SCARPA
PHANTOM
8000 HD
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SCARPA BROUGHT THE TRIED & TRUSTED TRADITIONAL HIGH ALTITUDE BOOT DESIGN TO FRUITION. UNLIKE SOME BRANDS THAT VEERED OFF INTO EXPERIMENTING WITH NEW IDEAS AND GIMMICKS, SCARPA SAW THROUGH A DESIGN CONCEPT THAT EVERYBODY ALREADY KNEW WAS WORKING. BOTH THE 6000 & 8000 VERSIONS HAVE ALL THE BITS YOU EXPECT TO SEE IN THESE SORT OF BOOTS, DONE WELL AND WITH NOTHING LEFT OUT. IT’S NICE TO KNOW THERE’S NO QUESTION MARKS ABOUT YOUR FOOTWEAR WHEN HEADING OFF.
IN THE LAST DECADE THESE SORTS OF BOOTS HAVE COME DOWN A LOT IN WEIGHT AS WELL AS BECOME WARMER AND NICER TO WEAR. SCARPA HAS DONE THIS BY INVESTING A LOT INTO THEIR INNER BOOTS, AND DESPITE THE TREND OF SLIMMING DOWN INNERS, SCARPA HAS RETAINED A GOOD SOLID INNER BOOT THAT CAN COPE WITH BEING WORN AROUND HIGH CAMPS. LIKE A FEW OTHER COMPANIES, USING AEROGEL GETS RESULTS, AS HAS REMOVING ALMOST ALL LEATHER, CREATING A BOOT THAT HOLDS LITTLE MOISTURE AND IS LESS EFFECTED BY MATERIAL COMPRESSION.
EVERYONE SEEMS TO OBSESS OVER THE OUTER ZIPS, ESPECIALLY THE CURRENT 6000’s, BUT WE DON’T FIND IT’S A BIG DEAL SO LONG AS THE ZIP DOESN’T HAVE A COVER. THESE DAYS EXPOSED ZIPS ARE WEATHER-PROOF ENOUGH TO SLIDE OK. SUPER GAITERS IN THIS GENERATION OF 8000m BOOTS ARE MUCH LIGHTER THAN BEFORE, WITH THE LOWER SECTION’S INSULATION THESE DAYS ADDING LITTLE BULK. IF YOUR LAST HIGH ALTITUDE BOOTS WERE MORE THAN 5 YEARS AGO YOU WILL BE IMPRESSED, THEY CLIMB MUCH BETTER.
INSIDE, BOTH BOOTS HAVE THE WELL KNOWS CINCH LACES AND ‘POWER’ STRAP AROUND THE ANKLE WHICH WORK FINE AND ALLOW FOR ENDLESS TWEAKING TO NEEDS. SCARPA HAS DONE WELL TO MAKE THE BOOTS REALLY OPEN OUT AND EASY TO GET INTO (DON’T TRIM THE LACES TO HASTILY), AN ADVANTAGE OVER THE BOA SYSTEMS SEEN ELSEWHERE. AS A SHELL TO HANDLE THE BRUNT OF KICKING & POINTING UP THOUSANDS OF STEEP METERS THEY ARE TOTALLY RIDGID, AND THE NEW GENERATION LOW BULK MEANS THEY ARE ALMOST AS PRECISE AS SINGLES, WITH MID-SOLE INSULATION GIVING MUCH BETTER CRAMPON INTERFACE, AND AEROGEL AROUND THE FRONT ALLOWING A TOE BOX GETTING VERY CLOSE TO A SINGLE BOOT NOW. NOT ALL CRAMPONS WILL PERFECTLY FIT ALL SIZES THOUGH, SO BE PREPARED TO PLAY ABOUT AND MAYBE SHAVE SOME RUBBER OFF THE HEELS (THE GRIVEL G20/22 PLUS’ WE RECOMMEND SEEM FINE).
AS ALWAYS THOUGH, IT’S THE INNER BOOT THAT MATTERS MOST, BEING WHERE THE REAL WARMTH IS AND YOUR FOOT HAS TO INTERFACE. SCARPA HAS NAILED THIS WITH THERMOFORMABLE INNERS, ARGUABLY THE BEST ON THE MARKET. A DEPARTURE A WHILE AGO, THESE INNERS DON’T HAVE LACES – PRO’S BEING LESS BULK, CON’S BEING HARDER TO PUT ON AND PERFECT THE FIT – BUT THE ALL-ROUND INSULATION AND STREAMLINED WORKS. FORMING THEM IS WELL WORTH YOUR TIME, ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE ON THE EDGE OF SIZE INCREMENTS. BE AWARE THAT ONLY A THINNISH OR EMDIUM SOCK IS NEEDED, ANYTHING MORE JUST TRAPS MOISTURE YOU NEED TO THEN DRY OUT SOMEHOW. SCARPA’S INNERS HAVE A GOOD DEGREE OF STRUCTURE TO THEM – FAR MORE THAN THE FLOPPY NEOPRENE INNERS SOME BOOTS HAVE – SO THEY DON’T LOSE INTEGRITY AND CREATE DEAD AIR SPACE, AND FORMING ONLY ENHANCES THIS.
WE LIKE THE INNERS SO MUCH WE USE THEM WITH OTHER BRANDS OF BOOTS AND HAVE ARRANGED TO SECURE THEM FOR OUR TEAM MEMBERS TO DO THE SAME.
ALL UP, THE SCARPA’S CLIMB AMONG THE BEST OF ANY BOOTS WE’VE TRIED DUE TO THEIR WELL INTEGRATED AND ADJUSTABLE DESIGN. ALL THE EMERGING TECH AND THE ABSENCE OF GADGETS, THE PRECISE TOE PROFILE AND THE LIGHT WEIGHT ADD UP TO MAKE A BOOT THAT CLIMBS LIKE WE ALL WANTED THEM TO A DECADE AGO.
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