Hi everyone,

I am just getting into the sport here in New Zealand and I am trying to find out which boots to buy. I have narrowed down my list to a few of the usual suspects plus a few new ones. I would greatly appreciate any input as we have limited brands down here and I need to order from America. I will be using the boots for snow hiking with crampons and a bit of walking on volcanic rock.

La Sportiva Makalu
LaSportiva Glacier
Mammut Monolith Gore-Tex
Asolo Lothar Gore-Tex
Kayland Women's MXT
Kayland Women's Apex Dual Mountaineering
Garmont Tower
Asolo Alpinist Gore-Tex

Also any suggestions on suitable crampons for general mountaineering (straps or newmatics) and ice axe length? I am 5'4 (164cms)

Many thanks in advance

Try on all those boots in a shop with a good bootfitter, and buy whatever fits. Those are good companies and none of them are shoddy boots, you just need them to be comfortable. If they have Scarpa, try them as well.

Crampons are similar. You cannot go wrong with any of the following, but if you get NewMatic it doesn't hurt to try them on your boots and make sure the fit is good. This is less of an issue with straps.

Grivel G10* or Air-Tech
Petzl Vasak or Irvis*
CAMP Stalker
Black Diamond Contact

The two with *s are particularly good for smaller feet.

For general use I suggest a 50 to 60cm axe. I'd lean more towards 60cm, as it's still a very manageable size, but will give you great purchase on lower-angle snow. The charts and many rules of thumb will probably have you with a 50 or 55cm axe.

For Crampons, Grivel is the most popular thing around in this neck of the woods--specifically the G12's--but any Grivel Crampons are going to be well made.