MAMMUT TAISS LIGHT GTX REVIEW
THE LAST FEW YEARS MAMMUT HAS BEEN ON A ROLL WITH THEIR BOOTS, LIVING UP TO THEIR FORMER PEDIGREE AS RAICHLE, THE COMPANY THEY ABSORBED, TO PRODUCE ARGUABLY THE MOST INNOVATIVE CLIMBING BOOTS CURRENTLY OUT THERE. WE HAVE FOUND THEIR B3 OFFERINGS EXCEPTIONAL – THE NORDWAND KNIT HIGH AND 6000 GTX – OVER HUNDREDS OF DAYS, AND NOW ARE EXCITED OVER THESE AS A B2.
NOTE THESE ARE THE LACE UP VERSION, NOT THE BOA, WHICH ALSO LOOK GOOD AND WE SEE REGULARLY BEING HAPPILY WORN.
WE FIRST SAW THESE WITH OUR TEAMSTERS IN THE GOBI, WEARING THEM TO APPROACH THROUGH DESERT AND DOWN FROZEN RIVERS, AS WELL AND STOMP AROUND THE FROZEN CITY WE STAYED IN. WE WERE IMPRESSED HOW THEY COVERED SUCH A WIDE SCOPE OF APPLICATIONS, SOMETHING OFTEN COVERED BY TWO PAIRS OF FOOTWEAR, OR RISK HAVING YOUR FEET TORTURED. WE LIKED HOW THEY ACTED ALMOST LIKE SNEAKERS, BEING LIGHT AND SOCK-LIKE, THEN BEING VERY RIGID EVEN FOR B2s WHEN IT CAME TO USING CRAMPONS.
NORDWAND-RELATED TO THE B3s THE TAISS ALSO HAS THE SOCK INTERFACE, WITH A SINGLE WRAP AROUND FORM THAT IS SEAMLESS. IN THE CASE OF THE TAISS THE TOP IS SPLIT SO IT CONFORMS UNDER THE LACES, LIKE SOME KINDS OF 8000m BOOT LINERS. THIS MEANS NO TONGUE TO SHIFT AND FOLD, NOWHERE TO COLLECT CRUD AND SNOW, AND THE ACE IN THE HOLE IS THE UPPER IS MEMORY FOAM, ALSO LIKE SOME LINERS, SO COMPLIES WITH YOUR ANKLE SHAPE RATHER THAN FIGHTS WITH IT.
AROUND THE SIDES, THE TAISS LIGHTS ARE FULLY CIRCUMNAVIGATED BY A RAND, ONE THAT IS SKILLFULLY SHAPED, AND NOT SO THICK AS TO DETRACT FROM THE BOOTS NIMBLENESS. ABOVE THAT IS A COMPLEX MIX OF EXO-SKELETON AND SUPERFABRIC, WHICH IS COVERED WITH CERAMIC DOTS THAT PROTECT WELL AGAINST CRAMPONS AND ABRAISON. IT’S ALL A BIT FUTUREISTIC IN ASTHETICS AS MOST MAMMUT STUFF IS, BUT LIKEWISE IT’S ALL BACKED WITH ROBUSTNESS AND QUALITY UNLIKE SOME BRANDS THAT RESORT TO GIMMICKERY.
THE OUTER SOLE IS NICE AND STICKY RUBBER, WHICH IS REALLY WHAT MAKES A TRUE APPROACH BOOT LIVE TO ITS NAME. THESE CLIMB AND EDGE WELL (WE’VE DONE 5.10 IN THEM) AND THE BOOT IS SO LATERALLY STIFF, THEY ARE VERY POSITIVE AND PROTECTIVE ON BOULDER FIELDS AND SCRAMBLING.
WEIGHT WISE, THESE MUST BE THE LIGHTEST B2s OUT THERE, MEANING TRUE B2s NOT JUST SOME HIKING BOOT WITH A HEEL WELT. THESE MAY BE THE LIGHTEST THING ON YOUR FEET FOR RELATIVELY WARMER ICE AND ALPINE, YET FEEL LIKE TRUE WINTER GRADE BOOTS.
