Testing Areas: The Berwyn Mountains, The Black Mountains, Peak District, The Malvern Hills
Rather than having a test pair this time, I did buy these boots for a specific reason, which is to use for my Mountain leader assessment next year and for when I’m guiding others. It helps to set an example as many people new to walking can be prone to lower leg injuries and as much as I absolutely love approach shoes (in fact mine are Scarpa Crux) to the untrained eye these might resemble trainers and inadvertently set a bad example to other hikers and people I’m guiding. So I’ve got myself a boot as Scarpa usually work well for me and while I wasn’t after the cheapest boot possible I also didn’t need anything super technical either or overly expensive I can use for hiking and occasional easy trekking. These boots appeared to fit that description bang on, these retail at around £150 GBP and I think that’s pretty reasonable for a decent hiking boot in the current climate. On that note lets give these a closer look.
Outsole/ Midsole These use the Vibram Energy Sole which provides comfortable cushioning and also stability. Vibram is pretty much an industry standard, it works and it is good to see on a boot which isn’t breaking the bank. I’ve had a few different sole units in the past and I swear by using Vibram which comes in many different iterations (especially megagrip for my trail running shoes and approach shoes) again you see this on lots of products for a good reason. These performed well on mud, gritstone and granite and to me that’s a decent selection of terrain. 5/5
Comfort And Fit: Very comfortable boots in fact I actually like them so much I have taken to wearing them more often than just for leading. Fit wise I am a C width fitting on a Brannock device and a 9.5 UK, and these fit me perfectly being a narrow boot. The boot is true to size and I’ve got about a thumb width in the front between my toes and the end of the boots. If you have a wider foot these probably aren’t for you. 5/5
Weight: At 1140g these are not super light but neither are they heavy and after some wear you don’t really think about them being on your feet. I cant really fault this aspect as in quite a few cases weight and durability tend to be closely related. At this price point however, I feel this is fine. 5/5
Construction Quality: Really well made for the price, uppers not too thick or thin making for a good year round boot. The uppers are a mixture of water repellent suede and synthetic and in this case I’m loving this blue green colour they offer – I know it’s not about fashion but I’ve got a lot of gear that matches. It’s neither a heavy or light upper in my opinion and is fairly tough without being too heavy. The advantage of this is that they are for wearing most of the year and neither too warm or cold. One of the only major things I think could be improved with this boot is the lace locks are a bit shallow and fiddly. Its not a huge issue but it’s an annoying niggle on an otherwise excellent boot. The boot tongue is a bit irritating to get to sit behind the laces also. The waterproofing comes in the form of Gore-Tex which I’m sure if you have done a bit of looking around or have some knowledge yourself you will know is pretty much an industry standard for a decent waterproof boot. 3/5
Performance and usage: These are described by a number of suppliers as for trekking and hiking and I’d say these will and have done the job for me for both, however I feel they are more of a hiking boot / light trekking boot that I wouldn’t use for a really tough trek if I was wearing a heavy pack. 4/5
In Summary
What really stands out for me here is that I set out to buy a set of boots grudgingly, however I can say I do really like this offering from Scarpa. These are a great mid range mid boot which I’m wearing them much more often than I thought I would do to this, in fact I’m far less grumpy about not being in my approach shoes. Despite this however I do find the lace locks really annoying and the tongue so for that reason, I’m giving these a rating of:
4/5
Requiem For The Extreme 