Mountain Project Logo

Need recommendation for mountaineering/ice climbing boot for narrow heels

Original Post
JasonSH · · unknown · Joined Apr 2015 · Points: 90

Been dabbling with which boots to pick up as there are few places to try them on and even fewer choices when you CAN try them on.

I've got a size 9.5 foot that is between a medium and a wide, BUT, I have a heel that is on the narrow side of things, which makes a tough job in find boots a little more troublesome!

Anyone have recommendations of boots they may have had that could end this search and frustration for me?

I just tried on a pair of Salewa Pro Gaiter boots at Rock and Snow yesterday, size 10 (43 in euro) and they seemed,.. well...OK. But the heel still slipped a little. I then wondered about ordering a size 95 from an online retailer to see about how they'd fit??

Thanks

jdejace · · New England · Joined Sep 2013 · Points: 5

Try La Sportiva Nepals or Batura.

You might not be able to totally avoid heel lift in a rigid boot.

JasonSH · · unknown · Joined Apr 2015 · Points: 90
jdejace wrote:Try La Sportiva Nepals or Batura. You might not be able to totally avoid heel lift in a rigid boot.
I actually tried on the Nepals and they slipped quite a lot. The Salewas were an improvement,.. I'm thinking perhaps with an insole like an orange super feet insole it might remedy the who;e thing?
jdejace · · New England · Joined Sep 2013 · Points: 5

The Batura is narrower than the Nepal if you find a pair to try on.

Were the Salewas locked in their "rigid" mode when you tried them on?

Hard to say with insoles. Sometimes they do help, sometimes they make things worse, sometimes they cause other problems. Bring them with you to the shop if you already own a set for your other shoes. For my feet in my boots, orange Superfeet were too high volume and made my feet feel a little squished. It wasn't painful, more comfy to walk in due to extra padding, but my circulation wasn't as good and my feet were cold.

Mountaineering boots are finicky. They're rigid and just don't suffer poor fitting well. You might have to try lots of insole and sock thicknesses before you're totally happy, but you do need a good fit from the start. Definitely try on all the boots you can get your hands on, online reviews are typically not helpful. It's like the reviews for running shoes from people who wear them to go grocery shopping - "great for my wide feet" - maybe not if you actually ran a few miles. Many people reviewing boots are just walking to the crag.

MacM · · Tucson/Preskitt, AZ · Joined Feb 2010 · Points: 675

I feel like you're having the same type of issue I was having and took me a full year to solve. So I'll chime in. My feet have a very narrow heel and medium-to-wide toe box too. I would also say I have a generally low-volume foot.

I bought the Nepal EVO's a while ago, thought it would be a great idea to "break them in" on the trail up to Chasm Lake. No Bueno. Ended up with massive blisters on inside and outside of heels resulting in some scarring.

A year later, what I've done: I only wore thick wool socks, taped up my heels to prevent abrasion, and only used them on vertical ice and short (< 2mi) approaches during this last ice season. After the last season I've definitely broken them in and I just recently placed Orange Superfeet in them. Oh boy are they saaawweeett now!

Hope that helps.

JasonSH · · unknown · Joined Apr 2015 · Points: 90
MacM wrote:I feel like you're having the same type of issue I was having and took me a full year to solve. So I'll chime in. My feet have a very narrow heel and medium-to-wide toe box too. I would also say I have a generally low-volume foot. I bought the Nepal EVO's a while ago, thought it would be a great idea to "break them in" on the trail up to Chasm Lake. No Bueno. Ended up with massive blisters on inside and outside of heels resulting in some scarring. A year later, what I've done: I only wore thick wool socks, taped up my heels to prevent abrasion, and only used them on vertical ice and short (< 2mi) approaches during this last ice season. After the last season I've definitely broken them in and I just recently placed Orange Superfeet in them. Oh boy are they saaawweeett now! Hope that helps.
Hmmm,... perhaps there's hope?
I tried them on and felt that lousy pressure on top of (mainly) my right foot from lacing them up snug,..not tight,.. snug,.. kinda lousy.
MacM · · Tucson/Preskitt, AZ · Joined Feb 2010 · Points: 675

If they are snug on top you can always adjust your lacing pattern at that area. (e.g. Don't cross over, but go straight to next holes.)

I'm no expert and these may just be band-aid fixes though. Just keep that in mind.

Bill Kirby · · Keene New York · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 480

If you made it to Rock &Snow drive another 3 hours north to Keene Valley. Go to the Mountaineer and get fitted by a reputable shop. It sounds like your feet are tough to fit. If you go this route you have a better chance of getting into a boot that you will enjoy. Most of last year's boots are 30% off right now.

