UKC

This 'hybrid hiking and mountaineering boot' is a versatile, hardwearing and light-ish crampon-compatible model that's well suited to general year-round UK mountaineering, winter hillwalking and summer alpinism, says Tom Ripley.

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These look great, very nice review. How would you say they compare with the Scarpa Ribelle Light for the uses described (summer alps, uk scrambling) - similar but a bit less stiff?

Very similar stiffness to ribelle, maybe a bit more bendy. I have the old version (tried the new ones too but the differences were negligible). Excellent for alpine summer and UK winter mountaineering. They have a nice wide toe box and are durable. Probably the widest toe box of any current boot, unfortunately I find the heel very sloppy  on them and so I don’t use mine much now 
 

The Zodiac Tech isn't a completely new boot to the UK - for one summer season (2017) Scarpa UK brought the original model in to the country and asked UKC to review them and I was lucky enough to get the gig. I got them late spring and used them through the summer and autumn even getting to use them with crampons pre Xmas. But as I was writing up the review, Scarpa told us they weren't going to have them in the UK anymore so they didn't need the review published. I chucked it up on my blog just in case anyone in Europe was googling for reviews https://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.com/2017/12/scarpa-zodiac-tech-gtx-revie... but I love them, are still using them 7 years on for all the kind of UK use Tom suggests in his review. Sadly the goretex lining failed last year and they now leak if you stand in streams etc. but the liners did last 6 years with lots of days out on the hills. I've got some similar boots on test at the moment, but if I didn't I'd probably just replace my old Zodiacs with the new ones. 

Yes, it was odd that they dropped them in the U.K. they were widely used in the EU and US. The new version seems to have a slightly different heel shape (more curved like the ribelle series) I got a new version to try as the old version doesn’t hold my heel that well (low volume ankle) but it fits basically the same. The wide toe box is really nice though. I would use them more if they fit my ankle better, they are good boots, light, durable etc

The main issue I have with them is that the laces don’t really do much to tighten the boot up, so I can’t get a good ankle fit. 

Try isolating the toe box by doing a couple of twists. Then hook the laces down instead of up, and then re do the top couple hooks, before tieing a bow.

Hope that makes sense 

The review refers to tuem being b1.It's a b2 boot surely?

It's a bit bendier than a traditional B2. The distinction has become quite blurred in the past 10 years or so because lots of lighter, bendier boots now have a ledge at the back to fit newmatic crampons. I haven't got a pair of these but if I did I might consider getting flex bars.

I've just reviewed a slightly lighter slightly cheaper pair of boots from Mammut https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/footwear/mountain_boots/mammut_kento_advanc... interestingly Mammut deems them to be B2 although they feel not stiffer than boots I've reviewed that are called B1. 

Personally I take the B and C ratings with a pinch of salt these days. I haven't used my rigid C3 crampons in something like 8 or 9 years, unless you consider any crampons with a toe bar C3? And I don't know what the difference between B1 and B2 is if the boot takes a semi automatic crampon.

If the crampon has a toe bail, it's a C3.

As I remember it:

• C1 - strapped front and real attachment
• C2 - strapped front, real bail (semi automatic I think we used to say?)
• C3 - Bail front and rear (automatic)

Boots then match that? Would have to ask Brian Hall to confirm!

You see I remember C3 being fully rigid of which there were loads of models then and now very few. Fashion or more collected engineering data on crampon frame failure?

It doesn't seem to be this simple anymore. Loads of b1 boots now have attachments at the rear and loads of boots that have these heal attachments are bendier than my approach shoes.