I believe 3/4 shank?) and work with semi-automatic crampons. I found something like the Grivel G20 a bit too aggressive to be comfortable, and went with Camp XLC 470 crampons which worked nicely. Very happy with the boots for snowy and snow-free trips. Coming to these from much older, more classic leather hiking boots I was astonished at how light they were. Again, I'm not well versed so I don't know how they rank as far as "heavy" or "lightweight," that was just my experience. Oddly, the synthetic ones were the cheapest when I got them, but it seems they have swapped with the leather in the price tier.
what do you mean your feet and legs were miserable? like, the fit was causing discomfort? or were they too hot? or you want something that's softer/ better for hiking?
Boots were too stiff! I felt like I was backpacking in ski boots. Got some gnarly blisters (probably fit and sock issues). So I think I need something more flexible hiking ready Im also interested in how people survive doing anything but near vertical ice climbing for long periods of time in double mountaineering boots!