Why are mountaineering boots so heavy?

[Pedro Arvy]

Can anyone recommend a lightweight mountaineering boot?

I have recently got into mountaineering and need to buy some boots but can’t believe how ridiculously heavy ALL the models are. This doesn’t make sense to me. If you look at the requirements of these boots, they do not justify the weight.

Requirement one is that the boot is completely stiff so crampons don’t get dislodged. It would seem to me this could be satisfied by placing a steel or tough plastic plate in the bottom of a running shoe.

Requirement two is waterproofness. Let’s add a gortex liner to our running shoe or perhaps wear gortex socks instead. Don’t forget some gaiters.

Since we are all ultralighters here, we know you don’t need boots for ankle support when you are carrying a light load. However, we may want a bit of support just in case as the terrain can be very uneven.

What I am now describing is an ankle length lightweight fabric boot or light leather boot with a stiff sole. Now why doesn’t such a shoe exist? Something like http://www.rei.com/product/47783444.htm?vcat=REI_SSHP_FOOTWEAR_TOC with a stiff sole?

[Adam McFarren]

Do you need a stiff sole?

I’ve used strap on crampons on my Montrail Cerro Torre GTX’s for some glacier climbs. Those strap on crampons work fine on my heavier plastic mountaineering boots for colder weather climbs.

If you really need a stiff sole, I can’t offer a recommendation.

[Lloyd Graves]

You might want to check out the La Sportiva Trango S EVO GTX boot. 2lbs 10oz. New-Matic ready.

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