Dane1 wrote:Who said I still used Spantiks?

Umm. You?

Dane1 wrote:I have and climb in both boots. .... I still use the Spantik and original Spantik liner.

Anyway, based on reading your blog and additional comments it all seems to be falling in to place, thanks for that. It seems that both are perfectly suitable to my needs and the first one to come along at the right size/price should be nabbed.

Now if you could just help me out with the hard part, convincing my wife that I desperately need these boots, and can't possibly live beyond Christmas without them

Come on now
The thread is what 9 months old now? I did say earlier "I have and climb in both boots", Spantik and Baruntse. I am climbing in the 6000 again this season when a dbl is needed. $65. a toe? Tough love around here. Chopping off the dead ones will make that $65. seem cheap by comparison. I would think she would want you to have them by mid week just to be safe

Ha ha, well the two previously frost bitten ones are pretty gnarly looking anyway, so She will probably only give me credit for 8!

I guess one reason for my uncertainty is that, other than the Koflach plastics just in training, I have only used the Nepal Extreme. I'd guess this would be similar to the Evo in terms of warmth etc. or are the Evos warmer than the NEs? It seems to me that going from them to something like a Baruntse is a big difference in boot type and I do wonder if I'm looking at "too much boot" for what I'm realistically going to be doing? With a grand total experience of N=1 I obviously don't have much to go on here, but I can say that my feet were cold in the Nepal Extremes, I was using a chemical heating pad in them (totally useless IMHO), yet it was only around -15C ish (give or take a cocktail umbrella or two). I like to kit up for -20C. I can imagine the hike out may be a little more awkward, but otherwise would a boot like the Baruntse have any other negatives I'd need to consider over something like the EVO when used in warmer conditions? Or are they simply similar to my plastics in that regard? When I say my feet were "cold" they weren't dangerously so, and the boots were frozen when I put them on which wouldn't have done any favours, but I get cold feet and did notice it. If there are no serious disadvantages, and my feet run cold, it seems like a no-brainer to simply shut up, pay my money, get a warm boot and be done with it.

As you see, I have seemingly endless stupid questions at my immediate disposal.

Pete

Pete - Break it down. Nepals = too cold for your comfort = get warmer boot.

Many choices for 6000m type double boots. Sportiva Baruntse and Spaniks being just two of the bunch.

The right boot is the one that FITS YOU best.

If they both fit you equally the same, then in my opinion you get the Barunste. Less expensive, better liner, warmer and fool proof lacing.

Thanks very much. Yes I've been trying to have a think about all this over the past couple of days; what I'm realistically likely to do and where. In Australia we have no real "mountains" to speak of, so it always means a plane flight somewhere for me. If I'm going to go to all that trouble and expense I'm not going to do so to climb a pimple. I'd like to head over to New Zealand for a summer course, and I think in that case the Nepals would be the best boot. However I may not be able to fit that course in, and otherwise it's back to Nepal/Tibet next year, where I'll be back up at 6000+ and think you're right, Baruntse it is. All my ski boots have thermoform liners of some description and, given a choice, wouldn't use anything else these days. Needing to order through the internet it should also give me a little more flexibility with size as returns are difficult and expensive. I likewise prefer the old style lacing system. On the hike out on this trip the only route off the glacier was through an active rock slide area which had slid as we were about to go up and, to say the least, was "sketchy". We needed to get through there quickly and after a long day I was glad not to have to do so with plastics. The small amount I'd used them suggested they weren't exactly ballet shoes to dance across loose rock!! However I presume there's no real compromising in this area, and if a warm boot is demanded the trade-off is a certain amount of "clunkiness"?

Regarding sizing of the Baruntse, I've also seen a few conflicting comments regarding this. My normal shoe size is 42, I tried on a 43 in a Nepal and it was slightly too big, but I don't recall what sock combination I had on at the time. When buying something like the Baruntse should I simply order my regular shoe size (ie 42) and the thermoform liner will take care of the rest? I'm not sure if the manufacturer presumes thicker socks will naturally be worn and sizes their last accordingly.

Once again thanks to those who are taking their time and effort to help a newbie out on the right path. I've grown quite fond of my hands and feet, and they're two things I take pretty seriously in these circumstances.

Pete

I'm a 45.5 in Nepals and a 45.5 in Baruntse's. Same sock. Hope that helps - good luck.

I think you will find the Spantik's with intuition liners to be similar to walking or climbing in ski boots. The inuition liners are very stiff compared to the original Spantik liners. If you were using these boots for AT ski descents this would probably be a great combination. In my opinion the best combination for all around general mountaineering use would be the Spantik boot with a Baruntse liner. The combo will walk / climb like tennis shoes compared to using the intuition liners.

ADK has the details right. Intuition in Spantik...not the best idea for all the reasons mentioned. The Intuition doesn't require laces btw. It works just fine without them...for a ski boot. They don't break in. What ya got its what ya get.

