New boots…at last!

My boots have been a standing joke in our house for the past year or two – trusty old Scarpa’s originally bought some 12 years ago to go up Kilimanjaro and which were on their last legs and well past retirement age. I’d ummed and arrghed for so long, read umpteen boot reviews, watched the lightweight revolution gather pace, tried a few boots here and there and basically never taken the plunge. I had it in my mind to find the perfect all-year round boot destined to never be satisfied but our winter skills day had tipped the balance. Rather than a do-it-all pair I recognised I needed a stiffer winter pair for crampon-work and bit of climbing/scrambling, and then a lighter-weight option for less demanding summer outings, trail-shoes perhaps.

Scarpa Manta’s seem to be the definitive 4-season boot but they just looked and felt a bit clumpy. After chatting to the guys working in Cotswold Outdoors while we were up in N.Wales they all seemed to have the Scarpa Charmoz (they obviously get a decent discount), which work well for winter as well as summer scrambling. After trying on the Manta’s the Scarpa Charmoz were a revelation and fitted my like a glove – I usually struggle to get boots to tighten round the ankle in lieu of my low-volume, fallen arch feet. Still B2-rated but slightly less stiff and much lighter than the Manta’s at 1470g the Chamoz seemed ideal. They are (at the moment) rather silver and shiny and they were a little expensive but no buyers remorse yet, though I did have brief moment when I saw a pair of Scarpa Mirage GSB (which is really a fabric version of the Manta) on offer for a ridiculous £79!


Now I have a few months to find suitable summer footwear. Lightweight boots vs trail shoes, goretex vs no-lined, my head’s hurting at the thought……help! Suggestions welcomed, nay needed!

4 Replies to “New boots…at last!”

  1. You know my view. The fact is you need to make it work on your terms. if someone only uses trail shoes in woods and low level routes and tells you your fine on high Welsh peaks they should not say so. If someone uses them on Scottish peaks and high Lakeland fells then you might conclude it could work for you. Do you homework, ask others like PTC and decide.

  2. If you don’t want to go the whole hog to trail shoes, have a look at the Salomon Fastpacker Mid GTX. They feel like a trail shoe but with a bit of extra support and a waterproof lining. I’m taking them to Snowdonia, in two week’s time. On short walks they’ve been wonderfully comfortable. So far they’ve not been very sweaty either. A good half-way house.

  3. I did notice you were going to be using the Salomon Fastpackers and they were on already on my ‘possible candidates’ list. Not sure if my feet could handle a step(!) change to trail shoes in one bound but they are a step in the right direction [end of pun’s]. Be interesting to see how you find them on your planned route, which will give them a serious workout!

  4. After read this blog i stay impressive with the whole information because is absolutely interesting and wonderful .I like the new ideas raised in this blog. I must to say that I liked a lot the design and the way it was written. I love all kind of boot, they are Simply wonderful.
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