Reviews by User: rhyang (12)

Roomy, lofty, warm, comfortable. Temp rating is right on for me (have used it down to 30 degrees). I'm very satisfied.

I'm a beginner at vertical rock climbing, so I bought these in size 42 as an entry-level shoe (I normally wear a size 10 Wide Vasque hiking boot). My right foot is a bit smaller than the left, so there's a bit of space in front, but I'm told these are stiffer than shoes for experienced climbers, so it shouldn't be a big issue for right now. I find they fit well if I keep them laced up evenly (not loose, but not too tight). My climbing has certainly not pushed the limits of these shoes as yet (can barely muster 5.9, chuckle). Tried on a bunch of others before settling on this pair.

Worked well for frontpointing on water ice, glacier ice, and alpine ice. Very stiff, and waterproof. I didn't find them very warm, but then I get cold toes easily. For winter I will probably stick with double plastic boots. I measure size 9.5 in a street shoe, and these in size 9.5 seemed to work ok, though with a little toe cramping (I have wide toes). I usually wear size 10 boots, but these in size 10 seemed to give me too much heel movement. Strange, because size 10 Pro Rock boots fit me perfectly. Possibly the tight fit is why I don't find them very warm. The plastic tongue stiffener seems to work, which I used with a heel lock lacing scheme (google for 'boot heel lock' and choose the Backpacker magazine link). I've hiked about 60 miles in these both on- and off-trail, and the sole seems to have held out fine. I have a weak ankle, and these boots provided plenty of support on a 4000' descent with a 50 pound pack full of climbing gear. I would not say that hiking in these is very comfortable (they are climbing boots, after all), but they don't give me blisters either, as long as I don't hike very fast anyway. The first thing to do with these is to replace the stock laces and insoles - 72" tecnica trekking laces and low-profile Shock Doctor insoles were fine for me.

Great on neve, water ice, glacier ice. Haven't tried on waterfall ice yet. They fit well on Scarpa Invernos and Salomon Pro Ice.

I found the fit of these boots excellent, especially in the heel, which is where I traditionally have mountaineering boot fit problems. Likewise, walking comfort seems very good for a boot of this weight. Have used them on 3rd class rock / scree / talus, and I find they do reasonably well (I'm not that great a rock climber yet.) I've used these with both Black Diamond Sabertooth clip crampons and Stubai Ultralights without any problems, in the southern Sierras and even Mt. Shasta. They are not insulated (my toes got cold as I approached Helen Lake, windy in the 30's). They can get wet in slushy conditions (such as afternoon glissades), then need to be dried out. I don't expect the soles to last more than a season or two, but other than the above these boots have worked out great for me. I normally wear a size 9.5 street shoe and 10 wide Vasque Sundowner MX2, and these in size 10 fit great. Hiked about 35 miles to break in the uppers, and they now fit like gloves.

I use sizes 0.5 through 4 and love them. Good range, lighter than the older camalots, nice action, thumbloops, and reasonable to place with gloves on (for ice / mixed climbing).

Rackability of BD turbo express, same bite as the Grivel 360's. Only downside is a larger hanger, so clearing more ice may be necessary. Hanger still takes 2 biners.

I find this leash works well, but it's a little different than the Black Diamond lockdown and such similar leashes. You have to twist your wrist up towards the head of the tool to disengage the leash. Practice at home first :)

Used on blue ice in a Sierra ice gully. Worked well (didn't plate badly like the Cobra pick probably would have). What more could I ask.