UKC

Looking for help to make a decision to buy a pair of Scarpa phantom guides for summer in the alps and winter climbing in Scotland.2 friends have bought them in there right and size and they have a perfect fit.i have had problems in trying the guides on in my size,tryed a 42 but too big.was thinking of buying them on pro deal at tiso in a 41and just hope that i have no probs.nevis sport suggested me to do it,I will be fine.has anyone any experience with phantom guides and sizing them up.

In reply to peter c:

The worst thing that can happen with stiff boots is that your toes hit the front. It's much less serious if they are slightly too big. You can always wear an extra pair of socks. This is just general, not necessarily your case where the shape of the boot may just not fit your feet. I was going to buy a pair but they didn't have them in stock, and I was going for the larger of my two options.

In reply to Andy Nisbet: I take 41.5/42 in most shoes/trainers and went for 43 in Phantoms to give myself a little more wiggle room for my cold toes. For winter boots I would say err on the larger side of things.

In reply to peter c:
If you have worn other Scarpa boots like Mantas or similar then in the smaller end of the sizing they seem to be pretty consistent. In the larger sizes there seems to be more variation. I had a pair that were size 40, but when I wore them out I got a size down to reduce the amount of heel lift I was getting and I'm really pleased I did. I don't find my feet get cold in the smaller ones, they are such warm boots anyway and amazingly dry! So long as you don't wear them outside, whichever retailer you go with should be able to exchange them for you if you cover the cost of postage, so all is not lost... Might be worth checking the policy on exchanges before buying though.