Scarpa Omega
Product Description
Lightweight double plastic mountaineering boot.Features
- Closed cell foam liner is lightweight and heat-moldable. Older boots came with a Scarpa Thermo liner, newer ones with Intuition liners. Either way the liner boot is very warm for its weight, can be molded to the shape of the user's feet for comfort/fit, and absorbs relatively little water so dries quickly.- Pebax shell remains flexible at low temperatures
- Carbon fiber shank is light but rigid
- Step-in crampon compatible, B3
- Relatively low ankle, and ankle hinge, provide flexibility for walking and french technique
- Boot is low profile for good climbing performance
- Sturdy but sticky rubber "Baltoro" sole
- Light weight: 4lb 1oz/1860g (size 8)
Personal Experience
I have a two year old pair of Omegas with the Scarpa Thermo liners. I've used them primarily for snow and alpine ice climbing. The boots are comfortable for plastics, and are lighter than my four-season leather boots. The liners are warm and dry quickly in a sleeping bag. The Scarpa Thermo liners seem to wear relatively quickly (mine began to develop cracks in the foam after a couple weeks of use) but Scarpa was happy to replace them at no charge. The new Intuition liners supposedly do not have this problem. Also, the boot shells are not as thick as some plastic boots, and can be punctured by sharps if you are very careless, though this seems to be a reasonable tradeoff for light weight. I have used them with both Grivel G12 Newmatic (hybrid) and Grivel G14 Crampomatic (toe bail) crampons, and both fit well.Images
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rgg - Nov 14, 2010 2:12 pm - Voted 5/5
Warm boots and a great fitOnly once did I have somewhat cold feet. That was in the early hours before sunrise, on the cold and windy slopes of Parinacota. Nothing serious, as long as we kept moving. Mind you, I bought them a wee bit on the small size, and wore them with just one warm pair of hiking socks, and of course the Intuition liners. Slightly bigger, two pairs of socks, and super gaiters might all help. Talking about sizes, this might present a bit of problem: unfortunately, they don't come in half sizes, so although I would be better off with half a size bigger, that just doesn't exist.
In conclusion, for future trips anywhere in the Andes, I'll use these again. However, if I ever go to colder places - Denali springs to mind - I'll have to buy a warmer boot.
To me, one of the surprises about these boots was how comfortable they were to walk on. The low weight undoubtedly helps, but the fit is excellent too! To mold them, I heated the liners in my oven, then put the boots on for a while. After that, I packed them, only to put them on again in the Andes - and walked and climbed all day on them without any problems.
As I don't need them in Europe, I've not yet used them extensively, so I cannot comment on their durability yet. If I experience any problems, I'll update this post accordingly. However, up until now, I'm quite happy with them.