Guys, after reading this interesting thread I went ahead and bought La Sportiva Baruntse. Boots immediately feel pretty good on my feet, but I want them to be perfect, so I'll try to find a facility to do a heat molding. Probably a ski shop? (I live in Maryland, there aren't many specialists in this area here.)

I have questions, though.
In my old Nepal Extreme boots I used Ed Viesturs' "Reach Higher" soles instead of thin original ones from La Sportiva. I tried them in my new Baruntse boot, they do fit, although it feels a bit more tight in toes area.
- Do you think it makes sense to use Ed Viesturs' "Reach Higher" soles or original soles with Baruntse?
- If I heat mold Baruntse inner boots with original soles inserted into shells, would it then work with Ed Viesturs' soles?

Factory insoles typically suck, IMHO the Sportiva ones are no different. I would use your after-market (Sole, Superfeet, DownUnders, etc...) in your liners/boots when you mold them.

vkelman wrote:Guys, after reading this interesting thread I went ahead and bought La Sportiva Baruntse. Boots immediately feel pretty good on my feet, but I want them to be perfect, so I'll try to find a facility to do a heat molding. Probably a ski shop? (I live in Maryland, there aren't many specialists in this area here.)

I have questions, though.
In my old Nepal Extreme boots I used Ed Viesturs' "Reach Higher" soles instead of thin original ones from La Sportiva. I tried them in my new Baruntse boot, they do fit, although it feels a bit more tight in toes area.
- Do you think it makes sense to use Ed Viesturs' "Reach Higher" soles or original soles with Baruntse?
- If I heat mold Baruntse inner boots with original soles inserted into shells, would it then work with Ed Viesturs' soles?

I also live in Maryland! Southern MD to be exact. No I couldn't find anybody to mold my Barunste liners so I did it myself in the oven. It took 2-3 tries for each liner to get them both feeling perfect, but was really easy and the fit is much better. I use green superfeet insoles in my boots and they do great. I actually just left the superfeet in the liner when I put them in the oven so I didn't have to mess with swapping insoles around while the liners were soft. There would certainly be a fit difference between the original insoles and the aftermarket ones, and you'd likely want to mold them with the aftermarket insoles you plan on using. The liner tends to shrink up when heated so it's important to get your socks, toe caps, and insoles in properly so the liner cools with enough clearance for your feet. But like I said, I did it a couple times over to get it just right in both feet. It took a few tries to get both feet feeling the exact same.

ADKMan wrote:I think you will find the Spantik's with intuition liners to be similar to walking or climbing in ski boots. The inuition liners are very stiff compared to the original Spantik liners. If you were using these boots for AT ski descents this would probably be a great combination. In my opinion the best combination for all around general mountaineering use would be the Spantik boot with a Baruntse liner. The combo will walk / climb like tennis shoes compared to using the intuition liners.

Not to hijack an old thread, but…

ADK & Dane (and anyone else with suggestions):
What do you think between the Spankti & Baruntse & Scarpa 6000m for a mix of mountaineering and some mild ice climbing? At this point, my goals are Rainier-->Denali.

I have all three from Backcountry so I'll be walking around in them to get a feel & fit. And I've read this thread (many others) as well as Dane's blog.

Mind you I've never hiked in Crampons or anything beyond a hiking boot, so any help to understand what I should be thinking about while wearing these and using these boots in the environment they were intended for would help immensely and be greatly appreciated…

worldburger wrote:ADK & Dane (and anyone else with suggestions):
What do you think between the Spankti & Baruntse & Scarpa 6000m for a mix of mountaineering and some mild ice climbing? At this point, my goals are Rainier-->Denali.

I have all three from Backcountry so I'll be walking around in them to get a feel & fit. And I've read this thread (many others) as well as Dane's blog.

Mind you I've never hiked in Crampons or anything beyond a hiking boot, so any help to understand what I should be thinking about while wearing these and using these boots in the environment they were intended for would help immensely and be greatly appreciated…

I've played with all three of those boots recently before setting off to do some winter climbing in Colorado this past February (horrible season - avy conditions were extreme across the entire state).

Either way, I played with those boots at the store, because in my neck of the woods, we don't have cool mountaineer shops on every corner (the midwest). I took two of my boots out with me (Sportiva's Nuptse and Nepal EVOs).

All three of the boots you listed, and my Nuptses (Sportiva retired those boots when they came out with the Baruntse) appear to be very similar in design and function. I think for summer access to Rainier, you'll overheat in all of them - the Nepal EVOs are the recommended boot for Rainier in the summer.

In my opinion, I think any of those boots will serve you well on Denali - what you need to do is decide what fits you best. You don't want them to fit like hiking boots. They should hold your foot and heel firmly, but not compress it (compression = bad circulation which = loss of toes). You should have ample room in the toe box to wiggle your toes up and down, but you don't want side to side slop.

Make sure whatever sock combo you're wanting to use, is what you're wearing those around the house with.

And what Dane means about one being more technical than the other: He's talking about their ability to be more precise. Ie: less bulky, less sloppy on the foot. The Spantik's single lace makes it very hard to get the boot to really hold onto the foot, so you get a less technical boot because of it.

TI