UKC

Forgive the antagonistic title (and my ignorance), but I’m wondering if people still find that plastic boots are suitable/appropriate for UK winter climbing? Tried searching the UKC forums, but there doesn’t seem to be much chat in the last few years. With the quality of current leather boots, do people still use plastics?! 

I don't think any are still made and the ones from the 90s are probably all crumbling away by now. I was quite upset to find a big bit of plastic broke off my late 90s vintage Scarpa telemark boots this summer, and that's the same material.

Cheers Toby, saw some relatively cheap in Cotswolds and wondered if they’d be any good for Scottish Winter, or whether they’d be too clunky/outdated?! 

What were they? Scarpa Omegas were the last that seemed to be commonly available in the UK but I reckon it must be at least 5 years since those were still in the Scarpa line up.

I still reckon my 103's were my all time favourite boots!!

Scarpa Vega’s I think - £80 seemed like an attractive offer?!

Leather or synthetic boots have certainly advanced. But if you don't have the benefit of a drying cupboard, removable inners on plastics were easier to dry. Manufacturers like to keep selling stuff, no doubt it will go full circle and some plastic / carbon hybrid will be out in a few years. 

I've been wearing my current plastic boots since 2008.  They were still good on my recent trip to the Dolomites.

Are plastic winter boots no longer available?

My first winter climbing involved trying to dry soggy leather boots overnight before another dispiriting trudge in Glencoe.  It was a relief to get a pair of winter boots that were, in comparison to single skin leather :

• Better insulated (inner and outer)
• More durable
• more stable 

I've recently climbed with people who are fans of the new (?) style leather boots for fit and flexibility but they seem to need some special treatment at the end of season.

I quite like climbing ice in plastics, they are more supportive and I get less calf pump. ASOLO AFS8000

They are crap on mixed.

Terrible for walking in.

Realistically I never use them now.

If there was a roadside Ice crag I would wear them as first choice.

I had Vega's for a while for high altitude trudging.  They were fine with crampons on snow but awful for normal walking so I do not think would be fun for approach walks.  Never used them for climbing so cannot comment on this aspect.

My suspicion is that whilst £80 is good value for double boots the extra you pay for modern boots may be more than worth it in terms of performance and enjoyment.  I currently use Scarpa Phantom 6000s which are a bit overkill at times but I have found to be great all rounders for everything from walk ins, snow trudging to alpine and ice climbing.

Raichle were the only plastic that ever seemed to be as comfortable as leathers walking in. 

I had Scarpa Alphas and I did the Fisherfield 4 in them and I didn't remember any foot complaints, but now I am older and have a choice I wouldn't choose them.

I think I did Cutlass on the douglas boulder with 1 ASOLO AFS and 1 Sportiva Batura as a test.  The Batura was much better on the mixed and my "Batura leg" was much less tired at the end of the day.

The plastic sole is much flatter and I think a better platform for steep ice climbing that you can kick into.

A couple of years ago, I took my wife’s Koflachs out of a storage box in the garage and watched them disintegrate in front of my eyes. They turned into a gooey plastic mess!

I still have a brand new pair of Asolo AFS (the orange ones) in the garage which I will team up with my Simond Chacal tools for a retro winter climbing experience should Cornwall ever experience proper winter conditions. Hopefully they won’t fall apart on my feet!

I used to have the Asolo AFS (blue ones) and can confirm that although they were good for front pointing, they were no fun to walk in due to the flat sole. I also had a pair of the black and yellow high altitude Asolo boots which I used on a Himalayan expedition and I thought they were good at the time. Well, I don’t recall having cold feet.

I bought a pair of Scarpa Vegas back in 2004 for a trip, these were my second pair of plastic boots, still climb with them - they are my only winter climbing boots.

I do have a pair of B2 leather boots for mountaineering / easy climbing and find them no more comfy than my Vega's

I do get comments at the CIC hut every time though as I'm the only person with plastic boots, once they die I will probably buy a "modern" pair of boots but I cant see that happening soon - although i have had to get the Vega's resoled before

Technology has moved on, modern boots are a lot lighter, probably comfier to walk in, but as for being better for footwork I just don't know, that's probably down to technique and crampon set up / sharpness 

Plastic boots aren't bad, technology has moved on though, but if you see a new pair for £80 and don't have any winter climbing boots then they are a bargain.

Well, mine have done me every season since 2004!

Hmm, I still have my pair of dayglo yellow trezeta's I bought in 91 lurking at the back of the gear cupboard, don't think I'll be trying them out in anger though, may get round to throwing them out.

I bought a pair from Rock & Run in 2014 when they were selling them end-of-line for around £100. Still going strong - though haven’t needed them this week in the Cairngorms......

Vega's are the comfiest boots I've ever worn, and the curved sole I found great for walking. Found them a bit on the warmish side for an alpine summer tho

I had a pair of Ultras that cracked on me. Trouble is I didn't notice until I was walking through a very cold stream in Cogne

Still using my Koflachs, except for this "winter". Not sure what I'd buy to replace them. I still find them excellent even if they do elicit a certain amount of amusement from others.

David

Plastics are no longer a thing according to the Italian/French (continental, anyway) guy who stared in disbelief and seemingly near-horror at my Scarpa Alpha-shod feet on the slopes of Ben Wyvis in about 2009. He told me something along the lines of them being "old, no good, everyone now has new type boots" whilst pointing at his brightly-coloured plastic/mesh/synthetic-leather combos. I humoured him, but somehow managed to make it up and down the hill with my feet (and old boots) intact.

