UKC

Afternoon all.

I need some advice/opinions on approach shoes. Ive been doping a fair bit of hard scrambling/easy climbing with my winter mountain boots and fancy getting something lighter and more forgiving on the legs. Im off to Skye in May to try a full traverse of the Cuillin ridge and need shoe that I can wear on the approach and also climb in. Ive looked at a fair few pairs on line (Five Ten Guide Tennies, Boreal Flyer, Montrail D7's ect) but have narrowed it down to Scarpa Quests and Garmont Dragontail's. Has anyone had experince of either of these shoes? How waterproof are they,What about durability? Any advise would be appreciated.

Cheers

In reply to supersickk: Scarpa Quests are great for scrambling. Really comfortable but confident fit. Haven't worn them in the rain actually but I'd guess they're not at all waterproof really.

In reply to supersickk: A word of warning, the foam wedge in the quests seems to perish very quickly, also they are more of a fashion type approach shoe (IMHO) I would advise going for Scarpa Zens, they are a lot more durable. Also 5.10 Camp 4's are good, guide tennies are more climbing oriented, less walking.

In reply to supersickk: I've got the Garmont shoe's and to be honest they're great for walking but only just ok for scrambling,i do some guide work and i would go with the Five ten's.The Garmont shoes are a bit soft and V naff for edging.I've worked on cullin and would probably go for something stiff if i wre you.

Good luck and have fun,i've not been to Skye for a long time but have really fond memories!

In reply to supersickk: i wouldnt want to walk that far in tennies, i find they arent that comfortable for walking in.

personally I recommend merrel chameleon wraparounds, xcr if you want waterproof

great to walk in, sufficiently good for climbing on the ridge

In reply to supersickk:

I've just got a pair of Scarpa Enigmas. They're very comfortable (but I think I've got Scarpa-shaped feet) and coped very nicely with a day out on Ben Vorlich last weekend. They're Goretex-lined, so they are nominally waterproof, but being shoes, rather than boots, it's not that hard to get water splashing in over the top. I reckon they'd be fine on the Cuillin Ridge.

In reply to supersickk: Thanks for the advice. I kind of thought the quests were a bit more fashion orintated. Although I personally think they look betters than the zens. Camp 4's are worth a look. Suppose the only problem I now have is trying them on. Scotland isnt really the place to be when gear shopping!! Thx for all your advice.

In reply to supersickk: I've got the dragontails mate, IMO I think they are a well built, robust shoe, mine would come up as nearly new with a bit of a clean and thats after a year of use (walk-ins at least once a week), I have climbed in them (Idwal etc), Ok for very low grades v-diffs etc. Semi waterproof, was walking thro very deep snow earlier in the year in them and they stayed dry for a reasonable period of time (think they have gortex inners-tho maybe totally wrong!!lol). Grip is Ok for most walk in situations. Thats my opinion anyway! (ps I fel abit daft sometime with them being red tho!)pps take a look at ukc test on 'spiders' by ?. Mark.

In reply to supersickk: Hi I have a pair of 5.10 camp fours and I love them. I had them with me last year when I was up in NW Scotland and ended up using them all week rather than my normal walking boots. I found them just so much more comfortable. The only real problem is that they are not really very water resistant, so this year I (off up to the NW tomorrow!), I'm going to try combining them with some of those waterproof socks if it looks very wet underfoot... No idea if it will work, but I thought it was worth trying.

The only other downside of them is that like lots of 5.10 shoes they tend to leave a trail of black marks on some surfaces...

Andy

In reply to supersickk: Have a look at the Sportiva Trango Lows if you get a chance. I have used a pair for over a year now for working and my own climbing and they're the best shoes I've had. Very durable and climb really well thanks to the good edges and fit. I've had Camp 4's and Guide Tennies in the past and they fell apart very quickly. Tennies particularly become horrible to walk in and I'm about the only instructor I know that didn't have the soles fall off completely. Having had loads of approach shoes the Sportiva's are the only ones I'll replace like for like and they'll be off to Skye for a weeks work shortly!

In reply to supersickk: Have been using a pair of Boreal Flyers for the past year or so, and am very impressed by them, both the sole and the uppers are still in great condition. I had a pair of D7s, which were fantastic, but are no longer made, and weren't as durable as the Flyers.

I did try a pair of Sportiva B5s, but the quality of these is poor, and I sold them on pretty quickly. A couple of friends have also found various manufacturing faults with them, so I would avoid!

In reply to supersickk: I narrowed it down and decided to go for the Flyers. I managed to try as pair on at tiso's and that changed my mind. I was disappointed with the feel of them. They felt wooden, no real sensitivity to them. Now I dont know what to go for.

In reply to supersickk:

Five Ten Prodigies are good for walking and climbing. I did Tower Ridge in them and have followed E2 and led HVS in them. Very comfortable and I waterpoofed them with Nikkwax.

First pair lasted 2 years.

In reply to supersickk: I love my camp 4s.. I've done long hill walks, soloed V diff/sever and seconded VS in them, amazing.

In reply to Mick Ryan - UKClimbing.com:

You want an approach shoe with a rocker to aid walking - shoes like the Tennie Guide don't have that - plus the dot tread is bad on wet grass.

In reply to supersickk:

I find the soles of approach shoes poor in comparison to running trainers, which seem far softer and shock resistant. Andy K also recommends them, but resoled with sticky rubber. I haven't gone that far, but know that Nike rubber is great and Asics seem very slippery in the wet. They are also very light and if you run, fit your feet well as you use them lots so you are less likely to get blisters. I don't bother with approach shoes anymore and just use trainers. Climbing wise, I never edged much in approach shoes, tending to smear instead, which trainers are just as good at.

Jonnie

In reply to supersickk:

I have these:
http://www.asolo.com/eng/prod_det.php?area=1&catid=3&itemid=19

Mightily impressed with them for approaches and low grade climbing/scrambling. Stiff enough edges to climb with but you can still feel where you are putting your feet. Think they do a gore-tex version too if that's your want. Seem to be pretty well built too so would survive Skye's boot eating rock!

In reply to supersickk:

Ive got these http://www.outdoorkit.co.uk/enlarged_image.php?product_id=2983&size_id=...
they are an excellent approach shoe, very comfortable and good to climb in though edging as is the case with most approach shoes they are usless.

In reply to SFM: I like the look of the Asolo's, where did you get them? Did a quick search for them but didnt come up with much in the uk.

In reply to supersickk:

Another vote for Sportiva approach shows. Trango lows are really comfy, shock absorbing thingy in them, great summer hill walking, crag approaches in the mountains etc. Built in tongues.....I've never had wet feet in them.
Just got some B5's which again are super comfy, light and I reckon you could do easy routes in them.

Sportiva build quality is exceptionally good.

In reply to supersickk:

I've got the boreal flyers, still in really good nick after 8 months of use, including working in, scrambling, approaches and some easy pitches (though not every day use). Because of the rubber toe rand they keep out a fair bit of moisture, I keep spraying mine with nikwax too but they're defo not "waterproof"
5.10's fall apart cos of the way the sole is constructed.

I'm happy with mine and will be forking out the £65 again when these give up the ghost.

In reply to supersickk:

I picked them up in France but have seen them here too. I'll try to figure where though!

Have a look at these

http://www.garmont.com/eng/outdoor/prod_det.php?itemid=292&catid=121

Comfortable, grippy and I've just come back from Portugal where I was climbing new routes in them (up to F6a).

If you ever used the old Scarpa El Caps; these are as good.