UKH

Hi all. New here so go easy on me.

After trying many different boots for my hillwalking , I finally settled on the Trango Tower gtx as it’s the only one that accommodated my dodgy toes comfortably. Quandary is this. I want to use it as my all year round boot but also plan to do some winter stuff. I’ve read on here that some La Sportiva don’t particularly fair well with frequent crampon use and are prone to falling bits due to their lightweight design and build. 

Should i, stick with them and hope for the best or is a separate dedicated winter boot a better option. I Like the brand for comfort and weight so happy to stick with it in maybe a different model... Nepal etc. Any recommendations? 

Not sure what you have read about them falling to bits or which model you are referring too, perhaps the lighter weight ones ?

I have a pair of La Sportiva Trango Evo's from 8 years ago that are showing no signs of falling to bits, they are fine in winter if you are only doing a bit, crampons fit fine, just make sure you check fit when you buy

I read it in this post. I’m hoping it’s inaccurate but knowing my luck. The trango towers I have are virtually new and the latest incarnation. Don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing

https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/gear/are_la_sportiva_taking_the_piss-6...

I think you have this the wrong way around.  This sort of boot is good for winter, but will wear quickly if used as an everyday hill walking boot (and maybe slide around in wet muddy UK conditions also).

I had a pair of the original trangos from 16 or so years ago, as well as some current ones (model before yours).  The thin tread soles that these and loads of other similar boots have wear relatively quickly (particularly at the toe), as they have always done -- compared to chunkier boot.  But in winter you are wearing crampons or walking in snow a lot, so the soles are protected more. 

I save my trangos for winter and alpine.  But then I wear just approach shoe type things for much of summer.

I wouldn't buy anything else until you've tried your trangos for winter and see what you think.  They aren't gonna fall apart more than in summer.

I got a pair of Trango Tower GTX's earlier in the year for alpine use (I have Batura's for proper winter). I really rate them, and for up to grade III scottish they'll be absolutely fine. Above that and I'd probably want something stiffer. They're also the most comfortable boots I've ever owned and have good precision for scrambling, as well as weighing very little.

The downside is that my Airtech's dig into the rubber rand on the toe, which I can see causing issues in future with excessive wear. Also, the good scrambling grip comes at the expense of longevity, and I'd say that the uppers won't last as well as some other, tougher boots. They do have some clever use of heavier and tougher materials in high wear areas but even so, it'll be their downfall eventually.

I never once got cold feet in the alps, even when it was down to probably -10 with windchill, but as I was moving all the time I think the reality in Scotland would be very different if you're standing around on belays a lot. I reckon for big days on grade III terrain where I'd be moving quickly I'll be happy to use them but for other situations I'll still revert to Baturas.

My Baturas did two full seasons before needing resoled as a result of the midsole failing and thus dropping crampons more than once. I resolved this towards the tail end of winter when the problem got worse by just using a strap on front bail but it wasn't ideal. But £135 for a new mid and outer from Feet First seemed reasonable to give new life to them, and they came up perfect. The Towers are similar in that they can easily be resoled, for about £65 (just the outer) once they've worn. I'll probably end up using them more regularly than I'd originally intended and just get the resole, rather than buy yet another pair of boots for general use.

So it wasn't -10 at all.

Windchill really has no bearing, or next to no bearing on how warm boots are.

Sorry. Didn’t realise that the forum didn’t send emails alerts for new posts to my topic. Thanks for the advice. Gonna stick with them and spend my cash on a new pack instead ????????