Excellent quality winter hiking and mountaineering boot; probably quite good for technical ice climbing too.

I have had mine for 3 years and the only sign of wear was a bit of separation of the rubber rand from the upper near the front of the boot; 2 minutes and a bit of cement fixed that and the boots are going strong. The uppers show almost no signs of wear, a testament to the strength of the Schoeller material.

The sole is a real Vibram and grips everything quite well. The boots are fully crampon-compatible with the proper ridges built into the soles. The flex is basically rigid, great for snow and steep slopes.

The boots are waterproof but also do appear to breathe somewhat since I've never had any problems with sweat-soaked socks. They are also only suited for cooler conditions since they are fairly well insulated.

The pulley lacing system is amazing and the way the eyelets run right up to the front of the boot means you get a very snug fit. I have somewhat narrow feet and find the boots fit me very well. I have never had blisters with these even after carrying a pretty heavy load over snow for a few hours for winter camping.

The boots are significantly more comfortable than any hard shell boot I've ever tried and offer very similar performance. They are also a lot cheaper than pretty much anything else out there.

Customer Service

Tecnica is hard to find in Canada right now, their distributor is brutal. I don't know how easily you could get warranty service if you needed it.

Similar Products Used:

Scarpa