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NOTHING BEATS NEW BOOTS. NOTHING.
WE’VE ALWAYS BEEN FANS OF THE NORTH FACE’S ALPINE CLIMBING BOOTS, WEARING EVERY DOUBLE BOOT THEY HAVE RELEASED FOR THE LAST 15 YEARS AND FINDING THEM CONSISTENTLY GOOD. WHILST AS A GREATER COMPANY WE FIND THE NORTH FACE NOT PARTICULARLY INTERESTING – WE HAVE NO INTERACTION WITH THEM – WHEN IT COMES TO HIGH ALTITUDE BOOTS THEY ARE OUR CHOICE, AND WE HAVE RACKED UP HUNDREDS OF DAYS IN THEM. WE KNOW THIS APPEARS SACRILEGIOUS TO THE SPORTIVA AND SCARPA CULTS, THAT A NON-ITALIAN BOOT IS EVEN IN THE COMPETITION, BUT WE FIND ONLY THE NORTH FACE HAS THE GALL TO INNOVATE AND FIGHT AGAINST WHAT WE THINK IS A STALE AND STAGNANT FIELD.
WE LIKE THE WAY THE NORTH FACE SCALES IT’S DESIGN CONCEPTS, DESIGNING FOR STYLES OF CLIMBING IN BETWEEN THE OVER-SIMPLIFIED AND OUTDATED CATEGORIES THE MAIN COMPANIES DO. WE LIKE THAT THEY MIX UP ELEMENTS FOR A MORE ATHLETIC SORT OF PRODUCT, TURNING OUT TECHNICALLY TUNED 8000m BOOTS, SCALED DOWN 8000m BOOTS FOR 6000m USE, HYBRID FRUIT-ALPINE SHOE-BOOTS LIKE THE TORRE EGGER, AND NOW THE VERTO FA THAT APPEARS LIKE AN ATHLETIC 6000m BOOT.
NO ONE WAS WAITING FOR THE NEW VERTO FAs. THERE WAS LITTLE ANNOUNCEMENT, AND SURPRISING FOR A COMPANY AS SLICK AS TNF, VIRTUALLY NO MENTION FROM THEIR LEGION OF CAREFULLY PHOTOSHOPPED ATHLETES. WE ONLY KNEW ABOUT THEM FROM THEIR JAPANESE BRANCH, THEMSELVES NOT THAT INTERESTED AFTER THE YEARS OF TNF BOOTS HARDLY REGISTERING IN THE SHADOWS OF A MARKET DOMINATED BY ‘THE BIG ITALIANS’. WE PICKED UP SOMETHING WAS COMING WHEN THE NORTH FACE JAPAN STARTED THROWING TORRE EGGERS AT US, EVENTUALLY HEARING THE MURMUR SOMETHING NEW WAS COMING.
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THE VERTO FA BOOTS
IF YOU KNEW THE TORRE EGGERS YOU WILL HAVE A HANDLE ON THE VERTO FAs, AS THESE ARE LIKE A TRUE 6000m VERSION. DON’T THROW AWAY YOUR TORRE EGGERS, THEY ARE STILL PRECISION MACHINES FOR COLD TECHNICAL CLIMBING AND ICE – BUT THE VERTO FAs REFINE A LOT OF WHAT THE TORRE EGGERS WERE TRYING.
THE VERTO FAs WEIGH 880g FOR A SIZE 11 WITH THE WARM LINER IN, WHICH ARE AS LIGHT AS THESE GET AS LONG AS THEY KEEP COVERING BOOTS IN RUBBER. THERE’S A FEW TWEAKS TO KEEP WEIGHT DOWN LIKE THINNER PRINTED ON RANDS AND AN EXOSKELETON STYLE UPPER ANKLE, BUT IT’S OFFSET BY SOME GIMMICKERY FOR A MARKET WHERE THAT SEEMS TO BE NECESSARY. DON’T START US ON THAT… AT 20% LIGHTER PER FOOT THAN 6000m BOOTS FROM THE COMPETITION THE MAIN DIFFERENCE IS THE ABSENCE OF MUCH ABOVE THE ANKLE, INSTEAD THE LINER EXTENDS AND A STRAP LOCKS IT DOWN, FORGOING MUCH OF THE TRADITONAL ‘BOOT FEEL’.
