La Sportiva Spantik SKU: #7217918

Anonymous

from NW

The new bench mark? In 1979 the white Koflach became available in North America. They were used to make the 2nd ascent of Slipstream among other classic N.A. ice climbs. It was "THE" state of the art in a cold weather technical boot. Others brands soon followed. There were small improvements but nothing that compared to the Koflach's original jump in technology over the then current leather dbl boots. No surprise that La Sportiva has made the next big leap in cold weather technical boots. They have been pushing the envelope for a few years in mtn boots. The new (this is the third winter season they have been available) Spantik is light, stiff, comfortable and with enough ankle support to get you up 1000 meters of steep, hard, alpine ice with a pack on your back, effortlessly. No more super gaitors or over boots on Denali. No more sore shins, fried calves or sore feet. And more importantly no more cold feet if you do your part. The boot's volume is big but nothing as huge as the over sized Asolo. The Spantik will climb as well or better than some of the warmer single boots. You don't need a lot of sock to maintain the warmth. Feel through the boot is excellent. It is the Holy Grail, at the moment, in high mountain/cold weather technical boots. The down side? Had to be one right? Silly asking price to start with. But there is a lot of technology packed into this boot. In 1979 the Koflach was $200 so I guess in 2007 dollars, $650 is almost "reasonable". Well "almost" anyway. Durability? The lace and hook system are fragile. I broke an eyelet lacing the inner boot first time out of the box in my living room. It made the boot almost unusable. Things aren't going to get better from there. You'll want to carry spare laces for inner and outer. Ditch the lace's keeper on the outer boot and add a "puller" that is less fumble free and will stay on the lace. Be prepared to figure out an alternative closing system for the boot if you break an external eyelet ...which I suspect you will at some point. You aren't going to find French technique in these boots any more than you did in 10 year old Koflach’s. They are stiff, front, back and side ways...but I suspect they'd dbl as a back country ski boot easy enough. :) I added a spare pair of custom foam inners with no laces the second day of ownership. Should make the boot even warmer, certainly improved the fit, and makes entry and exit a lot easier. Also added another $175 to the cost of the boot. With tax that is a $900 climbing boot!!? Gotta admit that a few alpine possibilities came to mind today after getting the inner boot and lacing system squared away. This boot will add to your confidence on any cold weather venture. They'll make the ice fields seem like a winter wonderland when the wind kicks up and the sun is gone. The Spantik will make a few more summit days on Denali possible. So I guess I have already justified my $650. All of a sudden the Spantik seems like a good buy sitting here at the keyboard thinking of the next trip north of the border.

Brands I'd also recommend: There is nothing on the market similar...

Anonymous

from Seattle

Let me start by saying that I have looked for a while for a mountaineering boot that is ideal for snowboarding. Main reason is because the main reason I like to go into the back country is to get in the high alpine areas, where a boot that can perform like an alpine boot is critical for safety reasons. To find one that does not compromise the snowboard riding is ideal. Well, for anyone interested in this, I believe these guys, and now I, have found it. I have taken this boot out twice. Since I bought this on sale at the end of the season from Backcountry.com, my choices for snow conditions were limited here in the Seattle area. My first trip was to the Hyack back country area. More specifically, I toured the line underneath the west facing wooden power lines. Conditions were essentially slush, with some hiking through the woods. My findings were identical to all that has been mentioned thus far. Clearly, these are superior hiking/mountaineering boots, that much is obvious. More important to me was how they toured and how they rode. On both accounts, they were awesome. There is absolutely no compromise in the riding. The only modification I needed was to adjust the forward lean forward, given the volume of the boot around the lower leg is less than a standard snowboard boot (I used to ride the Salomon Malamute). The boots were super responsive on turns. For touring, there are no complaints either. The added stiffness of the boot actually made it easier to get on the edges when traversing. I imaging that they will also perform quite nicely when I am able to fix the heel with the new Karakoram heel lifts and start skating down logging roads. Hiking up steeps with these allowed me to kick steps that probably would have turned my toes black and blue with the Malamutes. Extremely effective for climbing the steeps. The second tour I did with these was today, the McLellan Butte, North Couloir. I did about 3000 feet vertical in again slushy spring snow. The experience was identical, if not even better because I had to hike across multiple boulder fields, which probably would have shredded the Malamutes. Having these boots when I got up high where the angle was close to 50 degrees gave me a lot more piece of mind. Being able to kick deep solid steps was absolutely key. As far as the ride down, all I can say is that these boots felt so good that I am considering wearing them for resort riding. If you have wide feet, make sure you try these before purchasing, or make sure you can exchange them if necessary. I wear 9½ in the Salomon Malamutes. I started by trying the 43, but the toe box was just too small. After moving up to 43½, this was better, although there was still tightness around my forefoot. This sensation was completely relieved after I took out the insole. I am happy to report that the 6½ hour hike on McLellan Butte caused absolutely no pain or blisters. In fact, they are one of the most comfortable boots I have ever worn, period! The only other negative is the cost. Even at the sale price, I will probably not wear them for routine resort snowboarding, although I think they would be just fine. However, they are extremely well built boots. If used just for back country riding, I suspect they will last a while. Given the comfort and peace of mind they have given me, they are worth every penny! In summary, I believe these are a great alternative to soft snowboard boots for back country/alpine snowboarding. It is a shame that this is not better known. I have suffered through many tours with the wrong boots, and have probably compromised my safety a few times as well due to soft boots. If you have the same concerns, these are definitely worth trying.