which mountain boots to get?

want a pair of boots that i would be able to learn to ice climb in, but not too clunky for summer alpine stuff. any suggestions, or does this not exist? scarpa charmoz looks promising but not sure if they’re stiff enough for ice.

Just about everyone when staring out wants to get one boot for all the mountain stuff (including me). After taking them out 3 times they realize mountain boots have narrow windows where they work well and if you’re really going to do stuff you need a few different boots (including me).

if you’re learning borrow or rent until you know what you like and what you’ll need where you climb. That said, I’ve climbed more than a few pitches in charmoz boots with mountaineering crampons. It’s fine if you don’t know any better. But I’d never suggest it.

Edit: I should also say I now have 3 different pairs of mountain boots for different conditions/objectives and the charmoz are not one of them. I don’t think they are particularly good at anything. 

This. No such thing as a quiver killer when it comes to mountain boots, unless you are okay with a certain amount of suffering and clunkiness when hiking towards your summer climb.

Modern fully automatic boots are just about okay to hike in, but nowhere near as nice as a semi. 

Try the La Sportiva G-Tech

LS Nepal Cube's. I owned a pair of Evo's since 2008 and they're still working great. I mostly use them for ice in NH, but have used them on Rainier and Baker in June/July.

I mean, I really like my Cubes and I've done some long approaches in them - it works, but it's not as comfy as a B2 boot. 

But you could always strap them to your bag and do a part of the approach in trainers or approach shoes. 

Totes get all the comments about more or less needing 2-3 pairs of boots, but really, most of us could probs do 80% of our alpine career in one boot. 

For me, and I would venture to say for most climbers in the lower 48, modern 1.5 or "super-gaiter" boots are quite sufficient for whatever. SCARPA phantom guides/tech family boots have been that for me. Winter summits in the lower 48, lower elevations in Alaskan summers, ice climbing all over, late fall/early spring ascents, they do most of it. I own lighter and heavier boots, like 5-6 pairs? From ribelle type up to 8000m. But if I had to use just one, phantom techs or equivalent. Easy choice really. 

Spopepro O. wrote:

Just about everyone when staring out wants to get one boot for all the mountain stuff (including me). After taking them out 3 times they realize mountain boots have narrow windows where they work well and if you’re really going to do stuff you need a few different boots (including me).

if you’re learning borrow or rent until you know what you like and what you’ll need where you climb. That said, I’ve climbed more than a few pitches in charmoz boots with mountaineering crampons. It’s fine if you don’t know any better. But I’d never suggest it.

Edit: I should also say I now have 3 different pairs of mountain boots for different conditions/objectives and the charmoz are not one of them. I don’t think they are particularly good at anything. 

So what are your 3 boots you landed on? Thanks for the feedback!

John R wrote:

So what are your 3 boots you landed on? Thanks for the feedback!

Mammut norwand 2.1 for winter expedition and cold ice days. They don’t make it anymore, it became the 6000, but the 2.1 is a little lighter and more slim. A kind of not-quite-a-full double boot.

Mammut taiss pro high for alpine, spring couloirs and moving fast on snow.

La sportiva g-tech for hard ice and mixed.

The biggest thing is how cold is it where you climb, and what are your objectives. If I was going up bigger peaks the 2.1s wouldn’t cut it, but the boot-and-a-half is fantastic for cragging trips to the Canadian Rockies. Matching the boot to temp is critical for keeping your toes, and not baking in the other direction.

The next thing is fit, which has a big impact on warmth and performance as well as comfort. Each manufacturer has a different last shape, and it’s not as simple as “a is wider than b”. Mammut tends to fit my feet great, but I was surprised when the g-techs fit so well and the phantom techs did not, especially as La sportiva has a reputation for being narrower… but it was the midfoot that didn’t work for me in scarpa. So hire guides and borrow boots, go to festivals and demo boots, and don’t try and figure it out online if at all possible.