THE VERTO FAs ROCKER IS LOW KEY – SLIGHTLY LESS THAN THE TORRE EGGERS – MAKINGTHESE SERIOUS CRAMPON PLATFORMS, THAT WITH THE TOE BOX, MAKES THEM A BOOT FOR EXTENDED USE ON MOUNTAINS. THE CONFIGURATION OF HEEL STRAP AND BOA MAKE THEM ADAPTABLE FOR WALKING OR CLIMBING, AND WALKING IS REALLY WALKING DUE TO THE ABSENCE OF RIGIDITY AND BULK AROUND THE ANKLE.
THE LINERS
BOTH LINERS ARE MUCH MORE THAN SOCKS, AND PROVIDE THE MAJORITY OF THE INSULATION OF THE WHOLE BOOT. THE NORTH FACE, FOR ALL THEIR MISGIVINGS, HAS LONG TRIED TO DEVELOP THIS ASPECT, NOT ALWAYS SUCCEEDING BY ANY MEANS, BUT PUSHING WHAT THE INTERFACE OF FOOT AND BOOT CAN BE.
IF YOU DON’T DEVOTE A DEGREE OF THOUGHT AND ENERGY TO WORRYING ABOUT BOOT LINERS THAT IS WELL WITHIN THE REALMS OF FETISH, THEN YOU DON’T SPEND ENOUGH TIME IN THE COLD. AFTER AVOIDABLE COLD INJURIES, WE START WITH THE LINER, THEN WORRY ABOUT THE BOOT THAT WILL GO AROUND IT, BECAUSE AFTER DECADES IN THE BIZ IT IS THE #1 THING WE SEE TROUBLE CLIMBERS. WE THINK THIS IS JUSTIFIED, BECAUSE NOTHING IN OUR OPINION HAS STALLED IN CLIMBING GEAR LIKE BOOT LINERS, TO THE DEGREE WE THINK IT HAS ACTUALLY GONE BACKWARDS. SCARPA HAS MADE SOME EFFORT, MAMMUT DID WELL THEN LOST INTEREST, BUT OTHERWISE IT IS A VITAL BIT OF GEAR THAT’S IGNORED – AND WE INCLUDE THE SPECIALIST LINER COMPANIES – ASSUMEDLY BECAUSE IT IS HIDDEN AWAY.
THE TORRE EGGERS ‘WARM’ MERINO LINER WAS THE SINGLE STUPIDEST THING WE’VE EVER SEEN IN A BOOT. THE NEW WARM LINER IS A PROPER, INSULATED LINER, NOT SOMETHING THAT FEELS LIKE IT WAS MADE FOR GUMBOOTS. IT HAS A FRONT THAT IS NICELY FORMED EVA AND A REAR THAT IS SOME SORT OF PLUSH STUFF, AND THEY HAVE NICELY CONTOURED ANKLE PADDING THAT CONFORMS TO THE FOOT AND LOCKS IT DOWN WELL. THE HINGED DESIGN WE SEE PROBLEMS WITH AS IT SHIFTS ABOUT A LOT WHEN THE OUTER SHELL IS OFF, AND CAN’T SEE WHY A WRAP DESIGN LIKE INTUITION USE WOULDN’T BE BETTER.
THE LESS-WARM LINER IS ALSO A BIG EVOLUTION OVER THE TORRE EGGER VERSION, AND FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH WE THOUGHT THE PREVIOUS ONE WAS GOOD, WEARING THEM ALL THROUGH WINTER, INCLUDING TO TIBET. THE VERTO FA ONES THOUGH ARE MUCH BETTER FITTING AND MUCH LESS AIR PERMEABLE, THOUGH STILL ALLOW A LOT MORE BREATHABILITY THAN ANY OTHER LINER AROUND.
