Mountaineering boots are different from hiking boots primarily in their support of crampon use.

First, they provide a way to attach crampons to the boot, in the form of heel and toe lugs (for fully automatic crampon bindings) or just a heel lug (for new-matic crampons).

Second, they provide extra stiffness both laterally and longitudinally so that your muscles and ligaments don’t get wrecked while trying to front-point or flat-foot.

Other differences: a good mountaineering boot will likely be waterproof, warmer, more durable, and offer rock climbing-specific features as well.

I knew going in to my North Pal hike that I wasn’t going to climb the U-Notch Couloir in ski boots, which pretty much meant I needed mountaineering boots (using a 12-point strap-on crampon with my hiking boots didn’t strike me as a good idea).

The La Sportiva S EVO GTX ended up being my pick for the trip. I was drawn by the boot’s light weight and glowing reviews (the Trango won a Backpacking Magazine Editor’s Choice Award), and I wasn’t disappointed.

For the full scoop, see my La Sportiva Trango S EVO GTX Review.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 at 3:51 pm and is filed under Gear. So There.