TX Guides vs Scarpa Gecko LT, or others

I've been shopping for some TX Guides this winter with some alpine scrambly/running objectives in mind. I want a shoe that is light (300-350 g) but stiff enough to accept a strap on crampon reasonably well. I can't seem to find the TX Guides in Canada anymore. Did they get discontinued? I'm wondering if anyone has worn Scarpa Gecko LT's. They seem to be a fairly close comp, while being even slightly lighter. I'm wondering if anyone can comment on how the stiffness compares to a TX Guide or TX4. Open to other recommendations.

They fit and perform similarly. The TX Guides are more precise and climb better. The Gecko LTs are much more durable. The TX Guides may be stiffer in the toe, or just a closer fit to my toe shape; it's hard to comment on stiffness because I use aftermarket insoles. I haven't worn TX4s. 

If you want to run, I would get a proper running shoe, there's quite a few options specifically made for this kind of stuff. Maybe you can get your hands on the old salomon x-alpines. 

I have the tx guides, the compressed EVA is very firm and sucks compared to that found in running shoes.

Sadly I think we're in a bit of a drout for really high performance trail runners atm. 

Agree with Seb.  I love the TX guides for climbing, but wouldn’t want to run any distance in them. 

Forgive me, perhaps “run” was a bit of an exaggeration. I own many pairs of trail runners or varying types and do a lot of running. A pure running shoe wouldn’t really be appropriate for the kinds of things i’m talking about, but a beefy approach shoe like a tx4 would be extremely clunky for moving around quickly. Scarpa Rapid is a shoe I’ve worn for similar things and don’t find them to be stiff enough, so I think i’m looking for one notch further toward approach shoe than that. Thanks everyone for the input. 

I've did a week long canyoneering trip in TX4 evos (as did many other people in my group). I thought they were super comfy walking ~15mi each day off trail in Escalante. The trick is to size them up a half size; mine aren't great for climbing (about an inch of space in the toebox), but just fine for smearing and scrambling.

I'm not sure if they're the best of all possible worlds, but I was surprised at how much I liked them, given that my main hiking shoe are hoka speedgoats.

I had the rapids, and found them ‘meh’. I’m on my second pair of TX guide and I think the both climb and hike better than the Rapid. 

bearded sam wrote:

I had the rapids, and found them ‘meh’. I’m on my second pair of TX guide and I think the both climb and hike better than the Rapid. 

Worth noting here: Scarpa is updating the Rapid line this year to be more approachable-specific with the Rapid LT and Rapid XT. Haven’t tried either, but they look like they are competing against the TX4s, or possibly the Guides. Hopefully someone can update here when they try them 

Elijah Benson wrote:

Worth noting here: Scarpa is updating the Rapid line this year to be more approachable-specific with the Rapid LT and Rapid XT. Haven’t tried either, but they look like they are competing against the TX4s, or possibly the Guides. Hopefully someone can update here when they try them 

Noted!

I haven't worn the Gecko LT (so take this for what it's worth) but have a good bit of mileage in the leather Gecko. My experience is that they are way softer than the tx guide under foot, closer to a tx2. For me, the gecko climbs rock a lot better than the tx guide, but if I had to wear crampons for some horrible reason, I'd rather have them on the guide for sure.

Danny Poceta wrote:

Scarpa Rapid is a shoe I’ve worn for similar things and don’t find them to be stiff enough, so I think i’m looking for one notch further toward approach shoe than that. Thanks everyone for the input. 

Get a stiffening insole to wear with the crampons, you can get a range of different stiffness's depending on how stiff you want it. Finding a great shoe that works for your foot is hard enough as it is.

X C wrote:

I haven't worn the Gecko LT (so take this for what it's worth) but have a good bit of mileage in the leather Gecko. My experience is that they are way softer than the tx guide under foot, closer to a tx2. For me, the gecko climbs rock a lot better than the tx guide, but if I had to wear crampons for some horrible reason, I'd rather have them on the guide for sure.

Thank you. Exactly the info I was looking for. 

Good tip re: stiff insoles Seb, the Wharton method! 

I don’t think you are going to find anything that weighs significantly less than the Aequilibrium Speed (530g) or Eiger speed BOA (480g) or Ribelle S HD (440g) that works “well“ with crampons.

Is there a reason you cannot use microspikes?  I have never had a particularly good experience using crampons on approach shoes or running shoes.  Using microspikes and chopping steps with an ice axe, as needed, has been the best option for me.

Elijah Benson wrote:

Worth noting here: Scarpa is updating the Rapid line this year to be more approachable-specific with the Rapid LT and Rapid XT. Haven’t tried either, but they look like they are competing against the TX4s, or possibly the Guides. Hopefully someone can update here when they try them 

I'm also interested in checking out the Rapid XT. Anyone tried them yet?

Karl Henize wrote:

I don’t think you are going to find anything that weighs significantly less than the Aequilibrium Speed (530g) or Eiger speed BOA (480g) or Ribelle S HD (440g) that works “well“ with crampons.

Is there a reason you cannot use microspikes?  I have never had a particularly good experience using crampons on approach shoes or running shoes.  Using microspikes and chopping steps with an ice axe, as needed, has been the best option for me.

Thanks. Yes, those boots obviously work much better with crampons as they have a heel welt. I’m talking about strapping on a pair of petzl leopards for going along glacial ice at fairly moderate angles, when the rest of the day is spent moving quickly in 4th/5th class where a boot like that would be very clunky. I find a strap on crampon like the leopard or irvis hybrid  to be significantly more secure than microspikes, even on running/approach shoes, and really don’t consider taking them into the mountains anymore.

Anyone worn the Arcteryx Vertex Alpine that can comment?