Trango S

So I have pounded out a few trips in these and my are they great. They are one of the the lightest boot's around and are great on the approach due to the amount of rocker on toe. I thought they might not be well suited for vertical ice, due to the rocker, but they did fine on a mixed as well as vertical ice.



They ROCK for french technique, and make descend steep ice/snow a breeze, as the ankle flex is teriffic. They stayed dry after 4 days on glacier, it was only after a all day downpoar descending in mud and slush that my feet sarted to get wet. They are said to be waterproof, but since I'm in the cascaded I'm going to add a second part waterproofing agent.



Now that I have these my plastics are only coming out when it gets really, really cold.

Awesome boots. They are feather weight. The half sole shank makes them very comfortable for long approaches. They edge and smear well. A perfect boot for the Sierra - or anywhere that has fairly long approaches and drier conditions.

These boots are also great for our Colorado peaks as they are light enough for some long dry approaches yet stiff enough to permit some vertical climbing on both ice and rock.



The rocker sole makes hiking much easier while not allowing too much flex. I think the Trango S makes the perfect alpin/mixed boot.

5 stars if you use it for its intended purpose, a really crappy boot for iceclimbing or extensive frontpointing on steep alpine ice.



This boot was designed to be a lightweight approach shoe that could take lightweight crampons for those glacier crossings, as well as rock climb very well (for a boot). It certainally succedes at that. This boot is very comfortable on approaches and provides excellent support on talus. The stiff Vibram sole lets you kick in steps well. These boots rockclimb better than any boot I've ever tried.



Downfalls: The bad things about the boot (not waterproof, not very warm, too flexible) can be avoided by taking them on the right kinds of trips only. For long car to car trips accross varying terrain from rough trail to talus, to glacier crossing to moderate rock, these boots rock!



Don't even think of iceclimbing or winter mountaineering in these. You will be very dissapointed. A 5 star boot when used on the right kind of trips.

First impression (2004):
Good and lightweight multi-purpose shoes: used them for hiking, scrambling, vie ferrate, easy rock, PD alpine climbing (shortly, for things they were supposedly made for). Classic and New-Matic crampon compatible. Downside: not really waterproof. I suggest using proper gaiters on summer glaciers. They have a slight sole flex, which never bothered me (I weigh only 60 kilo).

Voted 5 stars back then (2004).

Final judgement (year 2008):
Corax (see a review below) is right - materials suck. Remark: don't you ever consider buying them oversized, they are not stable enough for wearing them one size bigger!

(Reduced my vote to 3 stars)

I’ve used Trango S for rock climbing , glacier walking and long approaches and I think they are great. This boot is really light and comfortable. The vibram sole is great for climbing and running around in variuos rough terrain such as rock, ice or hard trails. I’ve heard that the sole should spread the flexibility more, but I think it’s rigid enough for climbing and is comfortable to walk with.



It’s not waterproof, and after several days of rain when walking in Iceland it finally got really wet, and I didn’t even care to take them off when crossing rivers in the end (works well for riverwalking too!). I didn’t use gaiters, but I guess that would help. Waterproofing agent is a must. Works really well and keeps your feet dry for days.



I’ve also tried ice climbing on a glacier and I’m very satisfied with the boots, but since I’m not an expert in vertical ice, maybe other boots would do better. However an excellent boot for crossing and exploring glaciers!

+
Super light.
Comfortable to wear for longer periods of time.
Good for walking, better than most stiff boots.
Ok for lighter ice climbing.
Great for mixed climbing.

-
Not water proof.
Not stable when the climbing gets steep on ice.
The thing that really disappointed me was the low quality of the materials used. The glueing and as well as the stitching gave up after only a few times of use. The suede ripped when I laced them. The place where they ripped was the thinner section of suede, in between the two thicker sewn on parts below the two highest lacing points.
Don't know the word in English, but three out of the four "hooks" where you lace the boots broke. Much too weak.

great boot, it's not a heavy mountaineering boot like the Nepal extremes, but then again it is very light and nimble. fits my feet perfect. and I thought the nepals were comfortable..lol these are great

I have had mine for about 4 years and I love them. Great for kicking steps, climb well for a boot, and can even climb ice in them. For socal there are not many boots that are better.
(I am not saying you should climb ice in them, but you could if you had to)