Scarpa

Ribelle HD Mountaineering Boot - Men's

Okay performance. Bad comfort/durability

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

Size Bought:

42

Height:

5' 11"

Weight:

175

TLDR- great performance for short hikes/ approaches- very comfortable uphill. Bad for long hikes/ downhill comfort- expect to carry a 2nd pair of boots with you to get you back down the mountain, or limp your way home. I want to start out by stating that i really wanted these boots to work and am pretty sad i am having to leave a review about these boots being Sub-par in long term functionality. These boots are some of the coolest looking boots i've had. With the rubber rand and solid footbed they are super protective- especially off trail. Waterproofing was pretty good, lasted 7-8 hrs of moderate - severe rainfall before finally getting damp- takes 2-3days to dry out once wet due to being leather. They perform great for both climbing, uphill hiking, and even handled some slack lining perfectly. The great performance in these areas are the only reason it earned a 2nd star from me. Unfortunately- the performance of the boot is short lived by the high lack of comfort/ durability. 1) these soles are super stiff- which makes it very nice to climb/ hike uphill in these and offers good protection, however- as soon as i started going downhill all comfortability went out the window. I found myself 8 miles from basecamp and every step taken locked my toes in a weird position and caused alot of pain by the end of the hike- i think this is mostly due to the stiff sole having no flexibility- and the rocker putting the toes in a less than ideal position when going downhill. This was even AFTER i already upgraded the insoles (Superfeet, Trailblazers) as they only come with a thin piece of foam- which is not nearly enough support for boots this stiff (I expect better from a boot that is almost 400$) 2) Durability: As a precursor- this was not a sizing issue- I was fortunate enough to be able to multiple sizes in this boot and ended up with a half size larger than my normal boot ( as suggested for these boots in the "sizing chart") I 100% know this is the right size boot for me as the half size smaller/ larger are significantly different and i had some time to test each size. I did have extra volume in the shoe initially but it snugged up about perfect with a bit thicker insoles while still allowing space for extra foot-swelling. The boots felt great on all my shorter outings- took it out on about 3-4 short 2-4 mile hikes and had no issues. Then came a slightly longer trek- 10 miles in 10 miles out. I had issues almost instantly on the downhill journey. When i wore them with a normal tighten tongue/ ankle- my toes got crammed into a weird position in the toe box (felt like the stiff sole/ rocker played a part in this). So then i tightened the ankle to take pressure off the toes/ bottom of foot, but then the tongue became highly uncomfortable and started rubbing/ creating pressure points my leg (even with socks on). So much so, i had to loosen them and go back to the strange toe box. I tried to fix this multiple times to no avail and ended up limping the rest of the 8 miles down the mountain alternating between pain in the bottom of my foot from the forced-rocker or pain from the boot tongue. After getting home and cleaning the boots thoroughly, i discovered there is now a sizable hole on the inside top of the boot on my right foot. I have seen some of my other footwear get small rubbing spots after a couple years of use- but seeing as this was my first real actual excursion in these boots- the size of this hole is extremely disappointing seeing as i have used these boots probably a max of 5 times now. I fully expect the inside padding in these boots to fully blow out after another few hikes (if i can even continue to wear them with the issue of downhill comfort). I will be submitting a warranty request but don't have high hopes as i am sure they will try say this is sizing related. Again- i expected more from a 400$ boot- For now i will be going back to my 200$ boot that actually gets the job done / gets me back home.