In the '90's- La Sportiva Makalu, Karakoram and lighter version Glacier were "The BOOT." In 2011- they are way overpriced for such old technology. I loved these boots and had them for 15-years but time and technology moved on while La Sportiva has not. I do not reccomend. If you want a 2012 mountaineering boot look at the SCARPA line. Same price as Makalu's, Karakorams and Glacier's but you are getting latest technology.

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Time and technology moves on while La Sportiva has not. I do not recommend in this price range.

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SCARPA M4
KAYLAND

Overall a good general purpose mountaineering boot for the buck, I used them for Ice Climbing 2x & Glacier Traverse 3x. Was very satisfied but found them quite stiff & hard to break in for other easier walks or approach..There are better boots out there but when it came out, was highly recommeded.

fits just right no need to break in waterproof (stood in creek for 5 minuits)wears like foot armor good grip

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n/a

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merril, vasque

fits just right no need to break in waterproof (stood in creek for 5 minuits)wears life foot armor good grip

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n/a

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merril, vasque

The most comfortable and durable boots for such a stiff boot. There was no break-in period for me; I wore them for a day around the office for a day, then off on a 10 mile hike with 2000' of vertical, though I do have odd sized feet, 48, very narrow with a tall arch. 5 years and many miles later and they're still comfortable and stiff.

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2 pair Vasque (unknown model)

The Makalu IS a bombproof boot and is great with crampons, on steep talus and scree, and good traction on firm snow. It is NOT a good backpacking boot and it is definately NOT for wide-footed individuals. Plus I had to take baby steps the whole hike in since the shank didn't flex at all. The narrowness of the boot put my feet in utter misery the whole time. The only point where I appreciated the boot was on a steep class 3 couloir with ice and scree.

Originally bought these boots for Mt. Rainier climb. Few months before the climb I went on a warm up trip to Arkansas. After half a day on the trail these boots had nearly killed my feet. I had half-dollar sized blisters on both heals. (I have thin, bony feet) Still, I took these to Mt. Rainier with me and made the climb in them. Got more blisters but not as bad as before. On the way down, I lost both nails on my big toes and one other toe nail. It was murder! These are extremely heavy duty boots and I'm not sure if you ever really break them in in the classic sense. The leather is very thick. Also, these boots aren't designed to provide much flex. I've not taken any more backpacking trips in them since Rainier but I'm sure I will eventually. My overall view of these boots is still a bit mixed. If I go on any more mountaineering trips I doubt if I will take these back. Don't want to take that chance again.

Customer Service

Can't see how you would ever need it. These things are tanks.

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only lighter backpacking boots

I've been using my Makalu's extensively as I scramble/climb up a mountain in the Rockies every weekend. 10km approaches, scree, slabs, snow, talus, scree and more scree ! And what can I say ? My Makulu's RULE ! Nothing inspires more confidence in my climbs than the purchase of my Makalu's. Whether it's alpine rock or scrambling across the knife edged ridge of Mt. Lady MacDonald, I'm always surprised at how my Makalu's cling to the rock. As far as blisters/comfort are concerned, I found that my choice of socks made the biggest difference. After trying many different makes and thicknesses, I found the Smartwool hikers along with the liner to be the best fit for me. YMMV of course.

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Kayland Giove Kevlar, Salomon X-Hikers, Koflach Degre

The lady makalus I tried were really awful. Granted that the first time I used them I was hiking up steep trails and then glacier climbing, so I was in them for about ten hours, but my feet were so tortured I couldn't climb for two weeks. The blisters were horrible and the area where the boot hit just above my ankles swelled up like donuts. For the price anyone pays for makalus, I'd suggest just going out and getting a more comfortable boot.

I was forced to use these pretty much right out of the box with only a few hours break-in wearing around the house. I was really nervous because the trip I was doing was an 11 hour summit assault on Mt. Joffre that also has a 6 hour approach. On a trip like this, my previous boots would have left me with some blisters, even though they were well broken in, thus my nervousness with using these out of the box! The Mak's only gave me a slight blister on my left heel... I'm not even complaining, because it was really nothing considering the size of the trip with no break in time... in fact, I think it's astounding. I've heard a lot of horror stories about these boots giving blisters and having a long break in time, but I honestly think that if you get the correct SIZE, you'll be fine. As I mentioned, my last pair of boots gave me way worse blisters even after 4 years of break in time! So, as I mentioned, I'm quite astounded they performed so well. I'm not a 'professional' on boot fitting, but let me say that I had some heel lifting in my previous pair of boots, but the salesman said that was normal for such a stiff mountaineering boot - and so I suffered through years of blistering because of it. My Mak's didn't allow me heel lift, nor did my toes touch the front of the boot when tested on a decline board in the store. I had to try a 40, a 40.5 and a 41 to find out that the 40.5 was the best fit. So, make sure you buy from a store that has the stock to let you try enough sizes that your sure you've got the right fit. Just my two cents, now back to the Mak specifics... As mentioned I just got back from my climb so I don't have lots of experience with them yet, but they performed great. Solid on scree, and with crampons on ice and snow. The lacing system is cool, locking the bottom eyelets and allowing a different level of tightening on the upper eyelets.