UKC

Has anyone worn both La Sportiva and Scapra mountain boots (prefs the nepals and phantom guide/tech) and found them to be any different in sizing. E.g, if you were a 42 in La Sportiva did you find you were a 42 in Scarpa?

Just wondering as sold my Nepal Evo GTX as now a wee bit small and thinking of going up half a size and getting the Scarpa Phantom Tech.

Cheers,
Rick

In reply to Rick Ashton:
What I can say is that I've worn La Sportivas happily for years and in the days of traditional boots Scarpas too. However, every time I've bought Scarpas in the last 15 or more years they have been a total and utter disaster. Heel lift, having to buy too big a size which is due to them being narrow across the broader part of the foot for me.

I'm sure they are great boots but I've been tempted into wasting hundreds of pounds on them because, in the end, they are not, for me, foot shaped. They used to be, and I have only one pair of traditional broad Scarpas looking very like the old guida (3.5 lb weight per boot!) bought new in Switzerland in 2003 which still are foot shaped.

The problems for me arrived with the much vaunted "RS" last and since then none of their boots has done anything for me but make me poorer and wounded in the feet despite their tempting advertising and displays.

So yes, fit and sizing vary a lot!

In reply to Rick Ashton:
I was going to write the opposite - Scarpa fit me perfectly but Sportiva are too narrow and feel small.

In reply to wbo:

well I've ordered a pair of La Sportiva Baturas and a pair of Scarpa Phantom Tech's. Let's see.

In reply to Rick Ashton:

From the few I've tried on recently I'd say La Sportiva is smaller length wise, but only very marginally so (1/2 EU size). One or two possibly more like a whole size, specifically the Spantiks and Trango.

Out of curiosity why are you going from the Nepal to the phantom rather than the Mont Blanc?

In reply to Dheorl:

Just because it looks much better and I think it will cope better with alpine winters and potentially doing higher altitude stuff. To be honest I think I will keep the La Sportiva Batura simply because one of my best climbing pals raves about them for climbing ice, alpine and himilayan stuff so seems a great all rounder.

Why do you have any recommendations/tips?

In reply to Rick Ashton:

No, just currently hunting myself as well (hence having recently tried a bunch on) and am trying to decide between the traditional leather boots and more "modern" supergaiter boots. Always good to hear other peoples reasoning.

I'm looking to progress to Aconcagua over the next few years but get the feeling the Batura/Phantom Tech won't cope with that anyway and figure the traditional leather boots might be better for future alpine summer.

In reply to Dheorl:

I don't know. I think the modern boots may be warmer? My mate lives in Norway who climbs in the Batura and used them climbing new routes up to 6000m in the Karakoram, scottish mixed and steepish ice and who can sing their praises enough. Plus they look super cool which is more important.

In reply to Rick Ashton:

Yea, they will be warmer (hence me wanting traditional leather for alpine summer). I have no interest in alpine winter, just high altitude, when they won't be warm enough, so the modern supergaiter boots for me sit in the "neither here nor there group".

From what you've said they're right for you, like I say, just interesting hearing different peoples reasonings.

In reply to Rick Ashton:

I've got Manta Pro GTXs and Nepal Extremes here, both size 43. The Nepals aren't as long (I had to move the crampon bar back a few holes) and are bit narrower at the back but still have room to wiggle toes. If that's typical you should have slightly more room in Scarpas, but maybe not a half size.

In reply to Rick Ashton:

In my humble experience, Scarpa Phantom Lite size 45 fit perfectly but as far as sizing goes, the replacements which were Baturas were a 46.5! They were narrower but fitted fine.

Also, B1 Scarpa Kailash and Asolo Fugitives size 45 and La Sportiva Trango Alps, you've guessed it, 46.5. They are completely different in size and the Sportiva's are definately narrower.

In reply to Rick Ashton:

i take a 42 in both. Nepal Evo and Rebel Ultra. I find the Scarpas wider and larger. I would be ok in 41.5 rebels but no way on the Nepals. I can say the same about other Scarpas ive tried but now owned - Mont Blanc and Phantom Guides.

saying that, i find the Scarpa Omegas quite narrow -- definitely narrower arch than the LS