UKC

I've been looking for a pair a big boy boots for scrambling, scottish winter hill walking and maybe some glacier walking and light mountaineering I was looking at B1 and B2 boots but couldn't find any that fit right. I tried on a pair of la sportive B3 boots that felt great but obviously I've only trotted around the store for 10minutes in them. I've never owned a pair of B rated boots before are really stiff sole likely to cause any issues with more walking related activities rather than ice climbing etc

In reply to le_quack:
Yes. B3 boots are not as comfortable to walk in as B2. Unless you anticipate doing lots of front pointing on steep ice stick with B"'s.

Al

In reply to le_quack:

Yes B3s are are a bad plan for hill waking.

In reply to le_quack:

I did loads of winter Munro bagging with Meindl Burmas (stiff B0 boots) and G10s around Lochaber, Cairngorms etc with no problems, they were very comfy but I wore them out using them all year round. Got a pair of Manta Pros (B2) second hand for grade II winter a couple of years ago which were fine, last year I got Nepal Extremes (B3) on sale but didn't get much done - they felt great in the shop but it's the first time I've had blisters on the hill. I use trail shoes or approach shoes in summer & save the boots for the snow. I reckon B3s would put you off winter hillwalking.

In reply to GrantM:

Thanks for the replies. Does anyone know a good boot made by la sportiva/boots that fit similar to la sportiva trango evo extreme for scottish winter / bit of an all rounder?

Thanks

In reply to le_quack:

There are two or three lighter boots in the trango range alone. Decathlon have some good deals ATM.

In reply to le_quack:

Take a look at the newish La Sportiva Trango Tower....it's a combination of the now defunct Trango Alp and Trango S Evo......great boots!

In reply to le_quack:

I can recommend the La Sportiva Trango Alp Evo. Picked up a pair last summer for 2016/17 winter - solid with C2 crampons and enough flex for a long walk in. I will add that I'm a size 11 boot and weigh 90kg, so that will make my boots flex more than someone who's wearing a size 6 with only 60kg behind them.

Same advice as everyone, see if you can try as much as you can before you buy!

In reply to le_quack:
The main issues I can see is summer walking / scrambling boots are likely to run quite warm if they are also suited to winter hill walking or quite cold if they are good for summer. It really depends how far each way you are willing to push them and how much winter you are likely to do.

Stiffness wise it sounds like B1 would be ideal, and b2 ok but b3 too stiff and overkill. Some boot manufacturers are making B1 boots that take a semi automatic C2 crampon but with these you should use the C1 flex bar eg http://www.scarpa.co.uk/mountain/rebel-lite-gtx/

Membranes aren't so nice in hot weather though although a cheaper pair of approach shows could be utilized then in most cases.

I have these which are great, but would run cold even with thick socks for me when its proper cold especially if the snow is surrounding the boot when walking http://www.scarpa.co.uk/trek/sl-activ/ and they run quite hot when its really warm.

Probably your best option is something that can handle some cold and a pair of approach shoes that can scramble for when its hot.