Advice for Boots?

Hey guys, I'm in the market for my first pair of Mountaineering boots! I'm moving out to Colorado in June so I'm trying to get ideas of boots to buy now. I know I'll be committed to climbing, did a mountaineering seminar back in May and fell in love with it even more so I"m ready to drop some bucks. I want general boots I can do it all with. I will want to climb year round really, but mostly summer climbing because I'm a beginner but will still try to go out in winter/spring as soon as I get experience. So I don't know if I should just buy light boots. Here is what I have in mind...La Sportiva Trango S Evo, Trango Extreme Evo, Trango Prime, or the Nepal Evo GTX.

I'm leaning towards the Trango Extreme Evo or the Trango Prime. I feel like I can get away with these in summer without them being to much overkill and be just fine in spring/fall maybe winter. I'll have to try them on to see what fits best but what do you guys think? Thanks!

While we're at it, should I get a 30L or 40L for alpine climbing days? I'm thinking 40L would be good so I could use for two maybe three days out and just take the top off and pack it down on summit days??? What do you guys think who have a lot more experience?

you're not going to buy just one of either boots or packs...

you should buy any of your listed options and go climbing

No one piece of gear is going to work for every climb. Even for a single trip, many climbers will bring several pairs of footwear and a bunch of packs.

What climbs do you have your eye on right now? The highly-technical boots you mentioned (like the Nepal and Prime), are wonderful for waterfall ice and big mountains, but they are pretty awful on summer hikes and scrambles. Think about the climbs you are planning on doing in the near future, and get the right footwear for that. You can buy more boots later when you need them.

You are also going to need several packs. If you plan on doing multi-day trips soon, make sure you get a pack big enough. Remember that if you're climbing with a more experienced partner, they'll likely have you carry the rope and the rack in addition to all of your personal gear. (If they don't ask, volunteer to carry the heavy stuff and gain bonus partner points). After you discover how much hauling a big pack sucks, you can start looking at another smaller bag.

I am going to give you some advice, although I typically don't on this subject, as I find most folks really don't want to hear it. So no response is necessary, just take it with a grain of salt.

90%+ of young alpinist buy way too much boot. Not just in cost, but particulary in weight. Just because a boot is on your foot, does not mean you save any calories hauling it versus it being on your back. Try and think of the extra weight in those terms. Not to mention if you are actually going to climb in said boots (I climb up to 5.9 rock in Trango S or Scarpa Charmoz boots), ice and/or rock, a lighter boot will help your climbing performance.

If your feet get colder than most, there are lighter weight alternative solutions then buying a heavy insulated boot. For the Canadian Rockies, which is considerably colder than Colorado, I only own and use two type of boots (excluding skiing), yet I climb full time. Some of those who referenced you need a plethora of boots might be a bit to analytical about their gear not to mention loose with their wallet. I wear a boot for waterfall ice climbing, where temps can easily be -30c/f in the winter and an alpine boot for alpine routes, where I want good edging and water protection, but will be carrying same over very long days of technical terrain on glacier and rock.

Both La Sportiva and Scarpa build out complete lines and offer similar comparative products in the two categories I mention. What you are looking for, in my opinion, is the Trango S or Scarpa Charmoz. Both are lightweight, gort tex, good edging, performance boots. The difference for me between the two is Scarpa stands behind their warranty much better than La Sportiva. These are expensive boots and where you will trash them is on scree descents from the routes you climbed. It is important to wear gaiters on such descents to protect the uppers of these boots or you will quickly wear holes in them. The soles last through a lot of wear and tear. Good Luck.

Thanks guys, and yeah I don't have a lot of money so I was hoping to get just one boot that could generally do it all in RMNP mostly...I'll probably just climb inside the park for a year or so until I get more experience and then more money to travel around. Thanks Dow that was really helpful.

If you join the AAC, you get a ProMotive membership too, OR

Try STP, bought a pair of boots VERY cheaply and love them.

I've been rocking the Silver Trangos for 3 seasons now. They're on the light end but work for *most* colorado days and rock for technical climbing. I'll get a pair of Spantiks or similar when I need them for bigger mtns but would only wear them on the rare super cold day in CO.

Some like the silver bullets work great if they fit your feet, otherwise check out scarpa too.

Black DiamondSpeed40 is a greatall around pack for mountaineering.

Dont worry about anything bigger until you plan on doing a week+ trip.