ASSUMEDLY THIS IS WHERE THE EXPENSE COMES FROM, AS THESE ARE NOT CHEAP, AND THEY CLEARLY DISPLAY A HIGH LEVEL OF BOOT TECHNOLOGY. THE SILLY OFFSET LACES WE DOUBT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE, MAYBE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE SEAMLESS FIT, BUT THE REST SCREAMS QUALITY, WELL INSULATED, WELL CONSTRUCTED AND WELL FORMED.
A MAJOR ATTRACTION FOR US IS NO LEATHER, NOT OUT OF ANY VEGAN PRETENTIONS, BUT SO THERE’S NOTHING TO ABSORB WATER. ASIDE FROM SOME FAKE LOOKING LEATHER STRIPS ALONG THE LACE LOOPS THESE ARE TOTALLY SYNTHETIC IN THE SAME SORT OF WEIRD SEMI-RIGID STUFF USED ACROSS THEIR MOUNTAIN BOOT RANGE.
AND NOW THE BAD…
WHAT DOES SUCK THOUGH, AND IS A MAJOR (BUT RESOLVABLE) PROBLEM, IS THE USE OF LACE HOOKS, SOMETHING WE HATE. IF NOT FOR THE OTHER OUTSTANDING QUALITIES OF THIS BOOT, THE HOOKS WOULD HAVE DENIED THEM A PLACE ON ANY LIST OF OURS, AND IT SPEAKS VOLUMES OF HOW GOOD THESE ARE IN EVERY OTHER WAY THAT THIS IS TOLERATED.
WE HATE HOOKS BECAUSE THEY CATCH, ALWAYS AT THE WRONG TIME. THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL PART OF A SHOE – LACING IT UP – BECOMES AN EXERCISE IN MITIGATION, SO THAT AN ERRANT LOOP DOESN’T CATCH SOME PLACE WHERE IT WOULD BE SERIOUS. WHY MAMMUT DOES THIS WE DON’T GET, AS THERE IS NO ADVANTAGE TO IT IN THIS CASE. THE BOOT ISN’T HIGH ENOUGH THAT IT CAN’T HAVE REGULAR HOLES THAT STAY LACED, AND IDEAS ABOUT WATER PROOFING ARE MUTE BECAUSE OF THE BIG HOLE WHERE YOU PUT YOUR FOOT IN.
WE DON’T SUGGEST EITHER THE BOA, SIMPLY HOLES OR D-RINGS. THIS REMOVES ANY ISSUES ABOUT CATCHING, AND MEANS THE BOOTS CAN STAY LACED WHEN NOT BEING WORN. AS A BODGE JOB THE HOOKS CAN BE CHOPPED WITH PLIERS AND LOOPS OF 1mm CORD PUSHED THROUGH TO ACT AS D-RINGS. FOR THE INEPT THIS CAN SIMPLIFIED EVEN FURTHER, SIMPLY PUNCHING HOLES THROUGH WHERE THE HOOK RIVETS WERE.
ONCE MODIFIED, THESE ARE THE BEST APPROACH FOOTWEAR FOR OUR TRIPS WE’VE KNOWN IN YEARS. WE NOW WEAR THEM IN ON THE FLIGHT AS OUR ONLY BOOTS OTHER THAN DOUBLES, FINDING THEM LIGHT ENOUGH AROUND TOWN AND EASILY RUGGED ENOUGH RIGHT UP TO WHERE IT’S TOO COLD. A CASE COULD BE MADE FOR PAIRING THESE WITH AN OVERBOOT FOR SOME STUFF, AND WE HAVE WORN THEM TO JUST OVER 5000m OF MIXED ALPINE CLIMBING IN EARLY SPRING.
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FOR MANY, A BIG SLICE OF WEIGHT, THINKING AND PLANNING WILL BE THEIR FOOTWEAR BELOW WHERE THEIR BIG BOOTS GO ON, AND THIS RESOLVES ALL OF THAT AS A SINGLE ONE-SHOE SOLUTION. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A REAL FIX FOR AN ANNOYING ISSUE, DONE WELL, IN COOL MATERIALS, AND HOPEFULLY IS A PRECURSOR TO MORE INNOVATION IN A PART OF THE CLIMBING ENSEMBLE WHERE IT CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE.