Anyone who has a gear closet knows that boots are like bunnies: we're talking rampant overbreeding with a pair for every sport-specific application I can possibly rationalize to the SheFlogger, no easy task.
I was willing to make the effort for a lighter, faster, more precise boot to fill the void in my life that is mixed climbing. Luckily, if it lives on your feet La Sportiva has a solution: cue the Trango Ice EVO, a sleek racecar of a boot that transitions seamlessly between dry tooling and vertical ice.
Sportiva only does feet, and that focus shows in the way they innovate with features such as the lacing system on the Spantik and the "Tri-Point Lacing Harness" on the Ice EVO. It performs as advertised, locking down the heel no matter how much you torque your foot around. It is a little tricky to tighten since you have to pull forward on the laces to tie them, but the intermediate locking lugs help. To round things out there's an integrated Schoeller gaiter up top, a grippy Vibram sole on the bottom and Thinsulate insulation in between. I climbed in temperatures around the single digits Fahrenheit and they felt great.
In action the EVO is more climbing shoe than mountaineering boot. Paired with the Grivel Rambo 4 crampon the entire mixed experience starts to feel more precise, with enhanced control over your movements and less effort overall. If you've been climbing vertical ice and/or mixed with a truck of a mountaineering boot, do yourself a favor and try the Trango.
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