I need some boot recommendations for climbing Mt. Temple & Mt. Assiniboine this August. Right now I only have plastics so I want/need something lighter since most of the route is rock. The problem is both sets of crampons I have are fully automatice (with front and rear bails). So unless I buy a third set of crampons (kind of ridiculous living in AZ) it limits my boot selection. My climbing partner will be climbing in his Garmont Vettas with hybrid crampons.

Boots I was considering are:
Makalu
Trango Extreme
Trango Prime
Scarpa Jorasses

I climbed the N Ridge of Assiniboine in Scarpa Phantom Guides. They were very good boots for this route. In the conditions we found it, the route was more ice/snow than rock.

I will throw Scarpa Mont Blanc and Scarpa Feugo into the mix. These as well as any of the boots you listed above will be fine, but realize LS fit narrow feet better than Scarpas and Scarpas fit wide feet better than LS. I have owned quite a few pairs of each (I have pretty average feet, although a bit wide) and found both to be of very high quality. I gave up on LS because Scarpa fit my wide dogs better.

Your partner will be using full strap on. That Garmont Vetta boot has no crampon welt, toe or heal. Full strap crampons that you need for any ice or snow on those two mountains are pretty cheap. These are very easy routes technically speaking. Even the north face of Athabasca, another easy classic, requires nothing special in the way of crampons. I fear your main concern will be keeping up with your partner on a pace that makes everyone happy, with large boots compared to what he is wearing. I have climbed most of the mountains in the Canadian Rockies, and never wear boots of that size. The approaches (and descents on your pocket book) will make you wish you had not. If you are using helis, who cares about money, pride, weight or being practical at that point. But that boot your partner is using (I prefer the "Lite", has a better climbing edge) is my go to boot for that kind of climbing. I climb 5.9 in them. Exceptional and much less expensive than these other boots. Buy that boot and inexpensive full strap crampons and you will be way ahead, both comfort and money and practicality for other adventures. Good Luck.

slight hijack:

Which model of Garmont Vettas do you use, Dow? There seem to be many varieties.

I'm always looking for a light boot that has a stiff-enough sole for strap-on crampons, yet has rubber that is grippy enough for rock. However, I find the boots with rough-out leather and gore-tex are a pain-- the liners don't breathe fast enough to keep your feet from getting wet from your own sweat, and the leather gets wet and very cold.

The Garmont Vetta Lite, it is my boot of choice for the Bugaboos as well. Very light, but stiff. As a pro deal, less than $100. Have seen them retail for that much as well on sale. REI, Prob twice that.

Dow Williams wrote:Your partner will be using full strap on. That Garmont Vetta boot has no crampon welt, toe or heal. Full strap crampons that you need for any ice or snow on those two mountains are pretty cheap. These are very easy routes technically speaking. Even the north face of Athabasca, another easy classic, requires nothing special in the way of crampons. I fear your main concern will be keeping up with your partner on a pace that makes everyone happy, with large boots compared to what he is wearing. I have climbed most of the mountains in the Canadian Rockies, and never wear boots of that size. The approaches (and descents on your pocket book) will make you wish you had not. If you are using helis, who cares about money, pride, weight or being practical at that point. But that boot your partner is using (I prefer the "Lite", has a better climbing edge) is my go to boot for that kind of climbing. I climb 5.9 in them. Exceptional and much less expensive than these other boots. Buy that boot and inexpensive full strap crampons and you will be way ahead, both comfort and money and practicality for other adventures. Good Luck.

I definately need something that will help me keep up with his pace.
The pair he bought last year had a rear welt. I think some of the models of vettas have the rear welt.
And I agree, the money I save on boots can be put towards strap on or hybrid crampons.

thanks

Not sure if they are warm enough, but I hve a buddy who wears his LS Trangos (the original ones) to the crags and climbs thin, technical 5.10s in them. The Equivalent boot in Scarpa would be the Charmoz. These boots have pretty stiff soles.

no worries...afterwards look me up in Canmore and let me know how it went...no shortage of beer

Other boots listed below worth looking at with a back ledge for crampons and just a bit heavier. But Dow has it pegged with the Vetta LT I think which is a approach shoe by comparison. These are really lwt mountaineering boots made to be used with crampons. And priced accordingly. None will slow you down on technical Canadian limestone or quartzite rock climbing unless you were just out clipping bolts. With the right crampon they would be awesome on moderate alpine mixed. And a couple of these wouldn't be out of place in summer on the n. faces of Assiniboine, Cavell, Temple or Liberty Ridge on Rainier for that matter. The Raven and Rebel would be my current favorites ("heavy" and "lwt"). Some of them not so much with much softer or much harder midsoles. But worth checking them all out for fit if you are looking for something similar.

Only a couple of ounces (6oz) between ALL of them in my size 12s.

Salewa Raven (1# 14oz)
Scarpa Rebel (1# 12oz per boot in a size 12)
LS Trango (red) s evo
North Face Verto S-4K
Zamberlan Monster

complete review up shortly on all five models at the cold thistle blog
it is a boot style i really like for warm weather alpine climbing

Dow Williams wrote:The Garmont Vetta Lite, it is my boot of choice for the Bugaboos as well. Very light, but stiff. As a pro deal, less than $100. Have seen them retail for that much as well on sale. REI, Prob twice that.

What is the fit like? I have fairly wide toes.

Scarpa Jorasses Pro GTX. Lightweight but very sturdy. Have used it in several expeditions and never failed. It is quite pricey but quality wise, you can rely on it.

The Garmont Vetta Lites look good, but I do wonder about the toes. I just tried the Garmont Vettas (NOT lites)... and there was a lump in the toe area, from the "lace-to-the-toe" construction, that left a sore spot on the top of my toes after 2 minutes of walking around the store.

Some boot makers do lace-to-the-toe pretty well-- La Sportiva, 5-10 Camp Four. Others leave a think lump where the the tongue ends (Mad Rock). Does this abrasion ever go away for the Vettas?

I have the primes and love them, but they are my snow and ice boot. The extreme's look more rock friendly.

I had Vetta Lites. They didn't cause any trouble for me in the lace-to-toe area, and I found that design helped them fit different feet effectively.

I wore them with G10 straps for quite a while and then got rid of them. Even with flex-bar crampons, there was pressure on the ball of my foot from the soft boot flexing at the metatarsals. I spend enough time in crampons than the Trango S made much more sense for me. Also, the Vetta L were too flexy and soft for me to feel comfortable kicking steps in firm snow with them.

That said, if you spend more time on rock than snow/ice, and love keeping your feet light, the Vetta Lite might be the ticket. The sole is stickier than the Trango S; somewhere between an approach shoe and a mountain boot. They are crazy-light for the sole stiffness and protection the uppers give - basically approach-shoe weight. If I was doing rock routes with snow approaches or descents, they would still be my boot of choice.