UKC

I'm looking for a boot for winter alpine and ama dablam late november. As almost all of my footwear is la sportiva (feet too narrow for scarpa), I tried some Spantiks at the weekend and was a bit surprised that I couldn't find any to fit. I take 44.5 Nepal Evos and 45 trangos and 45 Nepal extremes, so I'm pretty sure of my fitting.
I found the 45 came in far too small (toes at the end) and the 46 far too big, both with considerable heel lift. Has anyone heard of sizing discrepencies on these boots at all?
I was wondering about getting the inners moulded as I've heard it can be done, but the shop said it can't be. Does anyone know if it's possible and where might be able to do it?

In reply to Aeneas:

I may be talking rubbish here, but when I bought my Oly Mons, i had this exact problem, only to find out when I went to the Alps that these boots are sold in half sizes on the continent but only full sizes in the UK.

My Spantiks are a full UK size, but I'm pretty sure they are also available half sizes (outside the UK).

In reply to Aeneas: 45.5 that's the size I have in sportiva baturas. Great fit for my feet. Needle sports sized me up. Great service.

In reply to Aeneas:

I have Spantiks in size 46 and they fit me perfectly. I take 45s in all my other shoes/boots (including old Trangos). Intuition inners are available in Europe https://intuitionliners.com/retailers/european-retailers/

In reply to Aeneas:
I have Nepal Evo's 45, (fit like a dream), Trango's 44,5( found the 44 too tight and the 45 too loose) and the new Scarpa Phantom ultras in a 45. I didnt have any problems with the sizing from La Sportiva to Scarpa, I actually found the La Sportiva's to be snugger. I just got some Spantiks for Ama Dablam too and found that I needed the 45's. I agree that the UK retailers usually play's it safe by stocking full sizes. Maybe try and get them abroad.

In reply to Aeneas:

Loads of info on Spantik sizing and comparison at Dane's Coldthistle site:
http://coldthistle.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/double-boots-climbing-specific-p...

There'll be some links in there with info on moulding the inners. It can be done but it's fiddly and testing to do at home. I've had Intuition inners in Sportiva Nuptses and I don't think they were better than the originals, and the Spantik inners are better than the Nuptse inners.

I use 47 in all of Spantik, OlyMons, Nepal Extreme, Nepal Top etc and they fit me well. The Spantiks are great boots and well worth trying to get a pair that fits.

In reply to Aeneas:

Think about your socks.

I spend maybe 50 days a winter in spantiks and only wear a light sock. No need for anything like youd wear in a single boot as you have the inners to do the insulating. Therrs an argument that too much sock just traps moisture (the inners dont breathe well) which makes problems on multiday trips.

I didnt thermoform mine but a friend did and is happy with it.

Thanks for the input. I think I'll be trying some half sizes in Chamonix next month by the look of it. Don't fancy the £100 deposit for pair of boots that might not fit. Shame Needlesports is so far from where I live though - sounds like the place to go.

In reply to Aeneas: My spantiks are a size bigger than I normally take. If you are going to chamonix, Intersports and Snell sports can heat mould the outer and inner to get the right fit.

In reply to Aeneas:

for what its worth my spantiks are 44 and baturas 44.5.

In reply to Aeneas: My 10 cents, I am a size 9 in my normal shoe, I wear 44's in Spantik which are a good fit when I was in Ecuador with just a heavyweight sock.

In reply to Aeneas: Hi Aeneas, I can't help with boots but I've got a Rab windsuit I used on Ama Dablam in winter. Are you interested in it at all? It came in very handy up there in November/December!