You could also go to IME in North Conway if your travels take you that way. You might pay more at IME than backcountryguesswhatbootfits.com. Do you save money if the boot you buy online sucks and you end up selling them here or they collect dust?

JasonSH · · unknown · Joined Apr 2015 · Points: 90

Yeah Bill I was thinking about driving up to the mountaineer,..friends of mine went up last year while up there ice climbing to get a female friend fellow climber fit up, she ended up getting a bootie that fixed her slipping heel 100%!

Forthright · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Oct 2011 · Points: 110

The North Face S6K Glacier or s6k extreme if you want a double.

Runs a bit long for the sizing but have yet to find a boot with better heel retention (even own a pair of Phantom Tech's, and tried just about every boot brought to the Ouray Ice Fest this year)

Nick Blankenberger · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2015 · Points: 35

Have you tried Mammut's Nordwand boot? I have a pair that I really like but I don't have an extremely narrow heel. I would say it's on the narrow side though. I think I read somewhere they are a good option for narrow heel. Not nearly discussed as much as the Evos or Scarpas but might be worth looking in to.

Bill Kirby · · Keene New York · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 480
JasonSH wrote:Yeah Bill I was thinking about driving up to the mountaineer,..friends of mine went up last year while up there ice climbing to get a female friend fellow climber fit up, she ended up getting a bootie that fixed her slipping heel 100%!
Ask for Jeremy
JasonSH · · unknown · Joined Apr 2015 · Points: 90
Summitseeker91 wrote:Have you tried Mammut's Nordwand boot? I have a pair that I really like but I don't have an extremely narrow heel. I would say it's on the narrow side though. I think I read somewhere they are a good option for narrow heel. Not nearly discussed as much as the Evos or Scarpas but might be worth looking in to.
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into them
JasonSH · · unknown · Joined Apr 2015 · Points: 90
Bill Kirby wrote: Ask for Jeremy
If I get up there I certainly will, thank you!
fuzzy muzzle · · Seattle · Joined Oct 2016 · Points: 1

I figured I'd try to resuscitate this old thread before creating a new one like a good user.

Any luck finding a low volume boot?

Any further or more current suggestions from anyone?

My feet are scary low volume, narrow, flat...it's surprising I can even stand up on them. I'm in Seattle. I'd like to get into ice a bit and plan to do Rainier in July. I wear Mythos because it's one of the only shoes that laces narrow enough. The Butora Ultera is good too if they weren't hot as hell. I also wear La Sportiva Ultra Raptors for all hiking and love them.

Jacob Matos · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2017 · Points: 0

I have a fairly low volume foot and narrow heel for a 11us, and I've found Asolo 6b+ to be phenomenal. I actually tried on a friends pair that was a full size to big, and still managed to capture my heel. If you can try a pair on I highly recommend them. I have a pair of Scarpa rebel pro's I've added a superfeet insole to, as well as a 5mm tongue insert I cut up from a bivy pad, and that has worked quite well.

Mike Gillam · · Ohio · Joined Jan 2010 · Points: 5

I bought Lowa Weisshorns last year and have been very happy with them.  I have narrow heels, bunions, and very skinny ankles.  I have been very happy with them, no other boots have not fit as well as these.

fuzzy muzzle · · Seattle · Joined Oct 2016 · Points: 1

I just tried on a pair or La Sportiva Nepal Cubes w the volume reducers that come with them and fat insoles and shockingly they got pretty close. No heal lift to speak of. They're bloody expensive but they might work. Gonna try to find the Asolo and Lowa mentioned above locally but it's not looking good. Fwiw I did try on La Sportiva Trango Cubes and had them fitting really good with just fat insoles. I'd like to get a boot with a toe welt if possible which the Trango doesn't have.

Steve Williams · · The state of confusion · Joined Jul 2005 · Points: 235

I had that problem and Scarpa's were the trick for me.  They have great boots too!

fuzzy muzzle · · Seattle · Joined Oct 2016 · Points: 1
C R wrote:

I have narrow heels and average width very low volume forefoot. I love Lowa Mountain Experts. Mild hot spots first trip (~10mi, half with crampons) but since then they've been great - for ice climbs and heinous road walk approaches. 

Just tried on the Lowa Mountain Experts at REI. With a shim and blue Superfeets they fit pretty good. The only issue is that tightening them enough to avoid toe banging on the decent puts too much pressure on the instep and they're light on tongue padding. The LS Nepal Cube has that thick volume reducing insert that eliminates that issue.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Mountaineering
Post a Reply to "Need recommendation for mountaineering/ice clim…"

Log In to Reply

Join the Community

Create your FREE account today!
Already have an account? Login to close this notice.

Get Started.