Scarpa

Zodiac Tech GTX Mountaineering Boot - Women's

Gnarly boots with excellent performance!

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

Size Bought:

40.5

Height:

5' 9"

Weight:

150

I have owned these for over a year now and I’m so impressed with these boots! I originally bought them to be able to hike in the UP of Michigan in the middle of winter to get to ice caves and iced over waterfalls. Some of the paths have very deep snow and snow that causes my feet to slide around in my Columbia Snow boots. I was worried how these works perform in the summer though and was prepared to have to purchase another boot for the summer season to hike in. To my delight, I did not have to do either! These boots have now seen: Yosemite NP Kings canyon NP Sequoia NP Acadia NP UP of Michigan New Mexico loose rocky mountainous terrain Lots of Indiana hiking. I’ve used these on extremely steep terrain, on rocky mountains, across sandy trails, bouldering and rock scrambling, on frozen ground, on ice, in snow, in mud, across creeks, on dry land, on wooded and uneven terrain, doing trail maintenance work, on a 2-day fully packed backpacking trip, in the pouring rain, in 95+ degree heat and in sub zero temps…I’ve also used them with ice cleats on. And likely more that I’m forgetting. The built in gators truly keep out rocks and soil. The waterproofing is excellent. The boot is easy to clean (just brush dirt off after each use, or hose off if muddy, and reapply waterproofing each year as preventative maintenance…but I honestly think you could get away without doing that each year… that’s not good boot care to not.) Only issue I found: in Acadia I felt heel slippage. I think the issue was actually too thin of socks as it was summer. In the spring, fall, and winter I wear mid-light weight wool socks and they fit and work fine. In Acadia I wore ultra thin wool socks and felt slippage on the descent of some very steep scrambling routes. I might possibly have also been able to go down a half size. I’ve had suspicions that perhaps I ordered a half size too big. But really, I have had no other problems with them and even that issue was mild. No blisters or hot spots on my feet. I usually wear a size 8.5-9, and bought a 40.5. I probably could have done a 40.