Scarpa Bhutan GTX Boot - Women's

I did a 5 hour hike of the rocky, damp trails of Mt. Snowdon in N. Wales, UK while wearing these boots with a pair of wool Bridgedale hiking socks and a light day-pack. To be fair, I did not break these boots in at all before this hike, so some of my complaints may be due to the newness of the boots.

Fit: The fit of this boot is certainly narrow. I have normal feet bordering narrow and these boots fit snug at the toes. I had to duct tape two of my toes on my right foot because the snug toe box made them rub together. If you have even slightly wide feet, I wouldn’t bother with these boots.

Insole: Poor! There is virtually no cushioning in the bottom of these boots, and my pounding feet were feeling it halfway through my hike. You will definitely need to buy an aftermarket insole for these boots. However, there was plenty of comfortable padding everywhere else inside the boot.

Ankle support: The ankle support works well and prevented me from twisting my ankle a few times; however, my leg was left bruised and raw where the tongue hit. I suspect this was mainly because of the way I tied my boot or because they simply weren’t broken in.

Grip: This is the best thing I can compliment this boot on! The grip is amazing for rocky, damp surfaces! The sticky tread kept me sure footed even during the most questionable parts of the trail, and even saved me from injury a few times. The angular tip of the toe was also very handy when scrambling over boulders.

Element Protection: I can’t comment on how well these keep your feet dry or warm as the weather was already fairly dry and mild on the day of the hike. However, I can say my feet stayed well ventilated and comfortable.

Overall they are a very durable, well-built boot and I am hoping with inserts and some wearing in they will be more comfortable. I will be giving them another go in a few weeks in wetter, colder conditions, so let’s hope they perform better.