Yet another boot thread!

I'm looking to purchase my first pair of ice boots this season without breaking the bank.  I'd primarily climb in upper Michigan so it can get pretty cold up there.  I see a lot of different options ranging from $250 - $750 and as far as ice climbing goes and not some cutting edge alpine climbing I would assume the lower half is probably plenty good.  What is everyone using?  

Problem is, other than plastic doubles, warmer boots tend to cost more money. 

jdejace wrote: Problem is, other than plastic doubles, warmer boots tend to cost more money. 

I'm not against spending the cash on something that'll be worth it but I don't want to just buy the most expensive one because its the "best" one.  Basically it all boils down to I'm trying to make an informed decision.  I should have probably mentioned that in the OP.

I started out climbing ice in plastic boots.  Then I went to heavy-duty leather mountaineering boots (La Sportivas).  Now I'm using an older generation of the Scarpa Phantom Guide (yep, some of those $750 boots you were mentioning, though when they updated them, the old style went on clearance, and that's when I pounced).

Plastic boots are warm but heavy and not nearly as precise as leather and composite boots.  Leather mountaineering boots (like the classic La Sportiva Nepals, etc.) are much better at climbing pure ice, and they are lighter, but they can be not as warm.  In general, the newer composite boots with the integrated gaitors, like the Scarpa Phantoms and L.S. G5s and whatnot) are warmer and soooo light and precise.  This is one category where I definitely noticed the difference when I went to the top end of the market.

After older-style leather mountain boots, the Scarpa Phantoms felt like air.  Every step is more efficient, every kick takes less energy.  It all adds up.  And they are more flexible in the ankle than either plastics or my old leather single boots, which is good for techy climbing and forces me to use better technique all around.  A slightly heavier leather boot is still going to climb very, very well-- probably as well as the fancy-shmancy top-end ones.  And these days, some of those leather single boots have been lightened up so much they are within mere ounces of the most expensive stuff on the market.  On the other hand, that comes at a price-- the techiest of the leather singles cost almost as much as the integrated-gaitor ones on sale.  And the whole damn category has shifted upwards in cost over the years.  20 years ago, those La Sportiva Nepal Top extremes were the gold standard in climbing boot, and they cost something like $400 at worst.  Now the fancy lightweight Cube version of those is close to $600, and almost everything out there is around $500.  Sheesh.

Here might be a few strategies depending on your other climbing interests and goals:  
1) are you going to do any big mountains?  Northwest volcanoes? Days of glacier slogging?  Then maybe a pair of decent plastic double boots (the lightest you can find that are still cheap) would work at least well enough for your current ice needs (and be among the warmest option, if that's a concern) and cover your future expedition desires.  The problem would be getting something that is snug enough to help you feel the ice at all and not climb like you're just hoping your crampons are making contact, since you can't really tell, and yet comfortable enough for long-slog mountain walking (including the miles of approach trail down in the trees).
2) are you going to do some rock mountaineering?  Colorado 14ers?  Sierras? Something like that (maybe with long snow couloirs but also with lots of 3rd class rocky terrain)?  Then a good pair of leather single boots is a solid investment that will also climb ice very well and will probably be warm enough for most winter days.
3) bite the bullet and get one of those top-end, lightweight, integrated-gaitor style boots, knowing that it will do all three categories (big snowy expeditions, technical ice, and mixed general mountaineering) well.  A little hot for some summer mountains in the lower 48, maybe, but if I need to I just unzip the gaitors and roll them down (I had to sell the other boots to afford the Scarpa investment).  And these days I find myself wearing less and less shoe for most summer mountain days-- approach shoes or sneakers will get you to the top of nearly everything in Colorado.

Finally, if you can find them anywhere to try on, keep some of the "other" companies like Lowa or Boreal, as they have versions of the same integrated-gaitor boots and can sometimes be on sale more often, since they have a smaller market share in the U.S.  Also, if one of the big companies like Scarpa or La Sportiva or Arc'teryx ever does an overhaul to their fancy boots, they'll dump the old models onto the discount sites like Sierra Trading Post and REI Garage, and we can all have a scrum trying to jump on them before they're gone.

Josh wrote:  And the whole damn category has shifted upwards in cost over the years.  20 years ago, those La Sportiva Nepal Top extremes were the gold standard in climbing boot, and they cost something like $400 at worst.  Now the fancy lightweight Cube version of those is close to $600, and almost everything out there is around $500.  Sheesh.

$400 20 years ago is $625 in todays money...

What Josh said. You won’t be buying expensive boots just because they are expensive, but because they work! Warm and comfortable feet are great; cold and poor-fitting feet will ruin every day you spend in them. I love my Scarpa Phantom Techs and I know my feet will be happy all day tomorrow while I’m climbing!

What are the temperatures like when you're climbing?

I imagine you'll want at least the Sportiva G5, although the G2 SM would be ideal. I ice climb in the G2 and it is a fantastic boot.  (not sure off hand what the Scarpa equivalents are)

Alternatively, you can go with the Sportiva Nepals or similar and get Lenz heated socks. I have the socks for skiing and they're amazing. Not sure on durability over the years though.

If you buy cheaper single boots now you'll just spend twice as much money buying warmer boots in a year or two. Just make the investment and have happy feet.

Thank you all for the thorough replies!