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THE SOLE
IF A BOOT SOLE CAN BE TOO AGGRESSIVE, THIS IS IT, AND WE ARE WILLING TO BET THESE WILL GET FURTHER UP SNOW AND MORRAINE BEFORE CRAMPONS ARE NEEDED THAN ANYTHING ELSE. THE OUTER EDGES ARE NEARLY COMICAL IN THE DEPTH AND SHAPE OF THE LUGS, WHICH IS ACTUALLY THE PRODUCT OF A CONTOURED SOLE BASE RATHER THAN A STACKED HEIGHT. THIS IS INTERESTING AND SEEMS AN EFFORT TO MAKE THE BOOT EDGE BETTER ON SNOW FOR APPROACHES, BUT COMES AT THE EXPENSE OF A GOOD EDGE FOR CLIMBING ROCK WHICH THE TORRE EGGER EXCELLED AT.
THE CRAMPON WELTS FOLLOW THE SAME NARROW SHAPE CHISEL SHAPE AS THE TORRE EGGERS, BEING DEEP AND SECURE AND SATISFYING TO CLIP INTO. THE LAST TEN YEARS HAVE SEEN A WORRYING TREND IN FLIMSY, SHALLOW WELTS, THANKFULLY SOMETHING TNF DIDN’T BUY INTO JUST TO SAVE A FEW GRAMS.
THE VERTO FAs ARE OF THE NEWER GENERATION OF ENCAPULATED SOLE UNITS, WITH NO EXPOSED STRATUM OF COLOURED FOAMS. LIKE MOST TREKKING BOOTS THESE DAYS, THE WHOLE BOOT IS SEALED SEAMLESSLY AS A UNIT, WITH THE RAND FUSED BEHIND THE EDGES OF THE SOLE. WHETHER THIS MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN USE WE DON’T KNOW, BUT THE VERTO FAs HAVE RUN WITH THE IDEA WITH BONDED RAND OF VARYING THICKNESSES MAKING A ROBUST SEMI-RIGID CRADLE.
THE FIT
WHERE THE TORRE EGGERS MADE NO SENSE, NOT EVEN MATCHING UP THE INTERNATIONAL SIZES WITH ANY REASON, THE VERTO FAs DO IT PROPERLY. NUMBERS-WISE THEY ARE TRUE, YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND ORDER YOUR STREET SIZE, AND EXPECT TO WEAR A MEDIUM SOCK INSIDE. THERE IS FAR MORE TOE ROOM IN THE VERTO FAs, PERHAPS THE DEFINING DIFFERENCE WITH THE TORRE EGGERS. THESE HAVE THE FOREFOOT OF A SCARPA AND THE REAR FOOT OF A SPORTIVA, WHICH PUSHES THE VERTO FAs OVER THE LINE AS PROPER 6000m BOOTS.
ONCE FIGURED OUT, THESE ARE THE EASIET DOUBLE BOOTS TO PUT ON WE KNOW, DOING WHAT THE TORRE EGGER TRIED TO BY GAPING OPEN ALL THE WAY TO THE ARCH, BUT DOING IT MUCH BETTER. THERE IS A BIT OF A MESS WITH CABLES BUT IT SETS INTO PLACE WITH SOME USE, AND THE ANKLE STRAP IS NOW MUCH HIGHER AND BETTER DONE, WHICH DIMINISHES THE FRUIT BOOT-FEEL BUT HELPS WITH CRAMPON STABILITY.
THE VERTO FAs ARE A LOT HIGHER VOLUME THAN THE TORRE EGGERS SO THEY WORK WELL WITH AFTER MARKET INSOLES, AND A PROPER HIGH ALTITUDE ONE FROM SOMEONE LIKE SCARPA WORKS WELL. THE VOLUME ALSO MEANS YOU CAN GET A FULL 6000m BOOTIE IN FROM VARIOUS OTHER BRANDS OR THE OLDER VERTO EXTREME S6Ks, ALLOWING FOR HYBRID BOOTS – SOMETHING WE ARE HUGE FANS OF – IN A WAY THE TORRE EGGERS NEVER WOULD.
