Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Where to buy mountaineering boots

After enduring some blistered heels with rental boots, I'd like to finally buy some of my own mountaineering boots and crampons. Any suggestions on where to do this? Any favorite models?

It depends on where you live and what activities you plan on doing.

If you plan on doing summer Sierra trips that would that would require a different boot than high altitude peaks in South America or winter mountaineering, ice climbing, etc.

Give me an idea of what some of your aspirations are and I'll offer a couple good suggestions along with where to get them.

SoCal doesn't have the best selection of boots, but I did get mine at A16 in Los Angeles. They had a handful of boots when I was last there. If you are looking for the Sierra's primarily then I would suggest a good leather mountaineering boot with some insulation. If you have aspirations for much colder climates then you may need to shop online which is not ideal for buying boots.

Eric your right ,blisters are no fun at all.if you can get to an A-16 store you will be on the right path. thier return policy is great because they WANT to fit you with a boot that fits correctly. Getting shoes or boots that work for your feet is the first obstacle to overcome,once solved.....Happy hiking

I was in A16 last week and they didn't have one pair of mountaineering boots on the display, REI has two or three in their Rancho store.

If I were buying them today I'd be looking at zappos.com because of their very liberal return policy, they pay the return freight on refunds and new exchanges.

I got mine at Moosejaw after two or three backs and forths...btw, Moosejaw is on my never to business again with list.

I live in Northern California. In the past, I've used mountaineering boots/crampons for Shasta and Hood. I don't plan on doing any vertical ice climbing. Thanks for all the advice.

Eric - Check out the 5th Season in Mt Shasta. Competent staff and good selection of boots. One of the best stores I've seen.

That's where I rented my mountaineering gear for my Shasta climb and everything was great, but I actually live in the Bay Area and Shasta is about 5 hours away. Any recommendations closer to home? Thanks.

Hey Eric - I guess everything's relative. For someone like me who lives in what I consider SoCal (upper Mojave), then the Bay area is central CA and Shasta is northern CA ...

I don't know any shop in the Bay Area I could personally recommend. I've always found the good ones few and far between.

Eric,

Try Marmot Mountain Works. They used to have a pretty good selection of mountaineering boots.

Another resource would be to contact Steve, the guy who runs
www.climber.org I think his email is listed on that site, I don't want to repost it. He is a prolific mountaineer, and lives in the SF bay area.

By the way, his trip reports on that site, are some of the most interesting and humorous I've read. He does very long, very challenging trips.

http://www.climber.org/TripReports/2008/1646.html

If you live in the bay area you may want to shop at REI Berkeley because they seem to have a good selection of boots in the bay area. None of the other REI stores in the bay area have as large a selection. I purchased a pair of Lowa mountain expert boots. Those have insulation and are pretty comfortable. I also purchased a pair of Raichle all-degree lite boots for summer climbs. Another nice thing about REI is their return policy. I had to return a pair of montrail boots when the goretex liner failed and they were very good about the return. I will give you one piece of advice that I think is important when fitting boots; bring your own socks to the store so you get a good fit. Also, you ma want to learn some simple lacing techniques so you know how to adjust the boots. Good luck!

http://www.sportiva.com/products/prod/280

When people ask for advice on winter gear, I always recommend the best. This is the best leather winter mountaineering boots on the market. It'll set you back about $460.

You'll not find some of the best available boots on the market at a retail store. You'll need to order about two or three pairs within your shoe size range online and return the ones that do not fit best. This sounds painful and a big hassle but if you really want the best out there, that's the approach.

But as Kurt mentioned, depending on what you want to do, you probably do not need the best.

Good luck.

Thanks everyone. I love this site. I might not climb Whitney again for a while (took me 14 years to get there a second time), but I'll be checking this message board almost daily.

Eric- I have not been to the Marmot Mountain Works in SF but I got my Millet Everest boots at Marmot in Seattle. They did an excellent job of fitting them. They seem to have a good selection of boots. Also if you're shopping online check out alaskamountaineering.com They have a great selection of boots and also have the "Intuition" liners-the best invention ever in my opinion. I believe Marmot also has these liners. Also I just bought a pair of La Sportiva Trango S EVO boots from Moosejaw (they also have them at REI). They seemed perfect for Whitney in winter and are crampon compatible-I am going to try them out at Whitney this week-end. They might be perfect for Shasta and similar hikes....

The same boot doesn't work for everyone. I had a pair of the La Sportiva NEPAL EVO GTX boots but they just killed my feet; so I gave them away hoping they would work for someone else. I then purchased a pair of Lowa Mountain Expert GTX boots. I love the Mountain Experts - they were comfortable right out of the box.

It's interesting because I do have a pair of uninsulated La Sportiva Mountaineering boots that I like (TRANGO S EVO GTX's), but the Nepal Evo's just didn't work.

Keep in mind that you'll have heavy socks on; so allow some room. Sizing is so inconsistent too - it makes it hard to order online. You've got the right idea about going somewhere and getting fitted - I wish I had done that instead of buying two pairs of boots to get one pair that worked. Last year when I started doing a little more running I went to my local running store and they fitted me with running shoes - I now have running shoes that my feet just love.

Yes I agree. Eric, check and see if Marmot near you can do it. I have been to the one in Seattle and that place rocks!

For my So Cal friends I tell them to plan ahead and go to A16. They may not have what you want in stock unless you visit their West LA store but they will order it for you and most of their employees are excellent at fitting boots. They also have a great guarantee on the fit. I'd just stay away from one of their assistant managers in their West LA store named Mark. He's a jerk but other than that they are all excellent and will work with you to make sure you're happy.

Just don't expect to get it done last minute. Plan way ahead so you can get it done right.

Ditto! I have a couple of pairs of La Sportiva boots that are rotting in the garage. Lowa and Merrill fit my feet best.

What size are those rotting La Sportivas?? Continued thanks everyone for your advice.