I started out mountaineering in plastics, so didn't know anything else for a while. Can't remember the first pair I had but the best were probably Vegas, used them for all sorts, not just pure winter, they provided good support on steep ground but the rocker (curved sole) made them fine for walking in. As Summo says, it's handy to be able to dry the inners relatively easily. Little maintenance needed with plastics, too.

I think the disintegrating/cracking/'smashing the boot out of the freezer' seemed to be just some Koflach and Asolos, I'm pretty sure Scarpas never had a problem - obviously, loads will now post say their Scarpas fell to pieces at the first frost.

It'll be interesting to see if some form of plastic boot -  or, at least, a boot with a separate inner - makes a comback. As Summo, again, says, it's a lot to do with marketing and sales.

Bought a pair of Asolo 101's which I thought were really comfortable for plastics. Eyelets pulled through so replaced under warranty. The Outdoor Shop in Milton Keynes were excellent. Replacement pair pulled through whilst trying on in the shop. The Outdoor Shop gave me free use of a pair of their hire boots whilst waiting for replacements. 

Sadly 101s had been discontinued so got the heralded 103's. Awful boot. Far too clumpy an outer for the size of the inner. Heel lift. Sold them and got a pair of Lowa Civetta. Excellent winter boot that I still have in the loft.

Now have La Sportiva Evo Extreme. Great boot although barely used due to injuries.

I did all my climbing for a good few years in a pair of Koflach Viva Soft I found in the basement at work. Really comfy and I climbed up to VII in them without feeling like it was the boots that were holding me back.

My lasting memory of plastic boots will be an eternity of hobbling back out of the Dubh Loch in a pair of Vegas. Weeks later my shins were still bruised and swollen. That was enough for me. Plackies need consigned to Room 101 along with the old Petzl Zoom brick headtorches and Buffalo shell wear!

Mine lasted 20 years, even used them for trudging over the local moors, comfiest boots I've ever had.

Heresay! What's wrong with Buffalo gear? 

I still wear my stylish olive green shirt when winter walking, not so much for climbing admittedly, but it still does the job - I've even got a petted only buffalo she'll that I still use for biking and running in breezy days.

Bah, between dissing plackies and buffalo in the same thread you youngsters don't know you're born 

Fair enough on the brick head torchees,they were keich 

I might well still be using mine but I got worried by the reports of the plastic getting brittle and cracking.

I wonder whether all plastic boots do this? Vegas were made from pebax which was meant to be less brittle in very cold weather. Or is it the loss of plasticisers over the years that makes them brittle?

A few years back, a mate bought some plastics for Rjukan which shattered in the car park as soon as he put them on. Cue much hilarity as another mate would lead a route and lob his boots down so mate one could second it. 

Plastics can go in Room 101.

Buffalo - never. For me, worn next to the skin as intended it is still the best thing for keeping me warm and comfortable.

Personal choice etc. - Now Paramo - straight in 101. The only time I was nearly hypothermic. Even got cold and wet on a canal towpath after Paramo had re-proofed it.

Just proves we have diverse opinions.

I have a pair of leather winter boots from the 90's that have only been used 3/4 times. I doubt I'll use them again, are they worth selling?

I had a pair of Asolo Supersofts back in the day, nice & warm and (I thought) reasonably comfy for the walk in, just a bit tiring. As a footnote, many years later I found myself walking in to the Dix hut from Arolla in company with someone wearing the last sighted examples of Supersofts. As he descended to the glacier first one, then the other upper detached itself from the midsole leaving him hobbling up to the hut in a pair of clown shoes.

Several metres of hut plumbers’ tape later, he set off down the Lac de Dix path.....reported later the 400m later he was effectively walking out to the bus stop barefoot. 

The pictures were funny....

Yeti gaiters solved that problem for me, it was a sad day when they finally died.

I have pair of Scarpa Inverno plastic double boots for sale if anyone feels nostalgic.  £45, Sheffield.

I got them on the mistaken assumption that I could then ski down from Scottish routes on snow-blades.  It turns out you would need to be a jedi skier for that to be work!

My Scarpa Grintas started breaking up. I sold my Vegas when they were perhaps 6 or 7 yrs old so I never found out what happened to them, but my 20-year-old Scarpa terminator telemark boots have just started to break up. I think that's the same kind of plastic is they used in the Vegas.

I think they may still manufactured for military use.  Someone commented on my Koflachs at the Ice Factor that Vegas are used by both the Indian and Pakistani forces in the Kashmir. That being said, they could be 25 years old just with new liners.

Ah well, there you go, maybe any plastic boots were susceptible to breaking or cracking

Probably the same with any plastic, unknown lifespan .

Regarding leather boots , these rely increasingly on the adhesive used.

I have had at least two pairs of trainers and one pair of top end leather boots self destruct after a period of storage , all in an embarrassing manner on the hill.

Be wary . Anybody else had a problem?

In many ways all the double boots available are basically what you're saying - my Sportiva Baruntse are a synthetic lace up out with a removable, insulated inner, not really so different from the Grintas I bought (second hand in 1992), just a lot less bulky, and generally better fitting.

I know the Sportiva does a double boot, Scarpa has a model, Boreal also, then probably some others from the big Italian manufacturers that we see a bit less in the UK.

Had my Koflach Extremes for 30 years and used last year and are still OK. Not looking too promising for this season!