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SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?
ANYTHING NEW IN HIGH ALTITUDE FOOTWEAR SHOULD BE LAUDED, BECAUSE IT’S AN AREA OF STAGNATION AND MARKET ATROPHY, AND THERE’S ENOUGH INNOVATION HERE TO NOT MAKE THEM JUST ‘THE NORTH FACE’S VERSION’ OF SOMETHING ELSE. IF YOU CLIMB MULTIDAY 6000m STUFF EITHER FAST, TECHNICAL OR BOTH, THESE ARE AIMED AT THAT, AND LONG APPROACHES ARE AS GOOD AS IT GETS IN THESE, WHICH, LIKE WITH THE TORRE EGGER, REDUCES THE NEED FOR AN APPROACH SHOE. THIS ‘ONE BOOT SOLUTION’ RESULTS IN SERIOUS WEIGHT REDUCTION , AND REINFORCES THE CONCEPT OF ALPINE SHOE-BOOTS WHICH WE REALLY LIKE. IT’S STILL A CONCEPT IN PROGRESS, PUSHING AGAINST A MARKET THAT’S NOT VERY INTERESTED, BUT THESE ARE THE FIRST TO FIND THE SWEET SPOT.
IT’S THE NORTH FACE – SO EXPECT SOME OVER-DESIGN, SOME UNNECESSARY COMPLEXITY, SOME ODD EXPERIMENTS AND SOME GIMMICKERY. NONE THIS DETRACTS FROM THE THINGS THAT MATTER, BUT NO DOUBT IT COSTS MORE FOR SHIT YOU’D NEVER MISS IF IT WASN’T THERE. PERHAPS SUPERFICIALLY, WE LAMENT THE LOSS OF THE PSYCHEDELIC ZEBRA PATTERN, AND WHAT MAKES IT HURT MORE IS THE VERTO FAs WITHOUT IT JUST LOOK LIKE ARCTERYX. TWO DECADES NOW OF BRIGHT, TRON-INSPIRED DESIGNS IS LITERALLY A BRIGHT SPOT IN AN INDUSTRY THAT CAN BE NOTORIOUSLY BORING, AND BLACK BOOTS WE FIND BOTH DULL AND A BIT TOO TACTICOOL LOOKING, BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO?
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BE AWARE THAT THE NORTH FACE HAS AN ANNOYING HISTORY OF BRINGING OUT INNOVATIVE BOOTS, DOING ONE PRODUCTION RUN, THEN PRETENDING THEY NEVER EXISTED. MAYBE THEIR MO IS TO FLOG THE DESIGN IP, THERE’S WAYS THIS COULD BE JUSTIFIED, BUT THE POINT IS AFTER THIS WINTER YOU MAY NEVER SEE THESE BOOTS AGAIN. LIKE THE S8Ks AND S6Ks SOME OF THE ADVANCES MAY REEMERGE LATER IN DESIGNS FROM BETTER RECOGNIZED BRANDS – BUT SOME MAY NOT, DEEMED TOO OBLIQUE FOR A MARKET LOCKED IN A CULT MENTALITY.
WE WILL TAKE THESE TO TIBET AND XINJIANG IN EARLY WINTER, HAVING ZERO RESERVATIONS FOR WHAT WE KNOW WILL BE COLD, DRY AND PROLONGED USE, THEN BEAT THE HELL OUT OF THEM IN JAPAN, THE GOBI AND BACK TO TIBET IN SPRING, AND EXPECT AT THE END TO SEE RESULTS AS GOOD AS IF NOT BETTER THAN ALL THE BOOTS WE HAVE BLOWN THROUGH BEFORE. THE BIGGEST LIMITATION WE SEE FOR MOST CLIMBERS IS GETTING THEIR FEET WHERE THEY WANT THEM, AND THE VERTO FAs ADDRESS A LOT WHERE OTHERS DON’T EVEN SEEM TO BE TRYING.
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