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As a fellow foot sweater, I hear you concerning Goretex in boots. Not to mention many boot manufacturers think that if they throw Goretex in their boots they can then do poor shoddy boot construction meaning that when the Goretex wears out after 100 miles of walking due to rubbing against it, that the boot now leaks.

I wear plastic bags when on snow/ice. Sock/Bag/Sock. Works like a charm. Wear the socks that literally "glue" to your feet from Columbia. Titanium brand??? Even with trail runners though not all that great on soft snow. For that reason have searched out "hikers" that have stiffer soles and go with goretex gaiters. Liberally smeared with beeswax/oils you name it.

As for your crampon problem, your problem resides in the rigid crampon. From what you have described there is NO reason to have a rigid crampon on your foot. If you really want the rigid crampon option, as others have said get a crampon with a flexible bar one can take out for a rigid one for anything OTHER THAN 50 degree plus ice. There is no real reason for a rigid crampon under 50 degree ice. Add in such sections even of 60 degrees are VERY short and the "need" for rigid in the alpine environment except in extreme situations never dictates rigid crampons to begin with. Unless you are purposefully searching out bullet hard ice col's. =)

Wastral wrote:As for your crampon problem, your problem resides in the rigid crampon. From what you have described there is NO reason to have a rigid crampon on your foot. If you really want the rigid crampon option, as others have said get a crampon with a flexible bar one can take out for a rigid one for anything OTHER THAN 50 degree plus ice. There is no real reason for a rigid crampon under 50 degree ice. Add in such sections even of 60 degrees are VERY short and the "need" for rigid in the alpine environment except in extreme situations never dictates rigid crampons to begin with. Unless you are purposefully searching out bullet hard ice col's. =)

Actually, I got spring-steel flex bars, and from walking on turf (what I have now as a snow substitute), the crampons seem to work pretty well, even on softer boots. I've found that I can strap them pretty securely, even without the ankle wrap, so they even hug trail runners (a variety with beefier soles).

I often use aluminum crampons in milder conditions... and for a long time, manufacturers would say that you couldn't use steel flex bars with Al crampons, as it would erode the Al quickly. This led to the irony that you would have to use very light crampons with heavier boots, so... But then manufacturers of Al crampons started offering them with steel flex bars just this year.

I had (still have in a drawer!) articulated crampons from 1969. I wore those with all manner of softer boots. That's what folks used to wear... but nowadays everyone seems to want to recommend extreme hardware.

Thanks for another vote for what seemed like common sense at one time!

HOWEVER, it is nice to have boots that allow one to boulder hop without rolling an ankle, or that will allow one to direct the force of a kick to the front points, or even allow effective kick-steps. To those ends, I still prefer stiffer-soled boots.

Have you tried Antihydral cream?

Harlen,
I have sworn off my Salewa Replace boots (and my Salewa mountain trainers and my Salewa alpine trainers) the after multiple, multiple blister issues. The Salewas are very high tech and very light weight, but don't work for me.

I had a summer of hiking in my salewa mountain trainers with a light pack in the Sierra, and then on a 6 day trip in New Zealand I had blisters on both feet after 2 days! What I've discovered is they have no padding in the heal area, and I have really boney heal, so it's a bad combination for me.

So I'm in the market for Sierra boots myself. The issue I'm grappling with is how stiff the boots need to be to accept crampons (I have G10 and the flex bars) and protect my feet on sierra peaks and still be light weight. Perhaps it is not reasonable.

I was impressed to see you wearing lightweight boots with crampons on Sil. Let me know what you figure out.

-Phil

Phil, the search goes on!

Older thread, so I thought I might see if anyone out there has any new info. I live in the southwest and have no need at all for gore tex in my boots. Unfortunately it's seems all the best ranked hiking boots have that sweat bag material in them. Any new suggestions? I'm looking for a mid-weight hiker that can handle sharp, pointy rocks along with some ankle stability. No need for crampon compatibility. Open to suggestions.

Older thread I'm just catching up on. Lowa Renegades come in a leather lined version that breath great. And they are way lighter than they appear. Been a Lowa devotee for years. Do need inserts unless you have flat feet.

I noticed the Salomon X Ultra Aero. Non-GoreTex, but I'm not sure about how stiff the sole is. The description mentions on- and off-trail. Anybody have any experience or input?

https://www.rei.com/product/113335/salo ... boots-mens